T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

THERMODYNAMIC

Chapter

1
PRINCIPLES
1. Introduction

A schematic diagram for a simple-cycle, singleshaft gas turbine is

shown in Figure 1. Air enters the axial flow compressor at point 1
at ambient conditions. Since these conditions vary from day to day
and from location to location, it is convenient to consider some
standard conditions for comparative purposes. The standard
conditions used by the gas turbine industry are 59 F/15 C, 14.7
psia/1.013 bar and 60% relative humidity, which are established
by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and frequently
referred to as ISO conditions.
Air entering the compressor at point 1 is compressed to some
higher pressure. No heat is added; however, compression raises
the air temperature so that the air at the discharge of the
compressor is at a higher temperature and pressure.
Upon leaving the compressor, air enters the combustion system at
point 2, where fuel is injected and combustion occurs. The
combustion process occurs at essentially constant pressure.
Although high local temperatures are reached within the primary
combustion zone (approaching stoichiometric conditions),
thecombustion system is designed to provide mixing, burning,
dilution and cooling. Thus, by the time the combustion mixture
leaves the combustion system and enters the turbine at point 3, it
is at a mixed average temperature.
In the turbine section of the gas turbine, the energy of the hot
gases is converted into work.
This conversion actually takes place in two steps. In the nozzle
section of the turbine, the hot gases are expanded and a portion of
the thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy.

1
 T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

In the subsequent bucket section of the turbine, a portion of the

kinetic energy is transferred to the rotating buckets and
converted to work.
Some of the work developed by the turbine is used to drive the
compressor, and the remainder is available for useful work at the
output flange of the gas turbine. Typically, more than 50% of the
work developed by the turbine sections is used to power the axial
flow compressor.
As shown in Figure 1, single-shaft gas turbines are configured in
one continuous shaft and, therefore, all stages operate at the
same speed. Applications where significant speed variation is not
required.

A schematic diagram for a simple-cycle, two shaft gas turbine is

shown in Figure 2. The low pressure or power turbine rotor is
mechanically separate from the high-pressure turbine and
compressor rotor. The low pressure rotor is said to be
aerodynamically coupled. This unique feature allows the power
turbine to be operated at a range of speeds and makes two shaft
gas turbines ideally suited for variable speed applications.
All of the work developed by the power turbine is available to
drive the load equipment since the work developed by the high-
pressure turbine supplies all the necessary energy to drive the
compressor. On two-shaft machines the starting requirements for
the gas turbine load train are reduced because the load
equipment is mechanically separate from the high-pressure
turbine.

2. The Brayton Cycle

The thermodynamic cycle upon which all gas turbines operate is

called the Brayton cycle.

Figure 3 shows the classical pressure-volume (PV) and

temperature-entropy (TS) diagrams for this cycle. The numbers
on this diagram cor- respond to the numbers also used in Figure
1. Path 1 to 2 represents the compression occurring in the
compressor, path 2 to 3 represents the constant-pressure
addition of heat in the combustion systems, and path 3 to 4
represents the expansion occurring in the turbine.
The path from 4 back to 1 on the Brayton cycle diagrams
indicates a constant-pressure cooling process. In the gas turbine,
this cooling is done by the atmosphere, which provides fresh,
cool air at point 1 on a continuous basis in exchange for the hot

2
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

gases exhausted to the atmosphere at point 4. The actual cycle is

an “open” rather than “closed” cycle, as indicated.
Every Brayton cycle can be characterized by two significant
parameters: pressure ratio and firing temperature. The pressure
ratio of the cycle is the pressure at point 2 (compressor
discharge pressure) divided by the pressure at point 1
(compressor inlet pressure). In an ideal cycle, this pressure ratio
is also equal to the pressure at point 3 divided by the pressure at
point 4.
However, in an actual cycle there is some slight pressure loss in
the combustion system and, hence, the pressure at point 3 is
slightly less than at point 2.
The other significant parameter, firing temperature, is thought to
be the highest temperature reached in the cycle. GE defines
firing temperature as the mass-flow mean total temperature
represented as firing temperature by point 3 in Figure 3.
Steam-cooled first stage nozzles do not reduce the temperature
of the gas directly through mixing because the steam is in a
closed loop.
As shown in Figure 4, the firing temperature on a turbine with
steam-cooled nozzles (GE’s current “H” design) has an increase
of 200 degrees without increasing the combustion exit
temperature. at the stage 1 nozzle trailing edge plane.

Figure
1

3
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

Figure
2

Figure
3

4
 T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

Figure
4

Currently all first stage nozzles are cooled to keep the

temperatures within the operating limits of the materials being
used. The two types of cooling currently employed by GE are air
and steam.
Air cooling has been used for more than 30 years and has been
extensively developed in aircraft engine technology, as well as
the latest family of large power generation machines. Air used
for cooling the first stage nozzle enters the hot gas stream after
cooling down the nozzle and reduces the total temperature
immediately downstream. GE uses this temperature since it is
more indicative of the cycle temperature represented An
alternate method of determining firing temperature is defined in
ISO document 2314, “Gas Turbines – Acceptance Tests.” The
firing temperature here is a reference turbine inlet temperature
and is not generally a temperature that exists in a gas turbine
cycle; it is calculated from a heat balance on the combustion
system, using parameters obtained in a field test. This ISO
reference temperature will always be less than the true firing
temperature as defined by GE, in many cases by 100 F/38 C or
more for machines using air extracted from the compressor for
internal cooling, which bypasses the combustor.
Figure 5 shows how these various temperatures are defined

5
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

Figure
5
4. Thermodynamic Analysis

Classical thermodynamics permit evaluation of the Brayton cycle

using such parameters as pressure, temperature, specific heat,
efficiency factors and the adiabatic compression exponent. If
such an analysis is applied to the Brayton cycle, the results can
be displayed as a plot of cycle efficiency vs. specific output of the
cycle.
Figure 6 shows such a plot of output and efficiency for different
firing temperatures and various pressure ratios. Output per
pound of airflow is important since the higher this value, the
smaller the gas turbine required for the same output power.
Thermal efficiency is important because it directly affects the
operating fuel costs.
Figure 6 illustrates a number of significant points. In simple-
cycle applications (the top curve), pressure ratio increases
translate into efficiency gains at a given firing temperature.
The pressure ratio resulting in maximum output and maximum
efficiency change with firing temperature, and the higher the
pressure ratio, the greater the benefits from increased firing
temperature. Increases in firing temperature provide power
increases at a given pressure ratio, although there is a sacrifice
of efficiency due to the increase in cooling air losses required to
maintain parts lives.

6
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

In combined-cycle applications (as shown in the bottom graph in

Figure 6), pressure ratio increases have a less pronounced effect
on efficiency.
Note also that as pressure ratio increases, specific power
decreases. Increases in firing temperature result in increased
thermal efficiency.
The significant differences in the slope of the two curves indicate
that the optimum cycle parameters are not the same for simple
and combined cycles.
Simple-cycle efficiency is achieved with high pressure ratios.
Combined-cycle efficiency is obtained with more modest
pressure ratios and greater firing temperatures. For example,
the MS7001FA design parameters are 2420 F/1316 C firing
temperature and 15.7:1 pressure ratio while simple-cycle
efficiency is not maximized; combined-cycle efficiency is at its
peak.

5. Combined Cycle

A typical simple-cycle gas turbine will convert 30% to 40% of the

fuel input into shaft output. All but 1% to 2% of the remainder is
in the form of exhaust heat. The combined cycle is generally
defined as one or more gas turbines with heat-recovery steam
generators in the exhaust, producing steam for a steam turbine
generator, heat-to-process, or a combination thereof.
Figure 7 shows a combined cycle in its simplest form. High
utilization of the fuel input to the gas turbine can be achieved
with some of the more complex heat-recovery cycles, involving
multiple-pressure boilers, extraction or topping steam turbines,
and avoidance of steam flow to a condenser to preserve the
latent heat content.
Attaining more than 80% utilization of the fuel input by a
combination of electrical power generation and process heat is
not unusual. Combined cycles producing only electrical power
are in the 50% to 60% thermal efficiency ange using the more
advanced gas turbines.

7
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

Figure
6

8
T H E R M O D Y N A M I C P R I N C I P L E S

Figure
7