Kazuhiko Tanimura

Comparative Study of Solar Thermal Brayton Cycles Operated With Helium or Argon

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants often use Rankine cycles operated with water/steam as energy conversion cycles. Since the solar central receiver technology could provide receiver fluid outlet temperatures higher than 900°C, open and closed gas turbine technologies become a promising alternative. Closed solar Brayton cycles operating with appropriate fluids can reach similar or higher thermal efficiencies than water/steam Rankine cycles but have the advantage of less consumption of fresh water.This paper presents the results of a comparative thermodynamic and process study of closed solar thermal Brayton cycles operated with Helium or Argon as working fluids. The main components of the cycles are two axial compressors with an intercooler, a recuperator and one axial turbine. The solar heat is fed in by a central receiver technology. It is assumed that the transferred heat to the cycles is constant and the turbine inlet temperature is 900°C.A first one-dimensional design approach for both cycles is performed based on the results of the thermodynamic considerations. The major parameters like stage types, number of stages, rotational speed, etc. are determined and discussed.The thermodynamic and process investigation results for the described closed Brayton cycles show that thermal efficiencies over 46% can be established for both fluids. The design considerations show that both cycles are feasible, but with respect to design dimensions the Argon based cycle can be built up with fewer stages and more compact, if compared to the Helium cycle.Copyright

Development of an 8MW-Class High-Efficiency Gas Turbine, M7A-03

The M7A-03 gas turbine, an 8 MW class, single shaft gas turbine, is the latest model of the Kawasaki M7A series. Because of the high thermal efficiency and the high exhaust gas temperature, it is particularly suitable for distributed power generation, cogeneration and combined-cycle applications. About the development of M7A-03 gas turbine, Kawasaki has taken the experience of the existing M7A-01 and M7A-02 series into consideration, as a baseline. Furthermore, the latest technology of aerodynamics and cooling design, already applied to the 18 MW class Kawasaki L20A, released in 2000, has been applied to the M7A-03. Kawasaki has adopted the design concept for achieving reliability within the shortest possible development period by selecting the same fundamental engine specifications of the existing M7A-02 – mass air flow rate, pressure ratio, TIT, etc. However, the M7A-03 has been attaining a thermal efficiency of greater than 2.5 points higher and an output increment of over 660 kW than the M7A-02, by the improvement in aerodynamic performance of the compressor, turbine and exhaust diffuser, improved turbine cooling, and newer seal technology. In addition, the NOx emission of the combustor is low and the M7A-03 has a long service life. These functions make long-term continuous operation possible under various environmental restraints. Lower life cycle costs are achieved by the engine high performance, and the high-reliability resulting from simple structure. The prototype M7A-03 gas-turbine development test started in the spring of 2006 and it has been confirmed that performance, mechanical characteristics, and emissions have achieved the initial design goals.Copyright

Combined Solar Thermal Gas Turbine and Organic Rankine Cycle Application for Improved Cycle Efficiencies

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies are considered to provide a significant contribution for the electric power production in the future. Different kinds of CSP technologies are presently in operation or under development, e.g. parabolic troughs, central receivers, solar dish systems and Fresnel reflectors. In such applications, electricity is produced by thermal energy conversion cycles. For high MW-class CSP applications usually water/steam cycles (Rankine cycles) are used. Alternative technologies, especially for central receiver applications, are open and closed gas turbine cycles (Brayton cycles), where higher receiver fluid outlet temperatures can be applied. Therefore, there is the potential of higher cycle efficiencies and the advantage of reduced water consumption. The paper presents the results for design considerations to improve a gas turbine cycle of a 2 MWel class industrial gas turbine for solar-thermal application, where solar heat is fed in by a central receiver technology. The reference process is improved significantly by application of an intercooler between the two radial compressor stages and a recuperator, which recovers heat from the exhaust gases to the compressed air before the air is further pre-heated by the solar receiver. Hybrid operation of the gas turbine is considered. In order to further improve the overall cycle efficiency, the combined operation of the gas turbine and an Organic Rankine Cycle is investigated. The ORC can be coupled to the solar-thermal gas turbine cycle at the intercooler and after the recuperator. Therefore, waste heat from different cycle positions can be transferred to the ORC for additional production of electricity. The investigations have been performed by application of improved thermodynamic and process analysis tools, which consider real gas behavior of fluids and a huge number of organic fluids for application in ORCs. The results show that by choice of a suitable organic fluid the waste heat recovery can be further improved for the investigated gas turbine cycle. The major result of the study is that by combined operation of the solar thermal gas turbine and the ORC, the combined cycle efficiency is approximately 4%-points higher than in the solar-thermal gas turbine cycle.Copyright

Thermodynamic and design considerations of organic Rankine cycles in combined application with a solar thermal gas turbine

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies are considered to provide a significant contribution for the electric power production in the future. Different kinds of technologies are presently in operation or under development, e.g. parabolic troughs, central receivers, solar dish systems and Fresnel reflectors. This paper takes the focus on central receiver technologies, where the solar radiation is concentrated by a field of heliostats in a receiver on the top of a tall tower. To get this CSP technology ready for the future, the system costs have to reduce significantly. The main cost driver in such kind of CSP technologies are the huge amount of heliostats. To reduce the amount of heliostats, and so the investment costs, the efficiency of the energy conversion cycle becomes an important issue. An increase in the cycle efficiency results in a decrease of the solar heliostat field and thus, in a significant cost reduction. The paper presents the results of a thermodynamic model of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for combined cycle application together with a solar thermal gas turbine. The gas turbine cycle is modeled with an additional intercooler and recuperator and is based on a typical industrial gas turbine in the 2 MW class. The gas turbine has a two stage radial compressor and a three stage axial turbine. The compressed air is preheated within a solar receiver to 950°C before entering the combustor. A hybrid operation of the gas turbine is considered. In order to achieve a further increase of the overall efficiency, the combined operation of the gas turbine and an Organic Rankine Cycle is considered. Therefore an ORC has been set up, which is thermally connected to the gas turbine cycle at two positions. The ORC can be coupled to the solar-thermal gas turbine cycle at the intercooler and after the recuperator. Thus, waste heat from different cycle positions can be transferred to the ORC for additional production of electricity. Within this investigation different working fluids and ORC conditions have been analyzed in order to evaluate the best configuration. The investigations have been performed by application of improved thermodynamic and process analysis tools, which consider the real gas behavior of the analyzed fluids. The results show that by combined operation of the solar thermal gas turbine and the ORC, the combined cycle efficiency is approximately 4%-points higher than in the solar-thermal gas turbine cycle.