Performance Assessment of a Heat Recovery Unit Utilizing Turbine with Variable Inlet Guide Vanes Configuration for Application in Passenger Vehicles

This study explores the potentials of employing an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system with variable inlet guide vanes (VIV) turbine geometry designed on a GT-Suite platform for effective exhaust heat recovery (EHR) application onboard passenger vehicles. The ORC model simulation was based on vehicle speed mode using R245fa as working fluid to assess the thermal performance of the ORC system when utilizing modified turbine geometry. Interestingly, the model achieved a very improved performance in contrast to the model without a modified turbine configuration. The results revealed the average 2.32 kW ORC net output, 4.93% thermal efficiency, 6.1% mechanical efficiency, and 5.0% improved brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for the developed model. As determined by the performance indicators, these promising results from the model study show the prospect of EHR technology application in the transportation sector for reduction in exhaust emissions and fuel savings.

Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of E/F/H-Class Gas Turbine Combined Cycle with Exhaust Gas Recirculation and Inlet/Variable Guide Vane Adjustment under Part-Load Conditions

Exhaust gas recirculation control(EGRC),an inlet air heating technology,can be utilized in combination with inlet/variable guide vane control(IGV/VGVC) and fuel flow control(FFC) to regulate the load,thereby effectively improving the part-load(i.e.,off-design) performance of the gas turbine combined cycle(GTCC).In this study,the E-,F-,and H-Class EGR-GTCC design and off-design system models were established and validated to perform a comparative analysis of the part-load performance under the EGR-IGV-FFC and conventional IGV-FFC strategies in the E/F/H-Class GTCC.Results show that EGR-IGV-FFC has considerable potential for the part-load performance enhancement and can show a higher combined cycle efficiency than IGV-FFC in the E-,F-,and H-Class GTCCs.However,the part-load performance improvement in the corresponding GTCC was weakened for the higher class of the gas turbine because of the narrower load range of EGR action and the deterioration of the gas turbine performance.Furthermore,EGR-IGV-FFC was inferior to IGV-FFC in improving the performance at loads below 50% for the H-Class GTCC.The results obtained in this paper could help guide the application of EGR-IGV-FFC to enhance the part-load performance of various classes of GTCC systems.

Improvement of part-load performance of gas turbine by adjusting compressor inlet air temperature and IGV opening

A novel adjusting method for improving gas turbine(GT)efficiency and surge margin(SM)under partload conditions is proposed.This method adopts the inlet air heating technology,which uses the waste heat of lowgrade heat source and the inlet guide vane(IGV)opening adjustment.Moreover,the regulation rules of the compressor inlet air temperature and the IGV opening are studied comprehensively to optimize GT performance.A model and calculation method for an equilibrium running line is adopted based on the characteristic curves of the compressor and turbine.The equilibrium running lines calculated through the calculation method involve three part-load conditions and three IGVopenings with different inlet air temperatures.The results show that there is an optimal matching relationship between IGV opening and inlet air temperature.For the best GT performance of a given load,the IGV could be adjusted according to inlet air temperature.In addition,inlet air heating has a considerable potential for the improvement of part-load performance of GT due to the increase in compressor efficiency,combustion efficiency,and turbine efficiency as well as turbine inlet temperature,when inlet air temperature is lower than the optimal value with different IGV openings.Further,when the IGV is in a full opening state and an optimal inlet air temperature is achieved by using the inlet air heating technology,GT efficiency and SM can be obviously higher than other IGVopenings.The IGV can be left unadjusted,even when the load is as low as 50%.These findings indicate that inlet air heating has a great potential to replace the IGV to regulate load because GT efficiency and SM can be remarkably improved,which is different from the traditional viewpoints.

Influence of Tip Clearance on Centrifugal Compressor IGV Regulation and Improvement

In order to avoid collision with the end wall of the casing when the guide vane rotates around its own rotating axis in a centrifugal compressor,a circular gap will be left at the top of guide vane.Part of the gas flow through the clearance cannot be effectively regulated,and the tip clearance leakage vortex is formed,which has an impact on the mainstream and makes the compressor performance decline.In order to solve this problem,in this paper,three improved schemes of guide vane channel structure,including rectangular channel,cambered channel,and globular channel,were put forward,which can effectively improve the regulation ability of guide vane.Comparing these three improved channels with the original one,the stable operating range of the compressor was enlarged;the power consumption of the compressor was reduced and the efficiency of the compressor was improved.By comprehensive comparison,the cambered channel has better performance and is easier to process,which has potential to be widely used in practice.