FPL3001-N TurboMachinery

& Aeroengines
Coursework 1

Course: BEng Mechanical Engineering

Student Name: Amar Javad (L1013147)
Module: TurboMachinery, Aeroengines & Rocket Science

FPL3001-N TURBOMACHINERY & AEROENGINES COURSEWORK 1

Module Leader: Dr. Alex Ellin

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CONTENTS
CONTENTS...................................................................................................................
1

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................

1.1

WHAT IS A GAS TURBINE ENGINE?................................................................

1.2

HISTORY OF GAS TURBINE ENGINES...........................................................

1.3

CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF GAS TURBINE ENGINES..............................

1.4

INTRODUCTION TO THE BRAYTON CYCLE...................................................

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF GAS TURBINE ENGINES.......................

2.1

INCREASING THE TURBINE INLET TEMPERATURES..................................

2.2

INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF TURBO-MACHINERY

COMPONENTS..................................................................................................

2.3
MODIFYING THE BRAYTON CYCLE................................................................
2.3.1
Improving the Brayton Cycle via Intercooling 7
2.3.2
Improving the Brayton Cycle via Re-heating 9
2.3.3
Improving the Brayton Cycle via Regeneration
11
2.3.4
Heading 3 11

LIST OF FIGUR
Figure 1-1 Cross Sectional View of a Trent 900 engine (Ref.
http://www.aviacol.net/noticias-del-aire/avances/50-airbus-a380-deemirates-tendran-motores-trent-900-de-rolls-royce.html)......................................
Figure 2-1 Brayton Cycle Engine with Intercooling. (Learn-Thermo.com,
n.d.)........................................................................................................................
Figure 2-2 T-s Diagram of the Brayton Cycle with the Integration of
Intercooling. (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.).................................................................
Figure 2-3 Brayton Cycle Engine with Reheating. (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)
..............................................................................................................................
Figure 2-2 T-s Diagram of the Brayton Cycle with the Integration of
Reheating. (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)..................................................................
Figure 2-5.....................................................................................................................
Y

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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Development of Gas Turbine Engines
Fill in!!

1.2 Introduction to the Brayton Cycle

Fill in at end

Add equations
Pressure increase up to 30 time, efficiency up to 40-60%
Isentropic, Q = 0
Back work ratio
Isobaric, W = 0

http://www.learnthermo.com/T1-tutorial/ch09/lesson-E/pg14.php

2 IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF GAS TURBINE ENGINES

There are various ways to improve the efficiency of the Brayton Cycle.
Due to the limited use of and applications of gas turbines the
improvements have been focused in three areas:
1. Increasing the temperature at the turbine inlet.
2. Increasing the efficiency of components via material selection.
3. Modifying the Brayton Cycle.
The early gas turbines built in the 1940s and even 1950s had simplecycle efficiencies of about 17 percent because of the low compressor
and turbine efficiencies and low turbine inlet temperatures due to
metallurgical limitations of those times. (Soares, 2008, p. 1). Due to the
limitations of material properties, modifying the Brayton cycle is the most
effective way to improving the efficiency of a gas turbine engine.

2.1 Modifying the Brayton Cycle

Modifying the Brayton cycle can be done in various ways to improve the
efficiency, three areas where this can be done are:
Intercooling
Re-heating
Regeneration

2.1.1 Improving the Brayton Cycle via Intercooling

An intercooler is a mechanical device used in gas turbines to cool the
air during isentropic compression. In a calorically perfect cycle the air
would be compressed at a constant temperature. However as this
cannot be achieved in practice, the most efficient way to reduce the
temperature is to use an intercooler. A Brayton cycle using intercooling
uses two or more compressors between stage A and B (as shown in
Figure 1-2), an example of this is the Rolls Royce WR-21 engine where
it uses a six stage intermediate pressure compressor alongside a six
stage high pressure compressor to provide the reduce the temperature
system. Carrying out the compression process in stages and cooling
the gas in between the lower and higher-pressure stages will decrease
the work required to compress a gas between two specified pressures.
(Lane, n.d., p. 6).

Figure 2-1 Brayton Cycle Engine with Intercooling. (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)

Using more compression stages results in the compression process

becoming more isothermal at the compressors inlet temperature.
Decreasing the temperature between T2 to T4 (from figure 2-2) allows
the compressor to achieve the same or even increase work output at
the compressor, resulting in

net
W

increasing. This can be

demonstrated using the equations below. Figure 2-2 demonstrates the

effects of intercooling in a graphical format.

 c = mC
p (T 3T 2 )
W

net = W t
W
c
W
However, with the increase in

net
W

comes a decrease in thermal

Figure 2-2 T-s Diagram of the Brayton Cycle with the Integration of Intercooling.
(Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)

efficiency. Using the equation below shows how intercooling alone

reduces the thermal efficiency.
t =
As the value of

in
Q

net
W

is typically larger than the

net , having a
W

lower temperature at heat in decreases the thermal efficiency.

Some intercoolers require cooling water to operate, these types of
intercoolers use what it known as the intercooled regenerative cycle.
The intercooled regenerative cycle (ICR) is attractive for naval
applications, where cooling water (i.e. the ocean) is readily available.
(Saravanamutto, 2009). This method is also known as water injection
and is generally used for naval applications. Water is injected into the
compressor and vaporizes as the air temperature increases. The heat
of vaporization reduces the compressed air temperature. This lowers
compressor work. (Soares, 2008)

An example of this intercooler being used in industry is the LMS100

gas turbine produced by GE Distributed Power. The LMS100 engine
has a thermal efficiency of approximately 46%.
A Brayton cycle gas turbine with intercooling has very limited uses due
to the high cost of building an intercooler, it cannot be justified for the
slight increase in net work output. However, a lower temperature at the
compressor outlet enhances the potential for regeneration, which can
increase both the

net
W

and

of a gas turbine engine when in

conjunction with a regenerator.

2.1.2 Improving the Brayton Cycle via Re-heating
The principle behind reheating is similar to intercooling, as its purpose
is to improve the thermodynamic cycle by allowing fractional expansion
of gases flowing through the turbine.
For metallurgical reasons, the temperature of the gaseous combustion
products entering the turbine must be limited. This temperature can be
controlled by providing air in excess of the amount required to burn the
fuel in the combustor. (Moran, 2012, p. 477). Gas turbine engines
achieve this by installing a multi-stage turbine with a heat exchanger
between the high power and low power turbines. Figure 2-3 provides
an illustration of a gas turbine using a multistage turbine system.

Figure 2-3 Brayton Cycle Engine with Reheating. (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)

As a result of this, gases escaping the combustion chamber contain

sufficient air to aid in the combustion of additional fuel in the next
combustor (for example, in figure 2-3 the next combustor is the
reheater). The reheater increases the power output of the between
stages 3 and 4 in figure 1-1 without increasing the operating
temperature of the turbines. Figure 2-4 displays this with a T-s diagram
as it shows that temperatures T3 and T5 are identical; furthermore T4
and T6 are also identical.

Figure 2-4 T-s Diagram of the Brayton Cycle with the Integration of Reheating. (LearnThermo.com, n.d.)

Figure 2-5 Comparison of T-s Diagram for Simple and Reheat Cycle. (Saravanamutto,
2009, p. 51)

The turbine work is increased is obvious when one remembers that

the vertical distance between any pair of constant pressure lines
increases as the entropy increases: thus (T 3 - T4) + (T5 - T6) > (T3
T4). (Saravanamutto, 2009, p. 51). The T-s diagram in figure 2-5
shows evidence of this theory. Likewise it can be demonstrated by the
equation below.

 t =mC
p ( T 3 T 4 ) + ( T 5T 6 )
W

net = W t
W
c
W
However, the increase in entropy results in the decrease in efficiency.
Furthermore to using a reheat cycle on its own is that it has no effect
on the thermal efficiency of the gas turbine engine so

in
Q

is

unaffected (as shown in figure 2-5). This can be shown using the
equation below. Therefore the cost to integrate a reheater alone cannot
be justified for the small increase in
t =

net .
W
net
W

However, a higher temperature at the turbine inlet increases the

potential for regeneration as it increases

net
W

of a gas turbine

engine when in conjunction with a regenerator.

2.1.3 Improving the Brayton Cycle via Regeneration
Regenerators are used in gas turbine engines to improve the efficiency
of the Brayton cycle. The effluent exhaust gases from the turbine are
fed into a counter-flow heat exchanger. This is demonstrated in both
figure 2-6 and 2-7.

Figure 2-6 Brayton Cycle Engine with Reheating (Learn-Thermo.com, n.d.)

The counter flow heat exchanger operates by having the cooler

compressed and hot turbine exhaust gas flow in opposite directions to
ensure the temperature is uniform before entering the combustion
chamber. One way of utilizing this potential is by means of a heat
exchanged called a regenerator, which allows the air exiting the
compressor to be preheated before entering the combustor, thereby
reducing the amount of fuel that must be burned in the combustor
(Moran, et al., 2012, p. 521). Reducing the amount of fuel required to
reach the desired turbine inlet temperature reduces the capital as well
as increasing the thermal efficiency of the gas turbine engine.
As a result, QC (Qin) and QH (Qout) shown in figure 2-7 are reduced;
therefore the same work output can be achieved at a lower
temperature, resulting in a reduction in operating cost.
The turbine exhaust gases are cooled down at T 5 and reduced to T3,
whilst the air exiting the compressor outlet is heated from T 2 to T4.
From this information the heat added per unit of mass can be
calculated using the following equation.

Figure 2-7 T-s Diagram of the Brayton Cycle with the Integration of Regeneration
http://www.learnthermo.com/T1-tutorial/ch09/lesson-F/pg02.php


Q
=h4 h3

The heat transferred by the regenerator is calculated by this equation.

q reg, actual=h3h2 =h5h6
The maximum amount of heat transfer is deduced from the following
equation.
q reg, max=h5h 2
Using both equations the regenerators effectiveness ( reg )

can be

calculated.
reg =

h3h2
h5h2

The aim of the counter flow heat exchanger is to produce a finite

temperature difference between both hot and cold streams. This is
achieved by increasing the area of the heat exchanger as it provides
both streams more opportunities to transfer heat in a uniform manner.
Figure 2-8b demonstrates this theory. In this limit, the exit temperature
of the colder stream would approach the temperature of the incoming
stream. Therefore the maximum temperature T3 can achieve is T5.

Figure 2-8 Temperature Distributions in Counter-flow Heat Exchangers (a) Actual. (b)
Reversible. Fundamentals of Thermo (Page 522)

The thermal efficiency of a regenerator is calculated by the equation

below.
t =

total W
+W
c
W
= t

Q
Q

Using the first law of thermodynamics it can be shown that:

C p (T 4T 3)
Q =m

t= m
C p (T 5 T 4 )
W
c =m
C p (T 2T 1)
W

In an ideal regenerator with a calorically perfect gas T 3 = T5

t . Therefore it can be shown that.
Qin = W
t =1+

c
W
( T 2T 1 )
=1
t
W
( T 4 T 5 )
T1

t =1

(
(

T2
1
T1

T 4 1
Using these equations deduces that
regenerator.

T5
T4

)
)
increases with the use of a

In a real world application, regenerative effectiveness ranges from 60

to 80%. Therefore T3 is typically lower than T 5. To achieve the
maximum efficiency a greater heat transfer area is required, which may
nullify any fuel savings due to the increase in equipment costs.
Industrial gas turbines range in size from truck-mounted mobile plants
to very big and complex systems. If waste heat from the gas turbine is
recovered by an HRSG to power a conventional steam turbine in a
combined cycle, the thermal efficiency might be up to 60%. (Jansohn,
2013, p. 241). It is noted that HRSG stands for heat recovery steam
generator. A combined cycle is defined as two or more thermodynamic
cycles merging together to improve the efficiency of a gas turbine
engine; typically this is a combination of the Brayton and Rankine
cycle. With single-cycle turbines they can have a thermal efficiency of
up to 40% with a heat exchanger.

2.1.4 Improving the Brayton Cycle via Regeneration with Reheating and
Intercooling
2.1.4.1 Heading 4
Example text.
Figure 2-9

Table 2-1

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Websites
http://www.mpoweruk.com/gas_turbines.htm
https://powergen.gepower.com/resources/knowledge-base/what-is-a-gasturbine.html
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/22905.pdf - Material Selection
http://www.learnthermo.com/T1-tutorial/ch09/lesson-E/pg04.php
http://www.mpoweruk.com/heat_engines.htm
https://ecourses.ou.edu/cgi-bin/ebook.cgi?
doc&topic=th&chap_sec=09.1&page=theory
http://www.britannica.com/technology/gas-turbine-engine
Books
Gas Turbine theory 6th Edition Saravanamuttoo

Intercooling 7,53,88
Re-heating 7,51,88
Regeneration - 88

Gas Turbines: A Handbook of Air, Land and Sea Applications (Second Edition)
page 106 - 108
Modern Gas Turbine Systems: High Efficiency, Low Emission, Fuel Flexible
Power Generations 64 onwards
Thermodynamics for Dummies (online page 194, book 172)
Principles of Engineering Thermodynamics
-http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/marsjomm/fundamentals-of-engineeringthermodynamics-7th-ed-20101/2

Journals

3 REFERENCES

Jansohn, P., 2013. Modern Gas Turbine Systems: High Efficiency, Low
Emission, Fuel Flexible Power Generations. 2nd ed. Oxford:
Woodhead Publishing.

Lane, D., n.d. Section 8.9-10 The Brayton Cycle with Regeneration,
Intercooling, & Reheating, s.l.: s.n.

Learn-Thermo.com, n.d. Ch8, Lesson F, Page 8 - The Brayton Cycle:

Intercooling. [Online]
Available at: http://www.learnthermo.com/T1-tutorial/ch09/lessonF/pg08.php
[Accessed 20 November 2015].

Learn-Thermo.com, n.d. Ch9, Lesson F, Page 7 - The Brayton Cycle:

Reheat. [Online]
Available at: http://www.learnthermo.com/T1-tutorial/ch09/lessonF/pg07.php
[Accessed 22 November 2015].

Moran, S. B. B., 2012. Principles of Engineering Thermodynamics. 7th

ed. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd.

Saravanamutto, R. C. S., 2009. Gas Turbine Theory. 6th ed. Essex:

Pearson Education.

Soares, C., 2008. Gas Turbines: A Handbook of Air, Land and Sea
Applications. 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier.