The injection of water droplets into compressor inlet ducting is now commonly used as a means of boosting the output from industrial gas turbines. The chief mechanisms responsible for the increase in power are the reduction in compressor work per unit flow and the increase in mass flow rate, both of which are achieved by evaporative cooling upstream of and within the compressor. This paper examines the impact of such evaporative processes on compressor operation, focussing particular attention on cases with substantial overspray—i.e., for which significant evaporation takes place within the compressor itself, rather than in the inlet. A simple numerical method is described for the computation of wet compression processes, based on a combination of droplet evaporation and mean-line calculations. The method is applied to a “generic” compressor geometry in order to investigate the nature of the off-design behavior that results from evaporative cooling. Consideration is also given to the efficiency of the compression process, the implications for choking and stall, and the magnitude of the thermodynamic loss resulting from irreversible phase change.
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October 2004
Technical Papers
An Evaluation of the Effects of Water Injection on Compressor Performance
A. J. White,
A. J. White
Hopkinson Laboratory, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
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A. J. Meacock
e-mail: ajw36@cam.ac.uk
A. J. Meacock
Hopkinson Laboratory, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
A. J. White
Hopkinson Laboratory, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
A. J. Meacock
Hopkinson Laboratory, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
e-mail: ajw36@cam.ac.uk
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Paper presented at the International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibition, Atlanta, GA, June 16–19, 2003, Paper No. 2003-GT-38237. Manuscript received by IGTI, October 2002, final revision, March 2003. Associate Editor: H. R. Simmons.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Oct 2004, 126(4): 748-754 (7 pages)
Published Online: November 24, 2004
Article history
Received:
October 1, 2002
Revised:
March 1, 2003
Online:
November 24, 2004
Citation
White , A. J., and Meacock, A. J. (November 24, 2004). "An Evaluation of the Effects of Water Injection on Compressor Performance ." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. October 2004; 126(4): 748–754. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1765125
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