A Pragmatic Approach to Evaluation of Inlet Fogging System Effectiveness Available to Purchase

The inlet fogging of gas turbine engines has been extensively applied over the past several years. Fogging systems have been predicted to increase gas turbine power output by 10 to 15% based on theoretical and laboratory test results. This paper describes methodology to validate the evaporative cooling effect and quantify performance of inlet fogging systems. A quantitative analysis of inlet fogging systems is provided based on gas turbines operating in different environmental conditions. The tests were conducted on SWPC W501FD Frame gas turbines nominally rated at 185 MW. The data presented herein considers the actual combustion turbine operating conditions, psychrometric considerations and field measurements. This paper also considers the application of specialized temperature measurement equipment suitable for accurate drybulb temperature detection in an environment that may contain free water in the airstream. Theoretical and actual application results are presented to validate the instrument accuracy.