Performance Enhancement of Advanced Combined Cycles

This paper reports on the development requirements of gas/steam combined cycle with an aim to achieve plant efficiency greater than 62% through various development possibilities in gas turbine and steam turbine cycle by taking a reference combined cycle configuration (MS9001H gas turbine and three pressure heat recovery steam generator with reheat). The innovative development possibilities include the advanced inlet design to reduce pressure loss, the increase in turbine inlet temperature, use of advanced turbine blade material, increased component efficiency, improved turbine cooling technologies along with better cooling medium, incorporating intercooling, reheat and regeneration either separately or in combination with simple gas turbine cycle using higher compressor pressure ratio, better utilization of heat recovery steam generator, minimum stack temperature, single shaft system configuration, etc. Based on the quantification of each development item, if incorporated in reference cycle, it has been estimated that the combined cycle as the potential to achieve the plant efficiency in excess of 63%.