Emission-compliant Gas Turbine 4.0

 

Motivation

The increasing share of renewables in electric power production has already led to a changed operation mode for gas turbines in the electrical power generation. Nowadays, cyclic and part-load operation of gas turbines secures electricty supply as a back-up for volatile renewable power generation. At the same time, cyclic operation increases thermomechanical wear, which can also be induced by thermoacoustically driven and criticial combustion oscillations (pulsations). Both effects can lead to increased NOx- and CO-emissions. Another costly effect due to premature wear is a higher demand of maintenance at decreasing profitability caused by fewer on-market time.

Data-based engine monitoring and diagnostics with a digitial twin (Gas Turbine 4.0) may help to overcome the challenges of the described cyclic operation.

The cost-effectiveness of maintenance can, for example, be drastically raised by individual engine monitoring, which considers the individual operational concept for each engine. The engines conditions then drives the effort of maintenance for each engine individually.

That is why the reduction of engine´s wear by measures that accesses the individual engine´s operation behavior is another objective of this research effort. That means that deviations from a regular engine´s operation behavior has to be detected by an improved engine monitoring concept, whereon readjustments in the engine´s operational concept will be exercised with the aim to avoid destructive engine´s operation. Further improvements due to a flexible operation concept which is based on a better online engine monitoring, are a more precisely control of temperatures (e. g. combustion and turbine inlet temperatures), so that the costumer´s needs (e. g. engine´s lifetime, thermal efficiency) can be regarded in each engine´s operational concept.

 

Method

The basis for modeling of NOx- and CO-emissions, and also aging-effects, are results from the already finished research project NOx-reduced Combustion System. In the ongoing research, the existing models will be further developed and also their functional range will be increased. To date, the emission-modeling has just regarded NOx, so the aim is to extend the emission-model by also implementing the CO-production. A new research aspect is the development of a pulsation-model, which will be done separately.

For the use of these predictive models for operational support in engine operation, the models has to be made applicable for real-time applications. Therefore, the simulations have to be efficient in terms of calculating time and costs. For this purpose appropriate control-concepts are investigated to find solutions for connecting the real time models with operating procedures.

The real-time models will be derived accordingly to the engines control concepts and will be validated by measurements subsequently.