Thermo-fluid simulation of the gas turbine performance based on the first law of thermodynamics

Abstract

The thermal efficiency of the gas turbine depends on the compression work which is in direct relationship with the working fluid temperature. Amongst various solutions presented to augment gas turbines and combined cycle power plants output, wet compression is known as the most cost-effective method. This paper provides a method of simulating wet compression, based on the first law of thermodynamics. Water droplet evaporation rate, compression work, and the concept of wet compression efficiency are described. Results of first law and second law analyses are compared, and the effect of wet compression on gas turbine performance is indicated. Moreover, the results of the wet compression procedure are compared with both the values obtained for the dry compression process and the results of wet compression analysis using the second law. Finally, it is seen that the first law analysis provides equally consistent results with the experimental data for the cases considered in the paper.