Gas Turbine Modeling

Abstract

A gas turbine is a type of internal combustion engine used for the generation of electricity. It is a rotating device that converts the hot flue gases resulting from air compression and combustion with gas into mechanical energy. A significant fraction of the mechanical power produced is used by the compressor, while the rest is converted into electricity in the generator. The exhausted gases are released to the atmosphere. Therefore, this cycle is classified as an open Brayton cycle. This chapter describes the two components of a gas turbine model, the compressor and the combustion turbine, and gives a detailed description of the physical equations: modeling assumptions and fundamental equations. A test-case is given that includes the structure of the model, parameterization data, and results of the simulation. The full description of the physical equations is independent of programming languages and tools.