Gas Turbine

Introduction
 Applications of the Gas Turbine
Jet propulsion/Aircraft Produces just enough power
to drive the compressor and a small generator to power
the auxiliary equipment.
Power generation - use gas turbines to generate
electricityvery efficient; as stand-alone units or in
conjunction with steam power plants.
Marine applications - large ships
 Gas Turbine Fuels

Gas turbines are basically designed to operate on petro-

based fuels like kerosene, aviation fuel and residual fuel
oil.
Natural gas Generally contains a major portion of
methane. Obtained from wells in oil-fields.
Liquid fuels Ranges from gas oil to residual fuel
oil. Major consideration is cost.
Solid fuels Coal used for closed cycle gas turbine
plant; mostly used in combined cycle power
generation.
 Gas-turbine cycles (types)
Direct open: Used in jet aircraft
Indirect open: Suitable where environmental concerns
prevent the air from receiving heat directly.

Direct open Indirect open

 Gas-turbine cycles (types)
Direct & Indirect closed: Best suited for heat transfer
from nuclear-reactors compared to open type.

Direct closed Indirect closed

Ideal Brayton cycle
Brayton cycle (Processes; P-v & T-s Diagrams)
1 to 2 -- isentropic compression
2 to 3 -- constant pressure heat addition (replaces
combustion process)
3 to 4 -- isentropic expansion in the turbine
4 to 1 -- constant pressure heat rejection to return air
to original state

7
 Brayton cycle Analysis
Because the Brayton cycle operates between two constant
pressure lines, or isobars, the pressure ratio (rp) is
important.
As with any cycle, were going to concern ourselves with
the efficiency and net work output:
w net
Efficiency:
q in

Net work: w net w turb w comp

 Brayton cycle Analysis

1 to 2 (isentropic compression in compressor):

w comp h 2 h1

2 to 3 (constant pressure heat addition - treated as a heat

exchanger)

q in q 23 h 3 h 2
9
 Brayton cycle Analysis

3 to 4 (isentropic expansion in turbine)

w turb h 3 h 4
4 to 1 (constant pressure heat rejection)

q out h 4 h1

10
 Brayton cycle Analysis

Net work:

w net w turb w comp

Substituting:

w net (h 3 h 4 ) (h 2 h1 )
 Brayton cycle Analysis
The efficiency is given by:

w net (h 3 h 4 ) (h 2 h1 )

q in (h 3 h 2 )
(h 4 h1 ) c p (T4 T1 )
1 1
(h 3 h 2 ) c p (T3 T2 )

T1 T4 T1 1
1
T2 T3 T2 1
 Brayton cycle Analysis

Using the isentropic relationships,

k 1 k 1 k 1
T2 p 2 k T4 p 4 k p1 k
;
T1 p1 T3 p3 p2
Lets define:
P2 P3
rp pressure ratio
P1 P4
13
 Brayton cycle Analysis

Then we can relate the temperature ratios to the pressure

ratio:
T2 k 1 k T3
rp
T1 T4
Plug back into the efficiency expression and simplify:

1
1 k 1 k
rp
Brayton cycle Analysis

15
 Brayton cycle Analysis

An important quantity for Brayton cycles is the Back

Work Ratio (BWR).

w comp
BWR
w turb

Why might this be important?

 Brayton cycle Analysis

The Back-Work Ratio is the Fraction

of Turbine Work Used to Drive the
Compressor
 Example Problem

The pressure ratio of an air standard Brayton cycle is 4.5

and the inlet conditions to the compressor are 100 kPa and
27C. The turbine is limited to a temperature of 827C
and mass flow is 5 kg/s. Determine

a) the thermal efficiency

b) the net power output in kW
c) the BWR
Assume constant specific heats.
 Example Problem
Draw diagram

P 2 3

1 4

v
 Example Problem
Start analysis

Lets get the efficiency:

1
1 k 1 k
rp
From problem statement, we know rp = 4.5

1
1 1.4 1 1.4
0.349
4.5
 Example Problem
Net power output:

Net Power:
m
Wnet
w net m

w turb w comp
Substituting for work terms:
m
Wnet
(h 3 h 4 ) (h 2 h1 )
Applying constant specific heats:
m
Wnet
c p (T3 T4 ) (T2 T1 )
 Example Problem
Need to get T2 and T4

Use isentropic relationships:

k 1 k 1
T2 p 2 k
T4 p 4 k
;
T1 p1 T3 p 3
T1 and T3 are known along with the pressure ratios.
 Example Problem
Solving for temperatures:
T2 300 4.5
0.4 1.4
T2: 461 K

T4 1100 0.222
0.4 1.4
T4: 715.7 K
Net power is then:
W& (5 kg/ s)(1.0035 kJ / (kg K ))
net

(1100 715.7) (461 300) K

1120 kW
Wnet
 Example Problem
Back Work Ratio
We know,
w comp h 2 h1
BWR
w turb h3 h4

Applying constant specific heats:

T2 T1461 300
BWR 0.42
T3 T4 1100 715.7
 Brayton Cycle

In theory, as the pressure ratio goes up, the efficiency rises. The
limiting factor is frequently the turbine inlet temperature.
The turbine inlet temp is restricted to about 1,700 K (2,600 F).
The air has following functions: It supplies the necessary oxidant
for the combustion of fuel and it serves as a coolant to keep the
temperature of various components within sage limits.
Furthermore, more air is drawn than is needed for the complete
combustion of fuel.
Consider a fixed turbine inlet temperature (T3)
 Brayton Cycle
For fixed values of Tmin and Tmax, the net work of the
Brayton cycle first increases with the pressure ratio, then
reaches a maximum at rp=(Tmax/Tmin)k/[2(k-1)], and finally
decreases
 Brayton Cycle
What happens to th, win /wout, and wnet as the pressure ratio rp is increased? Consider
the T-s diagram for the cycle and note that the area enclosed by the cycle is the net
heat added to the cycle. By the first law applied to the cycle, the net heat added to
the cycle is equal to the net work done by the cycle. Thus, the area enclosed by the
cycle on the T-s diagram also represents the net work done by the cycle.

Let's take a closer look at the effect of the

pressure ratio on the net work done.
wnet wturb wcomp
C p (T3 T4 ) C p (T2 T1 )
C p T3 (1 T4 / T3 ) C p T1 (T2 / T1 1)
1 ( k 1)/ k
C p T3 (1 ( k 1)/ k
) C p T1 (rp 1)
rp
 Brayton Cycle
Note that the net work is zero when
k /( k 1)
T3
rp 1 and rp
T1
For fixed T3 and T1, the pressure ratio that makes the work a maximum is obtained
from:
dwnet
0
drp
This is easier to do if we let X = rp(k-1)/k
1
wnet C p T3 (1 ) C p T1 ( X 1)
X
dwnet
C p T3[0 ( 1) X 2 ] C p T1[1 0] 0
dX
Solving for X ,
 Brayton Cycle
Then, the rp that makes the work a maximum for the constant property case and fixed T3 and
T1 is

For the same procedure, this gives a value of T2 as: T2 (T1 T3 )1/ 2

( k 1) / k
And since T2 / T1 T3 / T4 rp , then

T2 T4

For the ideal Brayton cycle, the following results are true.
When rp = rp,max work, T4 = T2
When rp < rp,max work, T4 > T2
When rp > rp,max work, T4 < T2
 Brayton Cycle
The following is a plot of net work per unit mass and the efficiency as a function of the
pressure ratio.
280 0.60
0.55
th rp
260

240 0.50

th k 220
0.45
0.40
wnet kJ /kg

th,Brayton
200 T1 =22C
0.35
180 P1 =95 kPa
0.30
T3 =1100 K
160
t =c =100% 0.25
140 0.20
rp,max
120 0.15
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Pratio

th is independent of
temperatures.
 Assignment # 4
The ideal air-standard Brayton cycle operates
with air entering the compressor at 95 kPa,
22 C. The pressure ratio rp is 6:1 and the air
leaves the heat addition process at 1100 K.
Determine the compressor work and the
turbine work per unit mass flow, the cycle
efficiency, the back work ratio, and compare
the compressor exit temperature to the turbine
exit temperature. Assume constant specific
heat.
Brayton Cycle

Non-ideal
 Actual Brayton Cycle

The pressure ratio across the compressor ( rp,c ) would be greater

than the pressure ratio across the turbine ( rp,t ).
 Actual Brayton Cycle (Isentropic efficiency)
The deviation of the actual compressor and turbine from the idealized
isentropic ones can be accurately accounted for by utilizing their
adiabatic (isentropic) efficiencies, defined as
h3 h4 a
T
h3 h4 s

If we assume constant specific heats, -- Turbine

T3 T4 a
T
T3 T4 s
and
h2 s h1
C
h2 a h1 -- Compressor
If we assume constant specific heats,
T2 s T1
C
T2 a T1
where states 1 and 3 are the inlet states, 2a and 4a are the actual exit
states, and 2s and 4s are the isentropic exit states.
 Actual Brayton Cycle
The net power of the cycle, for constant specific heats,
(T2 s T1 )
W m
c [(T T ) (T T )] m
c [(T T ) ]
C
net p 3 4 2 1 p 3 4s T

and in terms of the min and max temperatures and pressure ratio,
T r ( k 1) / k
1

Wnet m c pT1 3

p
1 ( k 1) / k
T1 C
T
rp

The heat added in the cycle, for constant specific heats, is given by
r p( k 1) / k 1
Q in m c p (T3 T2 ) m c p (T3 T1 ) T1
C
The efficiency of the cycle can then be obtained by dividing the
above two equations,
W net
th
Qin
Brayton Cycle

Improvements
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle
For the Brayton cycle, the turbine exhaust temperature is greater than the
compressor exit temperature. Therefore, a heat exchanger can be placed between
the hot gases leaving the turbine and the cooler gases leaving the compressor. This
heat exchanger is called a regenerator or recuperator. The sketch of the regenerative
Brayton cycle is shown below.
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle

We define the regenerator effectiveness regen as the ratio of the heat transferred to
the compressor gases in the regenerator to the maximum possible heat transfer to
the compressor gases.
qregen , act h5 h2
qregen , max h5' h2 h4 h2
qregen , act h5 h2
regen
qregen , max h4 h2
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle
For ideal gases using the assumption of constant specific heats, the regenerator
effectiveness becomes
T5 T2
regen
T4 T2
The effectiveness of most regenerators in practice is below 0.85.

Using the closed cycle analysis and treating the heat addition and heat rejection as
steady-flow processes, the regenerative cycle thermal efficiency is
qout
th , regen 1
qin
h6 h1
1
h3 h5
Notice that the heat transfer occurring within the regenerator is not included in the
efficiency calculation because this energy is not heat transferred across the cycle
boundary.

Assuming an ideal regenerator regen = 1 and constant specific heats, the thermal
efficiency becomes
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle

When does the efficiency of the air-standard Brayton cycle equal the efficiency of the
air-standard regenerative Brayton cycle? If we set th,Brayton = th,regen then

Recall that this is the pressure ratio that maximizes the net work for the simple
Brayton cycle and makes T4 = T2. What happens if the regenerative Brayton cycle
operates at a pressure ratio larger than this value?
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle
For fixed T3 and T1, pressure ratios greater than this value cause T4 to be less than
T2, and the regenerator is not effective.

What happens to the net work when a regenerator is added?

What happens to the heat supplied when a regenerator is added?

The following shows a plot of the regenerative (Ideal) Brayton cycle efficiency as a
function of the pressure ratio and minimum to maximum temperature ratio, T1/T3.
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)
Air enters the compressor of a regenerative gas-turbine engine at 100 kPa and 300 K
and is compressed to 800 kPa. The regenerator has an effectiveness of 65 percent,
and the air enters the turbine at 1200 K. For a compressor efficiency of 75 percent
and a turbine efficiency of 86 percent, determine
(a) The heat transfer in the regenerator.
(b) The back work ratio.
(c) The cycle thermal efficiency.

Compare the results for the above cycle with the ones listed below that have the
same common data as required. The actual cycles are those for which the turbine
and compressor isentropic efficiencies are less than one.
(a) The actual cycle with no regeneration, = 0.
(b) The actual cycle with regeneration, = 0.65.
(c) The actual cycle with ideal regeneration, = 1.0.
(d) The ideal cycle with no regeneration, = 0.
(e) The ideal cycle with regeneration, = 0.65.
(f) The ideal cycle with ideal regeneration, = 1.0.

We assume air is an ideal gas with constant specific heats, that is, we use the cold-
air-standard assumption.
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

Compressor analysis

The isentropic temperature at compressor exit is

( k 1) / k
T2 s P2

T1 P1
( k 1) / k
P 800kPa (1.41) /1.4
T2 s T1 2 300 K ( ) 543.4 K
P1 100kPa
To find the actual temperature at compressor exit, T2a, we apply the compressor
efficiency
wisen , comp h2 s h1 T2 s T1
comp
wact , comp h2 a h1 T2 a T1
1
T2 a T1 (T2 s T1 )
comp
1
300 K (543.4 300) K
0.75
624.6 K
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)
Since the compressor is adiabatic and has steady-flow
wcomp h2 a h1 C p (T2 a T1 )
kJ kJ
1.005 (624.6 300) K 326.2
kg K kg

Turbine analysis

The conservation of energy for the turbine, process 3-4, yields for constant specific
heats (lets take a minute for you to get the following result)
W turb m (h3 h4 a )
W turb mC
p (T3 T4 a )
W turb
wturb C p (T3 T4 a )
m
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

Since P3 = P2 and P4 = P1, we can find the isentropic temperature at the turbine exit.
( k 1) / k
T4 s P4

T3 P3
( k 1) / k
P4 100kPa (1.41) /1.4
T4 s T3 1200 K ( ) 662.5 K
P
3 800kPa

To find the actual temperature at turbine exit, T4a, we apply the turbine efficiency.

wact , turb h3 h4 a T3 T4 a
turb
wisen , turb h3 h4 s T3 T4 s
T4 a T3 turb (T3 T4 s )
1200 K 0.86(1200 662.5) K
737.7 K T2 a
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

The turbine work becomes

wturb h3 h4 a C p (T3 T4 a )
kJ
1005
. (1200 737.7) K
kg K
kJ
464.6
kg
The back work ratio is defined as
win wcomp
BWR
wout wturb
kJ
326.2
kg
0.70
kJ
464.6
kg
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)
Regenerator analysis

To find T5, we apply the regenerator effectiveness.

T5 T2 a
regen
T4 a T2 a
T5 T2 a regen (T4 a T2 a )
624.6 K 0.65(737.7 624.6) K
6981
.K
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)
To find the heat transferred from the turbine exhaust gas to the compressor exit gas,
apply the steady-flow conservation of energy to the compressor gas side of the
regenerator.

m 2 a h2 a Q regen m 5h5
m 2 a m 5 m
Q regen
qregen h5 h2 a
m
C p (T5 T2 a )
kJ
1005
. . 624.6) K
(6981
kg K
kJ
73.9
kg
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

Using qregen, we can determine the turbine exhaust gas temperature at the regenerator
exit.
m&4 a h4 a Q&regen m&6 h6
m&4 a m&6 m&
Q&regen
qregen h4 a h6 C p (T4 a T6 )
m&
kJ
73.9
qregen kg
T6 T4 a 737.7 K
Cp kJ
1.005
kg K
664.2 K
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

Heat supplied to cycle

Apply the steady-flow conservation of energy to the heat exchanger for process 5-3.
We obtain a result similar to that for the simple Brayton cycle.
qin h3 h5 C p (T3 T5 )
kJ
1005
. (1200 6981
. )K
kg K
kJ
504.4
kg
Cycle thermal efficiency

The net work done by the cycle is

wnet wturb wcomp
kJ kJ
(464.6 326.2) 138.4
kg kg
 Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

The cycle efficiency becomes

wnet
th , Brayton
qin
kJ
138.4
kg
0.274 or 27.4%
kJ
504.4
kg

You are encouraged to complete the calculations for the other values found in
the summary table (see next slide).
Regenerative Brayton Cycle (Example)

Table: Summary of Results

Cycle type Actual Actual Actual Ideal Ideal Ideal
regen 0.00 0.65 1.00 0.00 0.65 1.00

comp 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00

turb 0.86 0.86 0.86 1.00 1.00 1.00

qin kJ/kg 578.3 504.4 464.6 659.9 582.2 540.2
wcomp kJ/kg 326.2 326.2 326.2 244.6 244.6 244.6
wturb kJ/kg 464.6 464.6 464.6 540.2 540.2 540.2
wcomp/wturb 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.453 0.453 0.453
th 24.0% 27.4% 29.8% 44.8% 50.8% 54.7%
 Brayton Cycle (Other Improvements)
Intercooling and reheating are two important ways to improve the performance of the
Brayton cycle with regeneration.
 Brayton Cycle with Intercooling
When using multistage compression, cooling the working fluid between the stages will
reduce the amount of compressor work required. The compressor work is reduced
because cooling the working fluid reduces the average specific volume of the fluid
and thus reduces the amount of work on the fluid to achieve the given pressure rise.

For two-stage compression, lets assume that intercooling takes place at constant
pressure and the gases can be cooled to the inlet temperature for the compressor,
such that P3 = P2 and T3 = T1. Then the intermediate pressure at which intercooling
should take place to minimize the compressor work, in this case is given by:

P2 P1 P4
or, the pressure ratios across the two compressors are equal.
P2 P4 P4

P1 P2 P3
When the temperature rises are equal, the pressure ratios are equal because
n /( n 1)
T2
rp
T1
 Brayton Cycle with Intercooling
And the general expression for the pressure ratio per stage is given by
rp , stage ,c N c rp ,tot ,c
where Nc is the number of compressor sections (there are 2 in this case).

Intercooling is almost always used with regeneration. During intercooling, the

compressor final exit temperature is reduced; therefore, more heat must be supplied
in the heat addition process to achieve the maximum temperature of the cycle.
Regeneration can make up part of the required heat transfer.
 Brayton Cycle with Reheating
When using multistage expansion through two or more turbines, reheating
between stages will increase the net work done (it also increases the required heat
input). The regenerative Brayton cycle with reheating was shown above.

The optimum intermediate pressure for reheating is the one that maximizes the
turbine work. Following the development given above for intercooling and assuming
reheating to the high-pressure turbine inlet temperature in a constant pressure
steady-flow process, we can show the optimum reheat pressure to be

P7 P6 P9
or the pressure ratios across the two turbines are equal.
P6 P7 P8

P7 P9 P9
Similarly, the general expression for the pressure ratio per turbine stage is given by

rp , stage ,T NT rp ,tot ,T
where NT is the number of turbine sections (there are 2 in this case).
 Brayton Cycle (General Equations)
General equations for the specific power and heat added for constant specific heat
but with non-idealities taken into account, are

W net
1
T3T ( nT 1) 1 ( k 1) / k T1 nC 1 ( rp( ,kC1) / k 1)
m cp rp ,T C

and

Q 1
in
T3 (T 1) ( nT R ) 1 C 1 ( k 1) / k
m
cp rp ,C

1
T1 (1 R ) 1 ( k 1) / k
( rp ,C 1)
C

where nT is the number of reheat stages (there is 1 in this case)

nC is the number of intercooling stages (there is 1 in this case)
rp,T is the overall turbine pressure ratio (P6/ P9 in this case)
rp,C is the overall compressor pressure ratio (P4/ P1 in this case)
Combined Cycles

General
FIGURE.
Combined gassteam
power plant.
 Combined Cycles (Advantages)
Combined cycle power plants are those which have both gas and steam turbines
supplying power. A summary of some of its advantages is as follows:

Efficiencies exceeding 50% can be attained.

Because 2/3 of the output is produced in a GT & only 1/3 in the ST, the
investment costs required are approximately 30% less than those for a conventional
steam PP.
The amount of cooling water required is only about 40 to 50% as much as for a
steam PP.
Has low environmental impact due to low NOx levels.
Very suitable for Cogeneration.
FIGURE.
Mercurywater binary

vapor cycle.