Probabilistic Assessment of Thermodynamic Output of an Intercooled-Reheated-Regenerative Brayton Cycle Coupled to Variable Temperature Heat Reservoirs

The gas turbine engine works on the principle of Brayton cycle. One of the ways to improve the thermal efficiency of gas turbine engine is to make changes in the Brayton cycle. These changes may include intercooling, reheating, regeneration etc. The aim of the present study is to do a probabilistic assessment of the thermal efficiency and the dimensionless power of an intercooled, reheated, regenerative Brayton cycle coupled to variable temperature heat reservoirs. The Spearman’s rank coefficient has been used to find the design parameters which most affect the thermal efficiency and the dimensionless power. The design parameters, such as the effectiveness of the different heat exchangers, the efficiency of turbines and compressors and the heat capacitance rates of the external and the working fluids; have been listed with their relative impact on the thermal efficiency and the dimensionless power. The probabilistic assessment gives us a new insight into the sensitivity of the thermal efficiency and the dimensionless power of the Brayton Cycle with respect to these parameters. It will help the designers/decision makers to allocate the limited resources in a better way with the ultimate aim of making more efficient power plants.