Discussion on Physic Design for Compressor Wash
26 February 2008 09:58
GTE has developed an optimized compressor wash process by developing an understanding of water droplet and compressor blade interaction. The design has been established by controlling water wash droplet size, droplet injection, air to water ratio and water solubility.
The GTE process uses a high-pressure water delivery system to create a controlled distribution of water droplets at a target mean diameter that will have adequate momentum to wet moving compressor blades and at the same time not pose a concern for blade erosion.
This droplet size range effectively enters the compressor inlet air stream without evaporating or passing through the compressor air stream without wetting the compressor blade. The droplet mass and momentum are adequate to penetrate the pressure wave surrounding each compressor blade and wet the blade.
The droplets have an impact force that is benign to erosion. At the same time, the droplet impact produces a very significant lateral stress, or jet, to locally scrub the blade surface of fouling materials.
After selection of a mean droplet size, based upon GTE field validated experience, the location of the injection nozzle within the gas turbine bellmouth is the next important design consideration. The point is selected by modeling the gas turbine air inlet, configuration and air flow rate, with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
By varying the location of nozzle position, the optimal distribution of atomized water to cover the throat of the compressor is identified. Both off-line (crank speed) and on-line (base load) are modeled in an effort to identify a single nozzle position to cover each case. This step minimizes parts and simplifies the design.
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Gas Turbine Efficiency - Gas Path Cleaning
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