Contents

Preface
1

v
General Overview of Gas Turbines

1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5

1
1
3
4

1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9

5
6
7
8
18

Fundamental Gas Turbine Cycle Thermodynamics

19

2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5

19
19
25
34
43

Reversible cycles with ideal gases

Constant pressure or Brayton cycle
Ideal inter-cooled and reheat cycles
Actual gas turbine cycles
List of terms and symbols used

Gas Turbine Components

45

3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6

45
45
52
54
54

3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12

Introduction
Frame type heavy-duty gas turbines
Industrial type gas turbines
Aircraft derivative gas turbines
Comparison between aero-derivative and industrial
turbines
Small and micro gas turbines
Aircraft gas turbines
Gas turbine components
Siemens Gas Turbine Technology

Compressors
Centrifugal compressors
Axial-flow compressors
Compressor theory
Compressor aerodynamics
Common problems affecting axial compressor operation
and performance
Air compressor performance characteristics
Combustors
Combustor performance and efficiency
Turbines
Fuel nozzles and igniters
Emission control

56
59
64
68
75
85
90

Materials of Construction

97

4.1
4.2

97
97

Introduction
General metallurgical behavior in gas turbines

4.3
4.4
4.5

Gas turbine blade materials

Blade manufacturing Techniques
Future materials

101
109
110

Bearings and Seals

115

5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9

115
115
116
116
116
116
122
124
124

Bearing materials
Through hardened materials
Case hardened materials
Cage materials
Babbitts
Bearing design principles
Tilting-pad journal bearings
Design of thrust bearings
Seals

Lubrication System in Gas Turbines

133

6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9
6.10

133
133
134
135
135
136
136
137
138
138

Introduction
Oil reservoir
Pressure pumps
Lubrication oil filters
Oil coolers
Relief valves
Lubricant selection
Oil system cleaning and conditioning
Filter selection
Oil sampling and testing

Fuels and fuel supply systems

141

7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
7.9
7.10
7.11
7.12

141
141
143
143
144
144
145
146
148
148
152
154

Introduction
Fuel specifications and fuel properties
Other important fuel properties
Fuel treatment
Economics of fuel selection
Gas fuels
Heavy fuels
Comparative fuel costs
Cleaning of turbine components
Fuel supply and control systems
Dual-fuel operation and operational flexibility
Integrated gasification combined cycle

Sound Suppression in Exhausts, Air Requirements and

Environmental Considerations
8.1

The phenomenon of noise generation in gas turbine

exhausts and its source

155
155

8.2
8.3

10

11

12

Sound suppression methods

Air requirements and environmental considerations

156
156

Auxiliary Systems

161

9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6

161
166
167
172
174
177

Starting systems
Washing systems
Gears
Gear design and performance parameters
Couplings and shaft alignment
Shaft alignment

Performance and Mechanical Equipment Standards

183

10.1
10.2
10.3

183
183
184

Introduction
Performance standards
Mechanical standards

Control Systems and Instrumentation

189

11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.8
11.9
11.10

189
191
197
198
199
202
205
206
211
212

Control systems
Startup and shutdown considerations
Control of the equipment during operation
Lifecycle costs
Condition monitoring systems and their implementation
Temperature, pressure and vibration measurement
Campbell diagram
Gas turbine performance measurement and calculations
Protection systems and alarms
Failure diagnostics

Installation Requirements and Operation and Maintenance

of Gas Turbines
215
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
12.10
12.11
12.12
12.13
12.14

Installation requirements
Philosophy of maintenance
Maintenance techniques
Maintenance of critical gas turbine components
Maintenance planning and scheduling
Spares and inventory management
Maintenance tools
Inspection
Gas turbine overhaul and repair
Training
Training types
Typical problems
Health monitoring in gas turbines
Troubleshooting in gas turbines

215
219
222
225
227
228
229
229
232
233
234
235
236
240

12.15
12.16

General troubleshooting techniques for compressors,

combustors and turbines
243
Evaluation of the effectiveness of gas turbine maintenance 251

Bibliography

255

Appendices

257

Preface
Gas turbines are increasingly being used in power plants both in the utility and power sectors as much
for their compactness and tremendous energy producing capacity, as their inherent flexibility,
operational reliability, high performance and multiple fuel capability. The last few years have
witnessed an exponential growth in this field, especially in the face of rapid technological advances
that have resulted in the design and development of highly efficient gas turbine units. Today, gas
turbines have found wide acceptability in a variety of applications ranging from the Petro-chemical
industry to the sophisticated aircraft industry. With the continuing focus on designing more and more
efficient gas turbine engines, the potential for growth in this field is unlimited.

Capabilities and constraints

In addition to possessing most of the qualities of other types of engines, Gas turbines as prime
movers possess certain other distinct advantages of their own, some of which are
1. Advantage of direct firing.
2. Low ratio of weight to horsepower.
3. Lack of heavy vibrations.
4. Power output in the form of relative motion.
5. High performance and reliability ratios arising out of the intrinsic simplicity of the basic turbine
cycle.
6. Absence of high operating pressures and unbalanced forces.
7. Availability of turbine exhaust heat
8. Multiple fuel application
9. Lowest maintenance and capital costs among major prime movers.
As a producer of shaft power, the turbine may be utilized in power generation, pumps and compressor
drives and many other applications requiring a dependable shaft power output. But it is specifically in
the fields of energy savings and lower manpower costs that the gas turbine excels. With normal heat
recovery from the exhaust and the production of shaft power output, recovery of 75% to 80% of the
total fuel input to the turbine is a real possibility. The low manpower requirements of a gas turbine unit
is best illustrated by the fact that most of the modern day turbines have their control function performed
from a remote location.
Another critical area that has benefited enormously by the advances made in gas turbine technology is
the aircraft industry which has in turn lead to revolutionizing commercial air transportation. Along with
its obvious advantage of greater speed over the conventional piston type engine, the jet gas turbine
engine has also posted a remarkable record of dependability.
The profitable application of a gas turbine engine to a specific market, depends largely on the general
economic factors governing the market and also local influences such as manpower, fuel and electric
energy costs. Another area where the gas turbine has gained rapid acceptance is the field of electric
power generation. Many power generation gas turbines provide peaking power at remote locations
away from the base load condition. What makes them quite attractive for peaking service is their
smaller space requirement, low noise level and operational dependability on unattended basis. In nearly
all applications, the simple cycle gas turbine is normally chosen for peaking service on account of its
lower installed cost. Additionally, the extremely low load factor of a peaking station does not warrant

the use of heat recovery apparatus. But in other electric power generation installations of a base load
character, it is a generally accepted practice to use a recuperative gas turbine type or to at least use some
other type of heat recovery device. Some other electric power generation installations use a combined
gas and steam turbine cycle where the hot gas turbine exhaust stream rich in oxygen, provides
preheated combustion air for the boilers generating steam for the turbine.
The efficiency of a gas turbine is governed to a large extent by two important factors namely pressure
ratio and temperature. Developments in the recent past have resulted in pressure ratios of the order of
35:1 and turbine inlet temperatures as high as 1600C (2912F).This increase in pressure ratio no doubt
contributes to a substantial increase in gas turbine thermal efficiency, when accompanied by a
subsequent increase in turbine firing temperature. But increasing the pressure ratio beyond a certain
value, actually tends to lower the overall cycle efficiency in addition to reducing the operating range of
the compressor. This may result in the compressor becoming more intolerant to dirt build-up in the inlet
air filter and compressor blades and thereby creating large drops in cycle performance and efficiency. It
may sometimes lead to compressor surge and further to a flameout or even cause serious damage to the
compressor blades and components such as radial and thrust bearings of the turbine. On the other hand,
the high inlet temperature conditions have a disastrous effect on turbine blade life. Proper cooling must
be provided to achieve optimum blade cooling to levels below that needed for the onset of hot
corrosion. The developments in recent times in the form of highly efficient turbine blade cooling
techniques and also related developments in the field of material and coating technology have led to
minimizing the adverse effects of high temperature on turbine blades.
Another offshoot of these high temperature conditions is the increase in the emission of toxic nitrogen
oxide emissions. Environmental considerations demand that the systems impact on the environment be
within legal limits and this therefore needs to be carefully addressed. The development of new dry low
nitrogen oxide combustors have contributed to significantly reducing the nitrogen oxide output although
that has warranted a further increase in the number of fuel nozzles and the complexity of the control
algorithms.
For power generation purposes, it is imperative that the gas turbine unit be operated at a constant speed,
as any variation in it could result in major grid related problems. Control over the load has to be
exercised by controlling the fuel input and therefore the turbine firing temperature and also the inlet
guide vane position controlling the air flow. The effect of this is to try and maintain the exhaust
temperature from the gas turbine at a relatively high value, especially in combined cycle or
cogeneration plants. This is especially so, since this gas is used in the heat recovery steam generator
whose effectiveness is in turn dependent on this temperature
The gas turbine engine has among the lowest capital and maintenance costs of any major power
plant. The design of gas turbines involves certain essential requirements such as
High system reliability and efficiency.
Ease of installation and maintenance.
Conformance to environmental standards.
Flexibility with regard to meeting various service and fuel requirements.
Incorporation of reliable control and auxiliary systems.
The two factors which have the maximum impact on turbine efficiency are pressure ratio and firing
temperature. The developments over the last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the pressure
ratio, accompanied by an increase in turbine firing temperatures. The increase in these parameters has
witnessed huge improvements in both the overall efficiency of the plant and the work output.

Significant improvements in turbine blade metallurgy and the incorporation of effective cooling
techniques have helped overcome the problems associated with the rising turbine firing temperatures.
Availability and reliability together constitute one of the most important parameters in the design of
a gas turbine plant. While availability refers to the percentage of time that a given plant is available in
order to generate power in a given period of time, reliability is the percentage of time between planned
overhauls.
Availability is given by A = (P-S-F ) 100 %
P
Where
P is the period of time normally assumed as one year and amounting to 8760 hours
S is the scheduled outage hours for planned maintenance and
F is the forced outage hours on account of breakdown and repair
Reliability is given by R = (P-F) 100 %
P
Some important design considerations with regard to achieving a high availability and reliability
factor are blade and shaft stresses, blade loading, material integrity and the auxiliary and control
systems.
Easy installation and serviceability are quite critical to the gas turbine design. The advantage with
gas turbine units is that they can be tested and packaged at the factory itself. Adoption of the modular
system of gas turbine design coupled with making available, monitoring and inspection ports at all
major points especially the hot section and easily serviceable parts such as split casings and
combustion cans have also contributed to the ease of service.
The unit is also to be designed in such a manner that the impact of its working must be within legal
limits and care taken to ensure low emission of dangerous compounds such as nitrogen oxides,
sulphur-dioxide, carbon-monoxide and hydrocarbons. This problem has been largely alleviated by the
use of catalytic and dry, low-nitrogen oxide combustors.
Control systems control various critical operational parameters such as fuel supply, pressure,
temperature and vibration throughout the operating range of the plant and also contribute a large deal
to machine downtime, when they malfunction. Therefore proper attention should be paid towards their
design and also the design of auxiliary systems such as lubrication and starting systems. Additionally
the auxiliary systems mentioned above must be provided with a backup system for emergency
requirements.
Flexibility in design and operation is a must, especially when the turbine is operating under various
operational ranges. There is also a need for flexibility regarding the fuel type in the form of a turbine
unit with multiple fuel applications, as different turbine fuels may be in short supply at different times.
There are a number of variables that affect the ultimate design and choice of gas turbines like the
nature and type of application, location of the proposed plant and its size, the type of fuel proposed for
use, the planned operation mode and the startup techniques that are likely to be used. Although gas
turbines are used in a multitude of applications, the three major types are aircraft propulsion,
mechanical drives and power generation. The gas turbines used for aircraft propulsion are basically of
three types, the turbojet, the turbofan and the turboprop engines. The gas turbines used as mechanical
drives are used extensively for driving pumps and compressors in the petro-chemical industry and
mostly consist of aero-derivative turbines. The turbines used for power generation include small
turbines of less than 2 MW capacity, the medium ones with capacities between 5 and 50 MW, and the
larger power turbines in the range between 50 and 480 MW, operating at very high pressure ratios and
firing temperatures.

The location of the plant is another important determining factor for choosing the turbine type, for
example, aero-derivative engines being chosen for offshore applications, industrial turbines chosen for
petro-chemical applications and large frame type heavy duty turbines chosen for power generation.
The size of the plant is another important consideration in evaluating plant costs; the larger the size,
the lesser the initial cost per unit of power produced. Although the aircraft-derivative turbines have
traditionally been very efficient, recent developments have led to the design and development of newer
frame type turbines having higher efficiencies.
The proposed fuel to be used, the planned plant operation mode and the type of starting system are
the other important factors governing the selection of a gas turbine engine. As regards the fuel type,
natural gas when readily available is found to be most suitable for use as gas turbine fuel, because of
the low maintenance costs involved and its minimal effect on the environment. Most of the other fuels
have higher contamination levels and are therefore subjected to online washing to minimize the
harmful effects of their constituents, on the turbine components. Plant operation mode refers to the
type of load conditions the gas turbine is used in like base and peak loads. The startup in gas turbines
is generally achieved by the use of electrical, diesel or air motors and even by steam turbines.
This manual contains a detailed study of gas turbines beginning with a general overview of the
various turbine types and followed by a separate chapter dedicated to the fundamentals of gas turbine
thermodynamics consisting of both the ideal and actual gas turbine cycles and concluding with a
discussion on compressor characteristics and the combustion process. This is followed by a discussion
on the design, function and operating principles of the different components like compressors,
combustors, turbines, igniters and fuel nozzles.
Considering their importance, a whole chapter is dedicated to the study of the materials of
construction and material trends with emphasis on present and future materials in addition to including
a discussion on coating technology. A detailed discussion is also included on the turbine bearings,
seals and couplings the design of which is quite critical to efficient turbine performance, followed by a
study of the lubrication and fuel systems. A detailed mention is also made of the air quality
requirements and environmental considerations along with the emission control measures and exhaust
sound suppression techniques. This is followed by a discussion on the auxiliary systems such as
starting and washing systems.
The performance and mechanical standards governing gas turbine performance are dealt with
exclusively, with particular emphasis on ASME and API standards. Turbine control systems and
instrumentation which are quite vital to the efficient operation of the turbine and encompassing varied
topics like condition monitoring systems, estimation, measurement and actual calculations of turbine
performance parameters, life cycle costs and diagnostic systems are also discussed separately.
Last but not the least comes a comprehensive discussion on the various aspects governing gas
turbine operation and maintenance with particular emphasis on the different maintenance techniques,
the standard inspection, overhaul and repair procedures including a discussion on the latest inspection
techniques like Borescopy. Topics like maintenance planning and scheduling, tools, training and
documentation are also exclusively dealt with, along with the typical problems encountered in gas
turbines. The discussion concludes with a general evaluation of the maintenance procedures that are
usually followed.