Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M.

Ali

BRAYTON CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR GAS-TURBINE ENGINES

The ideal cycle that the working fluid undergoes in this closed loop is the Brayton cycle,
which is made up of four internally reversible processes:
1-2 Isentropic compression (in a compressor)
2-3 Constant-pressure heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine)
4-1 Constant-pressure heat rejection

The heat transfers to and from the working fluid are

Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Brayton cycle under the cold-air standard
assumptions becomes

Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and P2 = P3 and P4 = P1. Thus,
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying give

The thermal efficiency of an ideal Brayton cycle depends on the pressure ratio of the gas
turbine and the specific heat ratio of the working fluid. The thermal efficiency increases
with both of these parameters, which is also the case for actual gas turbines.

For fixed values of Tmin and Tmax, the net work of the Brayton cycle first increases with the
pressure ratio, then reaches a maximum at rp = (Tmax/Tmin)k/[2(k- 1)], and finally decreases.
The two major application areas of gas-turbine engines are aircraft propulsion and electric
power generation. Compared to steam-turbine and diesel propulsion systems, the gas
turbine offers greater power for a given size and weight, high reliability, long life, and more
convenient operation.

Example: A gas-turbine power plant operating on an ideal Brayton cycle has a pressure
ratio of 8. The gas temperature is 300 K at the compressor inlet and 1300 K at the turbine
inlet. Utilizing the air-standard assumptions, determine (a) the gas temperature at the exits
of the compressor and the turbine, (b) the back work ratio, and (c) the thermal efficiency.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

Deviation of Actual Gas-Turbine Cycles from Idealized Ones

For one thing, some pressure drop during the heat-addition and heat-rejection processes is
inevitable. More importantly, the actual work input to the compressor is more, and the
actual work output from the turbine
is less because of irreversibilities.

Example: Assuming a compressor efficiency of 80 percent and a turbine efficiency of 85

percent, determine (a) the back work ratio, (b) the thermal efficiency, and (c) the turbine
exit temperature of the gas-turbine cycle discussed in Example 9–5.

THE BRAYTON CYCLE WITH REGENERATION

the high-pressure air leaving the compressor can be heated by transferring heat to it from
the hot exhaust gases in a counter-flow heat exchanger, which is also known as a
regenerator or a recuperator.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

the actual and maximum heat transfers from the exhaust gases to the air can be expressed
as

The extent to which a regenerator approaches an ideal regenerator is called the

effectiveness  and is defined as

When the cold-air-standard assumptions are utilized, it reduces to

Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

THE BRAYTON CYCLE WITH INTERCOOLING, REHEATING, AND

REGENERATION
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

For best performance we have

Example: An ideal gas-turbine cycle with two stages of compression and two stages of
expansion has an overall pressure ratio of 8. Air enters each stage of the compressor at 300
K and each stage of the turbine at 1300 K. Determine the back work ratio and the thermal
efficiency of this gas-turbine cycle, assuming (a) no regenerators and (b) an ideal
regenerator with 100 percent effectiveness.

COMPONENTS OF GAS TURBINE PLANT

Compressor
The types of compressors, which are commonly used, are of two types, centrifugal and
axial flow types.
The centrifugal compressor consists of an impeller (rotating component) and a diffuser
(stationary component). The impeller imparts the high kinetic energy to the air and diffuser
converts the kinetic energy into the pressure energy.
- The pressure ratio of 2 to 3 is possible with single stage compressor and it can be
increased up to 20 with three-stage compressor.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

- The compressors may have single or double inlet. The single inlet compressors are
designed to handle the air in the range of 15 to 300 m3/min and double inlets are
preferred above 300 m3/min capacity.
- The efficiency of centrifugal compressor lies between 80 to 90%.
- The efficiency of multistage compressor is lower than a single stage due to the
losses.

The axial flow compressor consists of a series of rotor and stator stages with decreasing
diameters along the flow of air.
The blades are fixed on the rotor and rotors are fixed on the shaft.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

For larger units with higher pressure ratios the axial-flow compressor is more efficient and
is usually preferred. Centrifugal compressors are cheaper to produce, more robust and have
a wider operating range than the axial-flow type.

Intercoolers and heat exchangers

The water intercooler is generally used in gas turbine plant when the pressure ratio used is
sufficiently large and the compression is completed with two or more stages.
The regenerators, which are commonly used in gas turbine plant, are of two types,
recuperator and regenerator.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

Combustion chambers
The gas turbine is a continuous flow system.

The common methods of flame stabilization used in practice are bluff body method and
swirl flow method.
Nearly 15 to 20% of the total air is passed around the jet of fuel providing rich mixture in
the primary zone. About 30% of the total air is supplied in the secondary zone through the
annuals around the flame tube to complete the combustion. The secondary air helps to
complete the combustion as well as helps to cool the flame tube. The remaining 50% air is
mixed with burnt gases in the “tertiary zone” to cool the gases down to the temperature
suited to the turbine blade materials.
Sufficient turbulence must be created in all three zones of combustion and uniform mixing
of hot and cold bases to give uniform temperature gas stream at the outlet of the combustion
chamber.

Gas turbines
The common types of turbines, which are in use, are axial flow type. The basic
requirements of the turbines are lightweight, high efficiency; reliability in operation and
long working life.
Lec. (7) Power Plant Dr. Omar M. Ali

- More stages of the turbine are always preferred in gas turbine power plant because
it helps to reduce the stresses in the blades and increases the overall life of the
turbine.
- More stages are further preferred with stationary power plants because weight is
not the major consideration in the design which is essential in aircraft turbine-plant.
- The cooling of the gas turbine blades is essential for long life as it is continuously
subjected to high temperature gases.