PROJECT STUDY REPORT

On

“CENTRIFUGAL PUMP, GAS TURBINE &

MECHANICAL SEAL”

At

Submitted In Accomplishment of

(FROM 16th JUNE 2014 TO 14th JULY 2014)

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Shivam Agrawal Mr. Kuwar Mausam
B.Tech. ME 4th Year Mr. Arun Tiwari
GLA University, Mathura

1
 PREFACE

Any amount of theoretical knowledge is incomplete without exposure to

industrial practice. Practical knowledge means visualization and
application of knowledge which we read in books. Theoretical studies
cannot be perfect without practical training. Hence, in-plant training is of
great importance for an engineering student. Teaching gives theoretical
aspect of technology, but practical training gives knowledge of industrial
activities.
The underlying aim of the summer training in INDIAN OIL CORP. LTD.,
Mathura Refinery is a sincere attempt to study a unit OHCU (Once
through Hydro Cracker Unit) and under this analyze Its CENTRIFUGAL
PUMP. This study has been divided into nine chapters. The first chapter
has been devoted to the introduction and last to the summary of
conclusion. The second chapter deals with the T.P.M department. Third
chapter takes care of a Centrifugal Pump. In addition to this fourth chapter
deals with various parts of centrifugal pumps, whereas fifth chapter deals
with the analysis of the mechanical seal. And the six chapter deals with
the performance curve & head. Seventh chapter deals with the cavitation
& its effect and the eight chapter deals in conclusion. This whole study
ends with the conclusion part.

2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am extremely grateful to Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Mathura Refinery,
Mathura for giving me an opportunity to undergo the Summer Training from
16.06.2014 to 14.07.2014 in the organization. I take this opportunity to express my
profound sense of gratitude and respect to all those who helped me throughout the
duration of this training.

I am indebted to Mr. Gaurav Vishwakarma (Senior Mechanical Engg.) and Mr.

Manish Kumar (Senior Mechanical Engg.) for arranging the training in an
efficient way. For active guidance, project report directive and their continuous
interaction/ monitoring till the completion of the training.

I sincerely thank Mr. S. Acharya (Chief Manager Training), and all other
executives of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Mathura Refinery, Mathura,
whose cooperation and help has been vital to make the project work successful.

A report of this nature is a product of ideas and experience of several persons,

accumulated over years, thought I am unable to mention them all, my debt of
gratitude to them is no less. However, I am responsible for all my shortcomings.

Shivam Agrawal

B.Tech. ME 3rd Year

GLA University, Mathura

3
CONTENTS
 PREFACE
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 ABOUT MATHURA REFINERY
 ABOUT TPM
 CENTRIFUGAL PUMP
o PRINCIPLE
o CONSTRUCTION
o CAVITATION
 MECHANICAL SEAL
o FEATURES
o COMPONENTS
 GAS TURBINE
o THEORY OF OPERATION
o FUELS USED

4
MATHURA REFINERY
Mathura Refinery, the
sixth refinery of
IndianOil was
commissioned in 1982
with a capacity of 6.0
MMTPA to meet the
demand of petroleum
products in north
western region of the
country, which
includes National
Capital Region.
Refinery is locate d
along the Delhi-Agra
National Highway
about 154 KM away
from Delhi. The major secondary processing units provided were
Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU), Vis-breaker Unit (VBU) and
Bitumen Blowing Unit (BBU). The original technology for these units
was sourced from erstwhile USSR, UOP etc. Soaker drum technology of

5
EIL was implemented in VBU in the year 1993. For production of
unleaded Gasoline, Continuous Catalytic Reforming Unit (CCRU) was
commissioned in 1998 with technology from Axens, France. A Diesel
Hydro Desulphurisation Unit (DHDS) licensed from Axens, France was
commissioned in 1999 for production of HSD with low Sulphur content
of 0.25% wt (max). With the commissioning of Once Through
Hydrocracker Unit (licensed from Chevron, USA) in July 2000, capacity
of Mathura Refinery was increased to 8.0 MMTPA. Diesel Hydro-treating
unit (DHDT) & MS Quality Up-gradation Unit (MSQU) was installed
with world class technology from Axens and UOP respectively in 2005
for production of Euro-III grade HSD & MS w.e.f. 1st April 2005 as per
Auto Fuel Policy of Govt. of India. Project for FCC Gasoline
Desulphurization (FCCGDS) and Selective Hydrogenation Unit (SHU),
the Prime-G technology of Axens, France was commissioned in February
2010 and supply of Euro-IV grade MS and HSD started on continuous
basis from February 2010.

Mathura Refinery is having its own captive

power plant, which was augmented with the
commissioning of three Gas Turbines (GT)
and Heat Recovery Steam Generator
(HRSG) in phases from 1997 to 2005 using
Natural Gas( NG) as fuel to take care of
environment.

For upgrading environmental standards, old Sulphur Recovery Units

(SRU) were replaced with new Sulphur Recovery Units with 99.9 %
recovery in the year 1999. Additional Sulphur Recovery Unit is under
implementation as a hot standby. Mathura Refinery had also set up four
nos. of continuous Ambient Air Monitoring Stations far beyond the
working area before commissioning of the Refinery in 1982 as a mark of
its concern towards the environment and archaeological sites. Its close
proximity to the magnificent wonder Taj Mahal adds extra responsibility
towards maintaining a cleaner environment.

6
Mathura Refinery has planted 1,67,000 trees in surrounding areas
including refinery & township and 1,15,000 trees in Agra region around
Taj Mahal. The Ecological Park which is spread across 4.45 acres, is a
thriving green oasis in the heart of sprawling Refinery.

At Mathura Refinery, technology & ecology go hand in hand with

continuous endeavour for Product Quality up-gradation, Energy
Conservation and Environment Protection. Mathura Refinery is the first
in Asia and third in the world to receive the coveted ISO-14001
certification for Environment Management System in 1996. It is also the
first in the World to get OHSMS certification for Safety Management in
1998.Updated on September 16, 2010

Refining end-products
The primary end-products produced in petroleum refining may be
grouped into four categories: light distillates, middle distillates, heavy
distillates and others.
Light distillates

 Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)

 Gasoline (also known as petrol)
 Heavy Naphtha
 Light Naphtha

Middle distillates

 Kerosene
 Automotive and rail-road diesel fuels
 Residential heating fuel
 Other light fuel oils

7
Heavy distillates

 Heavy fuel oils

 Bunker fuel oil and other residual fuel oils

VISION
A major diversified, translation, integrated energy company, with national
leadership and a strong environment conscience, playing a national role
in oil security and public distribution.

MISSION:

To achieve international standard of excellence in all aspects of

energy diversified business with focus on customer delight through
value of products and services and cost reduction.

To maximize creation of wealth, value and satisfaction for stockholder.

To attain leadership in developing, adopting and assimilating state of the

art technology for competitive advantage .

To provide technology and services through sustained research and

8
 development

To cultivate high standards of business ethics and total quality

management for a strong corporate identity and brand equality.

To help enrich the quality of life of the community and preserve

ecological balance and heritage through a strong environment conscience.

ABOUT TPM

INTRODUCTION

It can be considered as the medical science of machine. Total Production

Maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance program which involves in a newly
define concept for maintaining plant & equipment. The goal of the TPM
program is to markedly increase production while at the same time,
increasing employee morale & job satisfaction

TPM was introduced to achieve the following objective. The important

one are listed below.
Avoid wastage in a quickly changing economic environment.

Producing goods without reducing product quality.

Reduce cost.

9
 Produce a low batch quantity at the earliest possible time.
Good send to costumer must be non-defective.

CENTIFUGAL PUMP

A centrifugal pump is one of simplest

rotating equipment in any process
plant. Centrifugal pump may be single
stage (one impeller) or multis tage
(multiple impeller) and can be
horizontal split or barrel type or
vertical type. Higher the
delivery/discharge pressure required
more the number of impellers will be
needed. In centrifugal pump energy is
imparted to the fluid in form of
velocity or kinetic energy and which is
then converted into pressure energy of
the fluid that is being pumped. This form of energy change occurs by
virtue of two main parts of the pump. First the rotating part impeller
10
imparts kinetic energy to the fluids and then the stationary part diffuser or
volute converts kinetic energy of the fluid into pressure energy. All the
forms of energy involved in a fluid flow system are expressed in terms of
Head or height of liquid column discharged by the pumps.

Principle:

The process liquid enters through the suction

nozzle of the pump and then into eye (center)
of the impeller. When the impeller rotates, it
spins the liquid in the space between the vanes
and throws outward in the volute and provide
centrifugal acceleration. As the liquid leaves
the eye of the impeller a low pressure area is
created causing more liquid to flow at the
inlet. Because the impeller blades/vanes are of
curve shape, the liquid is pushed in a tangential and radial direction by the
centrifugal force. The energy created by the centrifugal force is kinetic
energy and proportional to the velocity at the edge or vane tip of the
impeller. The higher the RPM of the impeller or bigger the size of the
impeller, higher will be the velocity of the liquid and greater kinetic
energy will be imparted to the liquid. This kinetic energy of the liquid
leaving the impeller is then harnessed by creating a resistance to the flow.
The pump volute or diffuser creates the first resistance and then in the
discharge nozzle where it gets further de-accelerated and the kinetic
energy is converted into pressure energy according to
Bernoulli’s principle. Therefore, the head (pressure in terms of height of
liquid column) developed shall be approximately equal to the kinetic
energy imparted at the periphery of the impeller.
In axial flow pumps the principal of working is different as volute and
diffusers are not there, so Kinetic energy imparted by impeller gets
converted partially into pressure and partially it remains in same form.

Construction of Centrifugal Pump:

11
Generally a single stage centrifugal pump consists of the following main
parts
-A casing with volute
-An impeller(closed vane or open vane)
-A shaft
A gland housing with gland packing or Mechanical seal assembly
-Anti friction bearings
-Lantern rings
But in a multistage centrifugal pumps there are much more components
listed as below:

-Casing (split horizontally or barrel type)

-Shaft with keys
-Impellers for all stages

-Diffuser / diaphragms For all stages

-Shaft sleeves or Impeller sleeves -
Impeller neck rings
-Wearing rings

-Throttle bush or Throat bush

-Diffuser bush

-Drive end(DE) and Non Drive end (NDE) bearing

housing -Bearings thrust and journals,
-Oil seal

12
 -Mechanical seal assemblies
-Oil labyrinths
-Anti rotation devices
Lip seals
-Balancing device with corresponding bush
- Coupling hub etc.
Shaft Sleeve/Impeller sleeve:
These are used in single stage pumps. Impeller and sealing gland are not

directly mounted on shaft. A sleeve is fitted between the bore of the

impeller and OD of the shaft and keyed with the shaft i.e. impeller rotate

with the sleeve along with the shaft. The wearable part in this type of

assembly is the sleeve, which is far less expensive than the shaft. The

function of the impeller sleeves is to protect the shaft from wear and

coming in contact with the pumping fluid.

Wear ring / Casing ring:

Wearing ring provide easy and economically renewable relative

movement joint between the impeller and the casing and to protect the
damage of impeller or casing in that area. OEM generally recommends
the clearances between the casing wear ring and impeller wear rings and
if these clearances exceeds, pump efficiency will be lowered and
abnormal vibration increase will be some of the consequences.

13
Impeller:

This is the main rotating parts of the pump that imparts the centrifugal
acceleration to the fluid. Impellers may be classified in many ways. For
example:
-According to the direction of flow in reference to the axis of rotation of

the shaft:
i) Axial flow
ii) Radial flow
iii) Mixed flow
-According on suction type
i) Single suction
ii) Double suction
According to mechanical construction of vanes
i) Closed vane type
ii) Open vane type
iii) Semi open type.
To seal the leakage of
fluid from where the
shaft penetrates out the
pump casing, a gland packing assembly or Mechanical seal assembly is
provided and this assembly is fitted in the Gland housing / Stuffing box
provided in the pump housing. Specially made asbestos/glass fiber / filled
Teflon rings are used for sealing which is mounted between the stuffing
box housing and shaft sleeve. Gland packing is very economical to use
but this requires renewal at fix interval. Also gland packing do not gives
zero leakage assembly by any mean. For cooling of gland ropes small
amount of leakage is mandatory to maintain. For nontoxic, non-critical
services glands packing are used in industrial pumps but mechanical seal
assembly are used for all hazardous services.
Throttle Bush / throat bushing:
14
Throttle bush is a stationary device, which forms a restrictive close
clearance around the shaft in the pump casing just in front of gland
housing. This helps in reducing the fluid flow load on mechanical seals
and also helps in maintaining the flushing fluid pressure in the gland
boxes.
Lantern ring:

Basically lantern ring are provided in the stuffing box in case of gland
packing rings sealing system to give a recess and to cool the gland packing
rings/elements with the pump fluid. It is installed between or in the middle
of the gland packing elements and a cooling line is connected just above
the lantern ring from the pump casing.
Bearing Housing:

The bearing housings are equally critical parts and they enclose the
bearings in the drive end and non-drive end of the pumps. These housings
keep the shaft or rotor assembly in correct alignment with the stationary
parts under radial and axial loads. The bearing housing are
built with required oil reservoir for bearing lubrication and water jacket
for circulating cooling water for bearing cooling. Now days bearing
jackets are avoided as studies shows that oil cooling is more effective than
jacket cooling of bearing housings.

Axial thrust of a Centrifugal pump and its balancing:

In centrifugal pumps, the impeller is surrounded by fluid at different

pressure at different locations in the casing. This variation in pressure on
the surface of the impeller during running condition creates axial
hydraulic thrust, which is the summation of unbalanced impeller forces in

15
the axial direction. In case of multistage pump if all the impeller suction
faces are in the same direction the total theoretical axial thrust acting
towards the suction end of the pump will be sum of the individual
impeller’s thrust in that direction. There are various methods which can
be employed to counter balance this hydraulic axial thrust in multistage
pumps. Some times more than one technique is used to take advantages
of these methods. These are as below:
-Provision of balance drum/balance stepped drum
-Provision of balancing disc
-Provision of combination balancing disc-drum
-Provision of impeller back side wearing ring and balancing hole
-Provision of double suction impeller
-Provision of fixing of impellers in back to back configuration
n single stage pumps, additional balancing devices are seldom used.

Big single stage pumps are generally designed with double suction

impellers and smaller pumps are provided with provision of balancing

holes, back side wear rings etc. The residual thrust is taken care by the

thrust bearings.

Multistage pumps are generally built with single suction impellers

however some manufacturer’s uses double suction impeller in first stage
of the pump assembly. Single suction impellers may be mounted on shaft
and each impeller suction eye facing in the same direction and its stages
are arranged one after another in an ascending order of pressure and the
16
total axial thrust is balanced by hydraulic balancing devices. But in this
type of assemblies the resultant axial thrust is generally very high and a
big size balancing device is needed along with suitably big thrust bearing.
However these types of assemblies are easy to make and require lesser
grades of skill in maintenance.

More efficient, more balance multistage pumps are made with impellers
fixed in tandem up to middle stage and then in reverse direction again in
tandem up to final stage. Combination of two tandems in back to back
neutralizes the axial thrust and resultant axial thrust is minimum and can
be taken by the nominal size thrust bearing. These types of assemblies are
requiring exact calculations and skilled group to assemble. Manufacturer
makes arrangement of inter stage connections in such a way that no out
side lines are required to be connected. Impeller dimensions and weights
of each stage is very
critical for such type of assemblies and casing designs become very
difficult.
Material of Construction of Pump Components:
Except the mechanical seal mating faces, none of the pump components
comes in direct contact with each other, however the service of the pump,
in which it has to perform, dictates the material of construction of the
pump components. The following criteria should be considered important
in the selection of MOC of the pump components
i) Corrosion Resistance
ii) Abrasive Wear Resistance
iii) Cavitation Resistance
iv) Strength
v) Tensile Strength
vi) Endurance Limits

17
 vii) Fatigue Strength
viii)Cost
ix) Maintenance
All components of pump may not be required to fulfill all above
mentioned criteria. Depending upon the function it has to perform,
different components require meeting some or all the above criteria to be
found suitable for selection. e.g. MOC of an impeller is required to meet
requirements of corrosion resistance, abrasive wear resistance, cavitation
resistance, shall be suitable for casting and machining properties but for
shaft of pump it is required to meet only endurance limits, tensile strength,
hardness, corrosion resistance and machining properties. For pump casing
material of construction shall have properties equivalent to impeller
MOC.
The most widely used materials in pump components are cast iron,
bronze, cast steel, austenite steel, martensitic steel and different grades of
plastics, selected according to application. During selection of material
cost and availability should also be considered. Unnecessary costly
material should not be used unless it is required for the service.

Future maintenance shall also be a point to consider for the selection of

the material of construction of the components. Some of the components
are required to be replaced during the normal operation after normal wear
& tear however, major components are designed to perform for the service
life but maintenance of all parts shall be considered at the time of
selection.
CAVITATION AND ITS EFFECT
The phenomena of cavitation take place due to entrapped or suction of gas
or air along with liquid at the suction of the pump. Due to cavitation
fluctuation in flow and discharge pressure take place with a drastic
reduction in head and pump capacity. Other than loud noise, abnormal
vibrations and pump performance may changes to a great amount. Heavy
cavitation may lead to mechanical failure also.

18
The entrapped gas gets divided into bubbles within the fluid bank. The
formation of bubbles causes a volume increase, decreasing the space
availability of liquid to enter to the pump, and thus diminishing the pump
capacity. As the pump sucks in the fluid, the pressure in the vicinity drops
and the bubbles starts bursting causing abnormal sound and vibrations.
If the volume of the gas bubbles are high enough at the eye of the impeller,
it may cause temporary choking of the pump i.e. loses suction. Thus
fluctuant in flow is observed.
When entrapped gas bubbles are pumped to the discharge side of the
pump, due to very high pressure, bubbles start collapsing and thus high
velocity liquid flow in that area to fill up the space emptied out by bursting
bubbles. This happens at the expense of pressure energy and so head
developed by the pump gets reduced drastically.
In studies it has been noticed that during cavitation, the bursting of the
bubbles occurs at sonic speed, ejecting destructive micro-jets of extremely
high velocity liquid enough to cause extreme erosion of the pump internal
parts.
MECHANICAL SEAL

Mechanical seals are

the positive sealing
devices used for the
sealing of fluids at
the shaft end of the
pumps. Now a days
in petrochemical
industries and
refineries,
mechanical seals as
per API 682 are only
approved seal
designs which can
be used on pumps.

19
Very stringent requirement of API code have forced seal designers and
manufactures to innovate newer quality products to enhance the seal
efficiencies.

The conventional stuffing box design with gland packing rings is

impractical for many service conditions. In the ordinary stuffing box the
sealing between the rotating shaft and the stationary gland casing (where
the shaft penetrates the casing) is accomplished by means of gland
packing ring elements held tightly in the stuffing box around the shaft
sleeve and gland follower. After certain time of operation, the gland
packing leakages starts due to nominal wearing. Gland follower is further
tightened to stop the leakages. In this way the shaft/sleeve and gland
packing get worn out and the renewal of the parts has to be done for further
service. In gland packing, as the sealing is achieved by tightening of the
packing rings directly between the rotating and stationary parts, lot of
energy or power is lost.

To eliminate this problem and where minimum leakages is required due

to expensive or hazardous chemicals, Mechanical seal is required to be
installed. In big cooling water pumps, the replacement of gland packing
with mechanical seals gives benefit of power up to 7%.

The mechanical seal is a device where two mating surfaces (one is rotating
with the shaft and another is stationary) are located in a plane perpendicular
to the shaft axis. The two mating surfaces are highly polished and of
dissimilar material of which one is keyed to the shaft.
Shaft sleeve to rotate with the shaft and another one is fixed in the seal
chamber/housing which seals the liquid. The basic objective of the
mechanical seal assembly is to prevent leakages of fluid. Other than these
two main parts there are number of elastomers to prevent path of leakages
through sleeve, sealing faces, etc., springs and spring retainer to exert
axial force, gaskets, gland plates, sleeve etc. The fundamental principle

20
of mechanical seal operation is the development and maintain of liquid
film between the two mating surfaces. This microscopic film of liquids
acts as a cushion for the seal faces, preventing and minimizing wear and
dissipation of heat generated due to rubbing action. The rotating face may
be of carbon graphite, tungsten carbide, silicon carbide and the stationery
face may be of one of the above but, if the stationary face is carbon
graphite then the rotating face should be of dissimilar material of silicon
carbide/tungsten carbide and vice versa i.e. if the stationary face is soft
then the rotating face should be hard or vice versa. This selection of
material varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and both have some
advantage and disadvantages.
Some important maintenance tips during installation of mechanical seal

and for its better life are as below:

a) Stuffing Box Face:

The stuffing box face should be square or perpendicular to the shaft

axis otherwise resulting in wrong fixing of stationary element of the

seal in gland plate. This will results in seal wobble and not having full

face contact in running and rotary head may get elliptical movement

against stationary.

b) Concentricity of the stuffing box: The stuffing box should be

concentric to the shaft axis within 0.08mm.

c) Lateral or axial movement of shaft (end play): The mechanical seal

cannot function satisfactorily with great amount of end play. If the
hydraulic condition changes, which happens frequently and if the
21
hydraulic axial balance is not effective, the shaft may float and leading to
seal troubles. The total amount of shaft/rotor end play should be within
0.08mm ~ 0.2mm

d) Radial movement of shaft (whip or deflection): Excessive whip or

deflection can lead to seal failure and poor sealing performance. The
radial movement of shaft should be 0.05mm ~ 0.08mm.

e) Alignment of driver: Driver alignment is by far the most frequent

encountered pump problem. The poor alignment causes axial and radial
vibrations resulting in failure of seal.

Above general points shall be taken into consideration before doing any
maintenance job on mechanical seals. These points are also of importance
during erection & commissioning of mechanical seals in any equipment.
Mechanical Seals Feature:
Invisible leakage
Less friction/power loss
No to little wear on the shafts or sleeves
Flexibility - to accommodate shaft deflections and "End Play"
No period maintenance
Long Life

Mechanical Seals are constructed of three basic sets of parts:

1) A set of primary seal faces: one that rotates and one that remains
stationary.
2) A set of secondary seals known as shaft packing and insert mountings,
such as O-rings, rubber boots, PTFE Or Grafoil wedges, or V-Rings.
3) Mechanical Seals have hardware including gland rings, collars,
compression rings, pins, springs, retaining rings and bellows.

22
GAS TURBINE

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal

combustion engine. It has an
upstream
rotating compressor coupled to a
downstream turbine, and
a combustion chamber in-between.

The basic operation of the gas turbine

is similar to that of the steam power
plant except that air is used instead of
water. Fresh atmospheric air flows
through a compressor that brings it to
higher pressure. Energy is then added by spraying fuel into the air and
igniting it so the combustion generates a high-temperature flow. This
high-temperature high-pressure gas enters a turbine, where it expands
down to the exhaust pressure, producing a shaft work output in the
process. The turbine shaft work is used to drive the compressor and other
devices such as an electric generator that may be coupled to the shaft. The
energy that is not used for shaft work comes out in the exhaust gases, so
these have either a high temperature or a high velocity. The purpose of the
gas turbine determines the design so that the most desirable energy form
is maximized. Gas turbines are used to
poweraircraft, trains, ships, electrical generators, or even tanks.

THEORY OF OPERATION
In an ideal gas turbine, gases undergo three thermodynamic processes:
an isentropic compression, an isobaric (constant pressure) combustion
and an isentropic expansion. Together, these make up the Brayton cycle.

In a practical gas turbine, mechanical energy is irreversibly transformed

into heat when gases are compressed (in either a centrifugal or
23
axial compressor), due to internal friction and turbulence. Passage
through the combustion chamber, where heat is added and the specific
volume of the gases increases, is accompanied by a slight loss in pressure.
During expansion amidst the stator and rotor blades of the turbine,
irreversible energy transformation once again occurs.

If the device has been designed to power a shaft as with an industrial

generator or a turboprop, the exit pressure will be as close to the entry
pressure as possible. In practice it is necessary that some pressure remains
at the outlet in order to fully expel the exhaust gases. In the case of a jet
engine only enough pressure and energy is extracted from the flow to
drive the compressor and other components. The remaining high pressure
gases are accelerated to provide a jet that can, for example, be used to
propel an aircraft.

Brayton cycle
The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the workings
of a constant pressure heat engine. Gas turbine engines and airbreathing
jet engines use the Brayton Cycle. Although the Brayton cycle is usually
run as an open system (and indeed must be run as such if internal

24
combustion is used), it is conventionally assumed for the purposes of
thermodynamic analysis that the exhaust gases are reused in the intake,
enabling analysis as a closed system.The engine cycle is named after
George Brayton (1830–1892), the American engineer who developed it,
although it was originally proposed and patented by Englishman John
Barber in 1791. It is also sometimes known as the Joule cycle. The
Ericsson cycle is similar to the Brayton cycle but uses external heat and
incorporates the use of a regenerator. There are two types of Brayton
cycles, open to the atmosphere and using internal combustion chamber or
closed and using a heat exchanger.

A Brayton-type engine consists of three components:

1. a compressor
2. a mixing chamber
3. an expander

In the original 19th-century Brayton engine, ambient air is drawn into a

piston compressor, where it is compressed; ideally an isentropic process.
The compressed air then runs through a mixing chamber where fuel is
added, an isobaric process. The heated (by compression), pressurized air
and fuel mixture is then ignited in an expansion cylinder and energy is
released, causing the heated air and combustion products to expand
through a piston/cylinder; another ideally isentropic process. Some of the
work extracted by the piston/cylinder is used to drive the compressor
through a crankshaft arrangement.

The term Brayton cycle has more recently been given to the gas turbine
engine. This also has three components:

1. a gas compressor
2. a burner (or combustion chamber)
3. an expansion turbine

Actual Brayton cycle:

25
 1. Adiabatic process - compression.
2. Isobaric process - heat addition.
3. Adiabatic process - expansion.
4. Isobaric process - heat rejection.

As with all cyclic heat engines, higher combustion temperatures can allow
for greater efficiencies. However, temperatures are limited by ability of
the steel, nickel, ceramic, or other materials that make up the engine to
withstand high temperatures and stresses. To combat this many turbines
feature complex blade cooling systems.

As a general rule, the smaller the engine, the higher the rotation rate of
the shaft(s) must be to maintain tip speed. Blade-tip speed determines the
maximum pressure ratios that can be obtained by the turbine and the
compressor. This, in turn, limits the maximum power and efficiency that
can be obtained by the engine. In order for tip speed to remain constant,
if the diameter of a rotor is reduced by half, the rotational speed must
double. For example, large jet engines operate around 10,000 rpm, while

micro turbines spin as fast

as 500,000 rpm.[8]

Mechanically, gas turbines

can be considerably less
complex than internal
combustion piston engines.
Simple turbines might have
one moving part: the shaft/compressor/turbine/alternative-rotor assembly
(see image above), not counting the fuel system. However, the required
precision manufacturing for components and temperature resistant alloys
necessary for high efficiency often make the construction of a simple
turbine more complicated than piston engines.

More sophisticated turbines (such as those found in modern jet engines)

may have multiple shafts (spools), hundreds of turbine blades, movable

26
stator blades, and a vast system of complex piping, combustors and heat
exchangers.

Thrust bearings and journal bearings are a critical part of design.

Traditionally, they have been hydrodynamic oil bearings, or oil-
cooled ball bearings. These bearings are being surpassed by foil bearings,
which have been successfully used in micro turbines and auxiliary power
unit.

Fuels
One further advantage of gas turbines is their fuel flexibility. They can be
adapted to use almost any flammable gas or light distillate petroleum
products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel and kerosene (paraffin) which
happen to be available locally, though natural gas is the most commonly
used fuel. Crude and other heavy oils and can also be used to fuel gas
turbines if they are first heated to reduce their viscosity to a level suitable
for burning in the turbine combustion chambers.

Applications
Gas turbines can be used for large scale power generation. Examples are
applications delivering 600 MW or more from a 400 MW gas turbine
coupled to a 200 MW steam turbine in a co-generating installation. Such
installations are not normally used for base load electricity generation, but
for bringing power to remote sites such as oil and gas fields. They do
however find use in the major electricity grids in peak
shaving applications to provide emergency peak power. Low power gas
turbine generating sets with capacities up to 5 MW can be accommodated
in transportation containers to provide mobile emergency electricity
supplies which can delivered by truck to the point of need.

Environmental Issues
Almost all gas turbine installations use fossil fuels.

27
28