Intercooler flow path for gas turbines: CFD design and experiments
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States); and others
The Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) program was created by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop ultra-high efficiency, environmentally superior, and cost competitive gas turbine systems for generating electricity. Intercooling or cooling of air between compressor stages is a feature under consideration in advanced cycles for the ATS. Intercooling entails cooling of air between the low pressure (LP) and high pressure (BP) compressor sections of the gas turbine. Lower air temperature entering the HP compressor decreases the air volume flow rate and hence, the compression work. Intercooling also lowers temperature at the HP discharge, thus allowing for more effective use of cooling air in the hot gas flow path. The thermodynamic analyses of gas turbine cycles with modifications such as intercooling, recuperating, and reheating have shown that intercooling is important to achieving high efficiency gas turbines. The gas turbine industry has considerable interest in adopting intercooling to advanced gas turbines of different capacities. This observation is reinforced by the US Navys Intercooled-Recuperative (ICR) gas turbine development program to power the surface ships. In an intercooler system, the air exiting the LP compressor must be decelerated to provide the necessary residence time in the heat exchanger. The cooler air must subsequently be accelerated towards the inlet of the HP compressor. The circumferential flow nonuniformities inevitably introduced by the heat exchanger, if not isolated, could lead to rotating stall in the compressors, and reduce the overall system performance and efficiency. Also, the pressure losses in the intercooler flow path adversely affect the system efficiency and hence, must be minimized. Thus, implementing intercooling requires fluid dynamically efficient flow path with minimum flow nonuniformities and consequent pressure losses.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), WV (United States); USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Industrial Technologies
- OSTI ID:
- 269470
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/METC-96/1023-Vol.2; CONF-9510109-Vol.2; ON: DE96000562; TRN: 96:002470-0021
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Advanced turbine systems (ATS) annual review, Morgantown, WV (United States), 17-18 Oct 1995; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the Advanced Turbine Systems Annual Program Review meeting. Volume 2; PB: 412 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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