Effect of Ceramic Matrix Composites on the Thermal Efficiency of a Power Generation Turbine

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) offer higher allowable temperatures and reduced weight, making them an attractive prospect for parts in the hot section of a gas turbine engine. As CMCs are increasingly adapted into aero and land-based engines, there is a need to quantify the performance increase based on the potential for reduced cooling and increased firing temperatures. In this work, two static hot section components—the first-stage turbine vane and the first-stage turbine tip shroud (outer casing above the blade)—of a mid-sized power generation engine were modeled. Informed approximations about part geometry and cooling architectures were made to determine the cooling requirements of each part. Thermal boundary conditions for the turbine tip shroud and turbine vane were generated as a function of coolant mass flowrate using data from literature and applied to a 2D finite element analysis of the parts to determine maximum temperatures for both metallic and ceramic materials. A gas turbine cycle model was developed to simulate the performance of a mid-sized power generation turbine and used to determine the increase in efficiency due to a reduction in the cooling requirement for the CMC part compared to a conventional metal superalloy-based part. The potential reduction in chargeable cooling seen for the tip shroud ring was between 0.09% and 0.4% of the compressor mass flowrate, which corresponds to an increase in thermal efficiency between 0.11% and 0.45%. A similar analysis of the turbine vane resulted in a cooling reduction of 10.71% at the maximum turbine entry temperature considered which corresponds to a 3.4% increase in thermal efficiency.