GE Power's Record-Breaking Efficiency in Gas Turbine Combined Cycle using Flow Simulator

GE Power is a world energy leader that provides technology, solutions, and services across the entire energy value chain from the point of generation to consumption. The company is transforming the electricity industry by uniting all the resources and scale of the world’s first Digital Industrial company. GE Power's customers operate in more than 150 countries, and together they power more than a third of the world to illuminate cities, build economies and connect the world. The company holds the only two Guinness World Records for Gas Turbine combined cycle efficiency for 50Hz and 60Hz power generation plants in commercial operation.

GE Power, a global leader in energy technology, solutions, and services, faced the challenge of maintaining precise understanding of the flow of cooling and leakage air in their gas turbine engines. This precision was crucial for achieving low emissions of NOx and setting world records for gas turbine combined cycle efficiency. The complexity of the internal engine components and their interactions during various operations, from cold start to shut down, required a sophisticated tool. The company needed a solution that could manage the clearances between rotating and stationary components to the width of a few human hairs, understand the transient thermal response of the engine, and track the impact of cooling and leakage air on gas turbine efficiency and emissions.

GE Power adopted the Flow Simulator tool, an internally developed 1-D network flow solver, to address these challenges. This tool became their day-to-day workhorse for designing the secondary flow circuit within a gas turbine engine, its bearing system, combustion, and accessory systems. The Flow Simulator's modern user interface made it easy for secondary flow designers to transition to it. The tool presents branches in the flow circuit on an engine cross-section, enabling a more intuitive understanding of the system. One of the greatest attributes of Flow Simulator is its solver speed, which allows designers to run full probabilistic analysis to understand every possible way customers can run their engines and the impact of manufacturing variation on pressures and flow rates. The numerical stability of the solver enables a broader range of parameter exploration than its predecessor. Boundary condition mapping is also easy and accuracy is ensured using an extensive database of peer-reviewed correlations and the facility to incorporate specialized proprietary correlations.

• The use of Flow Simulator has revolutionized the way GE Power designs and understands the secondary flow circuit within a gas turbine engine. The tool's modern user interface and solver speed have made it a day-to-day workhorse for the company. It has enabled the company to understand the complex interactions of internal engine components during various operations, manage the clearances between rotating and stationary components, and track the impact of cooling and leakage air on gas turbine efficiency and emissions. The tool's ability to run full probabilistic analysis has allowed designers to understand every possible way customers can run their engines and the impact of manufacturing variation on pressures and flow rates. This has resulted in improved efficiency and lower emissions, contributing to GE Power's world records in gas turbine combined cycle efficiency.

• GE Power holds the only two Guinness World Records for Gas Turbine combined cycle efficiency for 50Hz and 60Hz power generation plants in commercial operation.
• Flow Simulator's solver speed allows designers to run full probabilistic analysis on their desktop workstation.
• The numerical stability of the solver enables a broader range of parameter exploration than its predecessor.