Thermal and Economic Analysis of Gas Turbine Steam Injection Plant

Abstract

Steam injection into gas turbine combustion chamber increases the power output and lowers the NOx emissions. Steam may be produced in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), using gas turbine exhaust gases. Steam which is usually injected with pressure of combustion chamber, increases the mass flow rate flowing through turbine and decreases the combustion temperature, hence, lowering the amount of NOx emissions. This power augmentation method is usually used for gas turbines with power outputs in range of 2–50 MW with one pressure level in HRSG. In this paper the optimum design parameters of the above mentioned system is obtained for the above range of gas turbine power output. For doing this task an objective function is introduced which contains the economic and thermal characteristics of the system. This objective function is minimized when gas turbine exhaust temperature, compressor pressure ratio, isentropic efficiency of compressor and turbine, fuel mass flow rate (natural gas), inlet air mass flow rate, and the amount of injected steam mass flow rate vary.