TITLE:
Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of a Gas Turbine in an Equatorial Rain Forest Environment
AUTHORS:
Barinaadaa Thaddeus Lebele-Alawa, Vining Jo-Appah
KEYWORDS:
Gas-Turbine, Thermal Efficiency, Power, Compressor Work, Specific Fuel Consumption, Heat Rate, Combustion
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
9,
2015
ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the thermodynamic analysis of a gas turbine power plant located in the equatorial rainforest of southern Nigeria. Steady state monitoring and direct collection of data from the Mk IV Speedtronics system and log books in the control room was performed. The variation of operating conditions (ambient temperature, compressor discharge temperature, turbine inlet temperature, exhaust temperature and fuel mass flow rate) on the performance of gas turbine (thermal efficiency, net power output, heat rate, specific fuel consumption and compressor work) were investigated using various thermodynamic relations and equations. The results show that a degree rise in ambient temperature could be responsible for the following: 1.37% reduction in the net power output, 1.48% increase in power drop, 1.49% reduction in thermal efficiency, 2.16% increase in heat rate, 2.17% increase in specific fuel consumption and 0.3% increase in compressor work. Furthermore the thermal efficiency decreases by 0.006% for 1 kcal/kWh increase in heat rate and the heat transfer in the hot gas part was found to increase by 0.16% for a degree rise in ambient temperature. Also the work reveals that the gas turbine had a huge drop in power due to influence of site parameters in contrast to designed data.