Turbine Inlet Air Cooling

Turbine Inlet Air Cooling (TIAC) is a group of technologies and techniques whose objective is cooling down the intake air of the Gas Turbine (GT) and ultimately power output augmentation. This technology is widely used in hot climates with high ambient temperatures that usually coincide with on-peak power demand. Since the worldwide energy demand is increasing, energy efficiency and effective asset utilization have become two of the most critical issues in power generation.

With the ARANER’s TIAC System this negative effect is compensated thanks to a turbine inlet temperature decrease. The turbine will have constant inlet air temperature, increasing the power output and maintaining it stable against temperature changes. It creates a direct economic benefit in two ways, increasing the annual average output MW and saving capital cost in comparison to additional turbine installation.

Fogging

Reduces the inlet air temperature by evaporating a spray of water after the filter stage.

Evaporative cooler

A wetted rigid media where water is distributed throughout the header and where air passes through the wet porous surface.

Compression Chillers

Based on a refrigeration cycle, in which water is cooled to a low temperature and pumped to a cooling coil installed within the turbine’s filter house.

Absorption Chillers

Uses heat as the energy source, instead of using electricity.

Engine driven chillers

Compression chillers driven by natural gas or diesel.

Turbine Inlet Air Cooling system with chillers is the most common, reliable, and up-to-date technology. While other obsolete technologies rely on humidity increase, TIAC with chillers reduces the air temperature by doing a real cooling of the air and reducing the air enthalpy. An inlet air heat exchanger is installed downstream of the filters and the air is cooled by means of a chilled water flow produced in a cooling plant nearby. The air temperature can be selected in the HMI based on the requirements or also the control system can regulate accordingly in the automatic operation mode to achieve the selected air temperature.

A TESTIAC configuration will improve the overall efficiency of the plant. Thermal Energy Storage is very beneficial combined with TIAC for peak power production, when extra power production is required for certain hours per day (typically 3 to 8 hours per day). With a TES Tank the net increase in power output is maximized and the hillers installed capacity required is reduced, reducing also the project cost.

The chilled water stored in the TES tank can be used to provide cooling in facilities that use gas turbines, like a GT Power Plant. TIAC helps increase turbine power output in facilities situated in areas with extreme ambient conditions.