Abstract
In combined cycle gas turbines, most of the energy loss is usually due to the high temperature of the exhaust gases. Different heat recuperation methods are used. In this study, a novel direct method for heat recovery is investigated. Confidence in the results is established by accounting for all the losses and simulation errors while comparing with the conventional cycle. Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB are the simulation tools used. The General Electric (GE) 9HA.02 combined cycle is taken as a base case. Five gases, air, argon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, are studied with the proposed modification. The efficiency maximization function is updated and the pressure and temperature ratios of individual Brayton and Rankine cycles are discussed. The combustor/heat exchanger is modified and simulated according to the known principles of heat and momentum transfer. The whole simulation algorithm is provided. Equation of state (EOS-PR) is used to calculate the properties at every discretized step (for H-2, critical properties are modified/HYSYS inbuilt feature). Different gases are analyzed according to their property profiles over the whole cycle. The effect of fluid properties on efficiency is discussed as a guideline for any tailored fluid.