Performance Evaluation of a Combined Gas Turbine Power Cycle and Absorption Chiller in Design and Off-Design Operation under Different Control Strategies
Received: 31 March 2025 | Revised: 24 April 2025 | Accepted: 27 April 2025 | Online: 2 August 2025
Corresponding author: Salam A. Hashim
Abstract
This work aims to evaluate the effect of compressor inlet air temperature on the power cycle performance of gas turbines, employing different control operation techniques. Therefore the power cycle of the combination of a Gas Turbine (GT) with a single effect H2O-BrLi absorption refrigeration is examined. GT power cycle simulations are carried out based on the full and partial load model of power and cooling systems, deploying the Thermo-flow and Engineering Equation Solver (EES). Moreover, Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT), Inlet Guide Vane (IGV), and the combined IGV and TIT control strategies, are employed to evaluate the advantages of applying various GT power cycles and off-design operations. The results exhibit that the combined IGV and TIT method is the appropriate one, offering higher integrated cooling and power system efficiency compared to the TIT control approach alone. When the compressor intake air temperature rises, it negatively influences cycle effectiveness. The air mass flow rate and pressure ratio decrease, thus, leading to a decrease in the power output and thermal efficiency of the gas turbine. Finally, the absorption cooling system implementation improves power generation and thermal efficiency in a GT power plant, by 20.68% and 5.32%, respectively.
Keywords:
thermodynamic analysis, power output, thermal efficiency, ambient temperature impact, combined cooling and power, design and off-design conditionsDownloads
References
M. Farzaneh-Gord and M. Deymi-Dashtebayaz, "Effect of various inlet air cooling methods on gas turbine performance," Energy, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 1196–1205, Feb. 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2010.11.027
K. H. Kim, H.-J. Ko, K. Kim, and H. Perez-Blanco, "Analysis of water droplet evaporation in a gas turbine inlet fogging process," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 33–34, pp. 62–69, Feb. 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2011.09.012
A. A. El-Shazly, M. Elhelw, M. M. Sorour, and W. M. El-Maghlany, "Gas turbine performance enhancement via utilizing different integrated turbine inlet cooling techniques," Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 1903–1914, Sep. 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2016.07.036
M. A. Ehyaei, M. Tahani, P. Ahmadi, and M. Esfandiari, "Optimization of fog inlet air cooling system for combined cycle power plants using genetic algorithm," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 76, pp. 449–461, Feb. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.11.032
D. Mahto and S. Pal, "Thermodynamics and thermo-economic analysis of simple combined cycle with inlet fogging," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 413–424, Mar. 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.09.003
M. Mostafa, Y. A. Eldrainy, and M. M. EL-Kassaby, "A comprehensive study of simple and recuperative gas turbine cycles with inlet fogging and overspray," Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 8, pp. 318–326, Dec. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2018.09.006
M. A. Ehyaei, A. Mozafari, and M. H. Alibiglou, "Exergy, economic & environmental (3E) analysis of inlet fogging for gas turbine power plant," Energy, vol. 36, no. 12, pp. 6851–6861, Dec. 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2011.10.011
R. Agbadede and B. Kainga, "Performance and Techno-Economic Analysis of Inlet Fogging System Implementation in Heavy Duty Industrial Gas Turbines," International Journal of Thermodynamics, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 75–81, May 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5541/ijot.782485
"High COP condensing chiller unit," EBARA. https://www.ebara-hvac.com/hot-water-lithium-bromide-absorption-chiller/63226149.html.
I. Dincer, Refrigeration Systems and Applications, 3rd ed. Wiley, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119230793
S. Boonnasa, P. Namprakai, and T. Muangnapoh, "Performance improvement of the combined cycle power plant by intake air cooling using an absorption chiller," Energy, vol. 31, no. 12, pp. 2036–2046, Sep. 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2005.09.010
H. A. Al-Ansary, J. A. Orfi, and M. E. Ali, "Impact of the use of a hybrid turbine inlet air cooling system in arid climates," Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 75, pp. 214–223, Nov. 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.06.005
Y. S. H. Najjar, A. M. Abubaker, and A. F. S. El-Khalil, "Novel inlet air cooling with gas turbine engines using cascaded waste-heat recovery for green sustainable energy," Energy, vol. 93, pp. 770–785, Dec. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.09.033
S. W. Moon, H. M. Kwon, T. S. Kim, D. W. Kang, and J. L. Sohn, "A novel coolant cooling method for enhancing the performance of the gas turbine combined cycle," Energy, vol. 160, pp. 625–634, Oct. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.07.035
H. M. Kwon, T. S. Kim, J. L. Sohn, and D. W. Kang, "Performance improvement of gas turbine combined cycle power plant by dual cooling of the inlet air and turbine coolant using an absorption chiller," Energy, vol. 163, pp. 1050–1061, Nov. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.08.191
E. Matjanov, "Gas turbine efficiency enhancement using absorption chiller. Case study for Tashkent CHP," Energy, vol. 192, no. 116625, Feb. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116625
A. Kumar Shukla, A. Sharma, M. Sharma, and S. Mishra, "Performance Improvement of Simple Gas Turbine Cycle with Vapor Compression Inlet Air Cooling," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 5, no. 9, Part 3, pp. 19172–19180, Jan. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2018.06.272
A. K. Shukla and O. Singh, "Thermodynamic investigation of parameters affecting the execution of steam injected cooled gas turbine based combined cycle power plant with vapor absorption inlet air cooling," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 122, pp. 380–388, Jul. 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.034
A. Ku. Mohapatra and Sanjay, "Comparative analysis of inlet air cooling techniques integrated to cooled gas turbine plant," Journal of the Energy Institute, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 344–358, Aug. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joei.2014.07.006
A. K. Mohapatra and Sanjay, "Analysis of parameters affecting the performance of gas turbines and combined cycle plants with vapor absorption inlet air cooling," International Journal of Energy Research, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 223–240, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3046
A. K. Mohapatra and Sanjay, "Exergetic evaluation of gas-turbine based combined cycle system with vapor absorption inlet cooling," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 136, pp. 431–443, May 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.03.023
S. Popli, P. Rodgers, and V. Eveloy, "Gas turbine efficiency enhancement using waste heat powered absorption chillers in the oil and gas industry," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 918–931, Jan. 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.06.018
W. Han, Q. Chen, R. Lin, and H. Jin, "Assessment of off-design performance of a small-scale combined cooling and power system using an alternative operating strategy for gas turbine," Applied Energy, vol. 138, pp. 160–168, Jan. 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.10.054
S. S. Baakeem, J. Orfi, and H. Al-Ansary, "Performance improvement of gas turbine power plants by utilizing turbine inlet air-cooling (TIAC) technologies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 138, pp. 417–432, Jun. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.04.018
S. S. Baakeem, J. Orfi, S. Alaqel, and H. Al-Ansary, "Impact of Ambient Conditions of Arab Gulf Countries on the Performance of Gas Turbines Using Energy and Exergy Analysis," Entropy, vol. 19, no. 1, Jan. 2017, Art. no. 32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/e19010032
S. C. Gülen, Gas Turbines for Electric Power Generation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108241625
M. Ameri, P. Ahmadi, and S. Khanmohammadi, "Exergy analysis of a 420 MW combined cycle power plant," International Journal of Energy Research, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 175–183, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/er.1351
T. K. Ibrahim, M. K. Mohammed, O. I. Awad, R. Mamat, and M. K. Abdolbaqi, "Thermal and Economic Analysis of Gas Turbine Using Inlet Air Cooling System," MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 225, no. 01020, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201822501020
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Salam A. Hashim, Moayed R. Hasan, Ayad M. Al Jubori
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
