Energy and exergy analysis of intercooled combustion-turbine based combined cycle power plant

An inter-cooled combustion-turbine based combined cycle has been shown to deliver enhanced performance as compared to a simple cycle combustion-turbine based combined cycle. The cycle efficiency of ICCT-CC cycle has been maximized by the selection of an appropriate inter-cooling pressure ratio. The maximum cycle efficiency occurs at lower value of intercooling pressure ratio while the maximum plant work output occurs at higher value of intercooling pressure ratio. The maximum value of plant performance (in terms of efficiency as well as work output) has been observed at inter-cooling pressure ratio of four at overall compressor pressure ratio of 36. An enhancement of 20% in plant work output in case of inter-cooled combustion-turbine based combined cycle in comparison to basic combustion-turbine based combined cycle has been observed, while the plant efficiency is marginally enhanced. Exergy analysis shows that the rational-efficiency of the combustion-turbine is higher by about 3.13% as compared to basic combustion-turbine cycle. Exergy destroyed in components of inter-cooled cycle is lower for all the components except the combustion chamber. Improved plant performance in terms of plant efficiency results in correspondingly reduced green-house-gas emissions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.