The study of capacity enhancement of the Chabahar gas turbine installation using an absorption chiller

The strong influence of climate conditions on gas turbine behavior it is well known. The output of gas turbines falls to a value that is less than the rated output under high temperature conditions that often occur during the summer season. Cooling the turbine inlet air can increase output power substantially. This is because cooled air is denser, giving the turbine a higher mass flow rate and resulting in increased turbine output and efficiency. This paper presents an overview of an intake air-cooling system that uses a steam absorption chiller and an air cooler to address the above problem in the Chabahar power plant. By using this technique the output power will increase by 11.3%. The economical studies have shown the internal rate of return will be 23.4%. The cost of electricity is calculated to be 1.45 Cents/kW h which is less than the current price of electricity in Iran. The payback period is estimated to be around 4.2 years. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.