Gas Turbine Performance
Analysis
Gas Turbine Cycle
Gas Turbine Cycle
Thermal Efficiency
• The thermal efficiency of a gas turbine is a measure of how
effectively the turbine converts the energy in the fuel (input heat
energy) into useful work or power output.
Key Components
• Heat Input
• Net work output
Factors
• Pressure Ratio
• Turbine Inlet Temperature
• Isentropic Efficiencies
• Regeneration
• Cooling Losses
Heat Rate
• Measure of the efficiency of a power plant or energy system in
converting fuel into usable energy, typically electricity.
• It is defined as the amount of heat energy input required to
generate one unit of electrical energy output, usually expressed in
kcal/kWh or BTU/kWh.
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 (𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙)
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 (𝑘𝑊ℎ)
Heat Rate
• What does lower heat rate indicate?
• It depends on the type of power plant (e.g., gas turbine, steam
turbine, or combined cycle) and its operational conditions.
• Factors affecting heat rate include fuel quality, plant design,
maintenance, and operating conditions.
Example – 1
• An open cycle gas turbine operates with the following parameters:
• Electrical Output: 50 MW
• Fuel Flow Rate: 10 TPH (Tonnes per Hour)
• Calorific Value of Fuel: 12000 kcal/kg
• Calculate the heat rate of the gas turbine in kcal/kWh.
Heat Rate vs Efficiency
• Efficiency and heat rate are inversely related metrics used to
assess the performance of power plants or energy systems.
1
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 % = × 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙 × 100
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 ( )
𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙
Heat Rate vs Efficiency
• Heat Rate measures how much heat energy input is needed to
produce one unit of electrical energy (kWh).
• Lower heat rate = Higher efficiency (less heat input required).
• Higher heat rate = Lower efficiency (more heat input required).
• Efficiency measures how effectively the input energy (fuel) is
converted into useful output energy (electricity).
• A plant with an efficiency of 40% converts 40% of the fuel's energy into
electricity, while the remaining 60% is lost as waste heat.
Example – 2
• An open cycle gas turbine generates 50 MW of power. The turbine
consumes fuel at a rate of 10 tonnes per hour, with a calorific
value of 12000 kcal/kg.
• Calculate the heat rate of the turbine in kcal/kWh.
• If the turbine's efficiency is 40%, determine the actual electrical energy
output in kWh.
• Given that the cost of the fuel is $50 per tonne, calculate the fuel cost for
producing 1 MWh of electricity.
