A Toolbox of Hardware and Digital Solutions for Increased Flexibility

Abstract

The power generation market has been changing rapidly with the injection of an ever increasing usage of renewable power sources. The cyclic and highly unpredictable nature of power generation output from renewable sources is forcing Gas Turbine (GT) operators to significantly increase the operational flexibility of their engines. While the industry has been, for many years, developing and fielding solutions providing increased output at the high end of the operating range, the focus has shifted recently to solutions allowing for a safe decrease of the engines’ minimum operating load. The AutoTune (AT) system was introduced at last year’s Turbo Expo conference [5], and the challenges of developing a safe Extended Turndown add-on are detailed herein. Other digital and hardware solutions presented include Part Load Performance, decreased start-up time for both simple and combined cycle units, disc cavity cooling modulation and Exhaust Bleed. Increased ramp rate is addressed with the associated significant difficulty of maintaining the mechanical integrity of the rotors and casings. PSM has been working on a toolbox of both hardware and digital solutions to increase on GT operability both on the high and low ends of the load range and the technical issues faced are described in this paper.