A number of different innovative gas turbine cycles are currently being developed for future high performance power generation applications. Of particular interest are new cycles such as the Humid Air Turbine (HAT) cycle and the Chemically Recuperated Gas Turbine (CRGT) cycle. The HAT cycle has reached the stage of commercial demonstration, whereas the CRGT cycle is still in the research stage.
Performance predictions for CRGT cycles show cycle performance levels higher than those of the basic Steam Injected (STIG) cycle, but lower than those of state-of-the-art combined cycles. Thus, CRGT cycles are most likely to be of interest for intermediate load operation or cogeneration. For such applications, part load performance is a key performance criterion. Part load operation is generally detrimental to power plant performance, and it is thus important to assess the part load performance of such a plant under various operating conditions. The emphasis of this paper is on the comparison of part load performance of various advanced cycles (STIG, CRGT, Combined Cycle). The results show that the part load performance levels of a CRGT cycle deteriorate less fast than those of a combined cycle, whereas part load behavior is similar to that of a STIG cycle. However, this study also indicates that CRGT part load performance is less attractive than published performance curves of Westinghouse’s innovative CHAT cycle, thus confirming that the key advantage of the CRGT cycle is the projected ultra-low emissions characteristics of the cycle.
