Performance Augmentation of a Gas Turbine Plant Using an Absorption Refrigeration System

Performance of a gas turbine is mainly depended on the inlet air temperature. The power output of a gas turbine depends on the flow of mass through it. Inlet air cooling increases the power output by taking advantage of the gas turbine’s feature of higher mass flow rate when the compressor inlet temperature decreases. In this paper the performance enhancement of gas turbine power plants by cooling the compressor intake air with an absorption refrigeration system was studied. This work investigated the effect of inlet air cooling system on the performance of an existing gas turbine power plant in Nigeria and it was made possible with MATLAB R2013a. The results showed that when the intake air temperature decreases by 10-15°K, the Efficiency and Net-work output increases by 7% and 8.4% respectively. Therefore, it becomes clear that there is increment in performance as the turbine inlet temperature approaches the ISO rating 15°C.