Performance analysis of a regenerative gas turbine plant modeled with vapour absorption refrigeration system

One of the predominant factors that affect the performance of a gas turbine is the ambient temperature. This is basically because the power output of the gas turbine depends largely on the air mass flow through it. Therefore cooling the inlet air to the compressor increases the power output and overall efficiency of the plant by taking advantage of the GT higher mass flow rate when the temperature of the air entering the compressor decreases. In this work, the effects of vapour absorption refrigeration system on the performance of a GT plant were investigated. The results showed that a decrease of 2.97oC in ambient temperature from 25oC to 22.03oC at a peak turbine inlet temperature of 800K led to a gain in thermal efficiency of 0.7%, 2.443kJ/kg network output and 0.021kg/KWh drop in specific fuel consumption. The research showed that gas turbine plants perform better in temperate regions than in tropics. Therefore, retrofitting an air cooler that will restore the compressor inlet temperature to the design condition is imperative.