MXPA00002894A - Nozzles for water injection in a turbine engine - Google Patents

Abstract

Precompressor and pre-booster water spray injection apparatus and methods are described. In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of long and short nozzles are configured so that water injected into the gas flow to the high pressure compressor provides substantially uniform radial and circumferential temperature reductions at the outlet of the high pressure compressor.

Description

NOZZLES FOR WATER INJECTION IN A TURBINE MACHINE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED REQUESTS This application claims the benefit of the Provisional Application of E.U.A. No. 60 / 094,094, filed July 24, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to gas turbine machines and more particularly, to water injection by pre-intensifier and precompressor in a gas turbine machine. Traditionally, gas turbine machines include a compressor for compressing an operating fluid, such as air. The compressed air is injected into a combustion chamber which heats the fluid causing it to spread, and the extended fluid is forced through a turbine. Basically, the compressor includes a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor. The output of known gas turbine machines may be limited by the temperature of the fluid operating at the outlet of the high-pressure compressor, sometimes referred to as the "T3" temperature, and by the temperature of the fluid operating at the outlet of the chamber. of combustion, sometimes referred to as "T41" temperature. To reduce temperatures T3 and T41, it is known to use an intercooler placed in the fluid flow path between the low pressure compressor and the high pressure compressor. During constant state operation, the intercooler extracts heat from the compressed air in the low pressure compressor, which reduces both the temperature and the volume of air entering the high pressure compressor. Such a decrease in temperature reduces the temperatures T3 and T41. Therefore, the increased power output can be achieved by increasing the flow through the compressor. Traditionally, cold water or air circulates through the intercooler, and heat is transferred from the air flow to cold water or air. Water or air absorbs heat, and water or heated air is then removed. Removing water or heated air results in losses in the thermal efficiency of the total cycle. Therefore, although an intercooler facilitates the increased power output, the intercooler reduces the thermal efficiency of the machine. The intercooler also introduces pressure losses associated with the removal of air, the actual cooling of that air, and conducts cold air to the compressor. Furthermore, it is not practical for an intercooler to also provide interstage cooling. With at least some known intercoolers, the heated water is removed using a water cooler that dissipates the heated water through a cooling tower as steam in the environment. Of course, releasing steam into the environment causes environmental issues.

In addition, such intercoolers require a significant amount of water, and such high water consumption increases operational costs. It would be convenient to provide a partial output of increased power as that achieved with intercoolers, as well as to provide improved thermal efficiency as compared to at least some known intercoolers. It would also be convenient to provide an increased power output even for single rotor gas turbines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION These and other objects can be achieved by means of a gas turbine machine that includes water injection by pre-intensifier and pre-compressor, which provides much of the same advantages, even overcomes some deficiencies, of the intercooling. In an exemplary embodiment, a gas turbine machine suitable for use in connection with water spray injection includes a low pressure compressor, a high pressure compressor and a combustion chamber. The machine also includes a high pressure turbine, a low pressure turbine and / or a power turbine. A water injection apparatus is provided to inject water into the inlet of the high pressure compressor. The water spray injection apparatus is in fluid communication with a water supply and during the operation of the machine, water is delivered from said supply through the injection apparatus to the compressor inlet. To provide substantially uniform radial and circumferential temperature reductions, a nozzle configuration for injecting water into the gas flow includes a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles. In one configuration, at least one short nozzle is in a radially intermediate location between two radially aligned long nozzles. The short nozzles are approximately at the level of a circumference of a flow path. During operation, air flows through the low pressure compressor, and compressed air is supplied from the low pressure compressor to the high pressure compressor. In addition, a water spray is supplied to the inlet of the high pressure compressor, and the water spray enters the high pressure compressor through the inlet. Due to the high temperature environment in which the water spray is injected, the water spray partially evaporates before entering the high pressure compressor. The water spray cools the air flow in the high pressure compressor at least at each stage of the compression through which said spray flows, ie until it evaporates. Generally near the intermediate stages of the high pressure compressor, and depending on the amount of water, most of the water spray evaporates. The high-pressure compressor also compresses air and water vapor, and highly compressed air is delivered to the combustion chamber. The air flow from the combustion chamber drives the high pressure turbine, the low pressure turbine and the power turbine. The excess heat is captured by boilers, and the heat of the boilers in the form of steam can be delivered to upstream components. Water spraying provides an advantage in that the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the high pressure compressor (temperature T3) and the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the combustion chamber (temperature T41) are they reduce in steady-state operations as compared to such temperatures without sprinkling. Specifically, the water spray extracts heat from the hot air flowing in and through the high pressure compressor, and when extracting said heat from the air flow, the temperatures T3 and T41 and the compressive horsepower are reduced. The heat is removed as the water evaporates. Reducing temperatures T3 and T41 provides the advantage that the machine is not restricted by T3 and T41, and therefore, the machine can operate at higher output levels than is possible without such water spraying. That is, with the above-described water spray injection and using the same discharge temperature control limit of the high pressure compressor, the high pressure compressor can pump more air, which results in a pressure ratio and a higher output.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine including water injection by compressor according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine including water injection by compressor and intercooling in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine including water injection by intensifier in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a single rotor gas turbine machine including water injection by compressor according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine including water injection by intensifier and compressor according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine including water injection by compressor according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine shown in Figure 6 attached to an electric generator; Figure 8 is a side view of an LM6000 machine from General Electric Company modified to include spray injection; Figure 9 is a perspective view of a connector for connecting the 8-stage drain of the machine shown in Figure 8 to an air manifold; Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the machine shown in Figure 8 and illustrating a nozzle configuration; Figure 11 is a side view of a nozzle; Figure 12 is a top view of the nozzle shown in Figure 11; Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of a control circuit for controlling the supply of water and air to the nozzles in the machine shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example water graph for the machine arrangement illustrated in Fig. 8; Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating the flow relationship of the high pressure turbine cavity against the corrected output velocity of the high pressure compressor of the machine illustrated in Fig. 8; Figure 16 is a graphic representation of the water flow against evaporation of the high pressure compressor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Following are examples of water spray injection configurations according to various embodiments of the present invention. Initially, it should be understood that although specific implementations are described and described, water spray injection can be practiced using several alternative structures on a wide variety of machines. In addition, and as described below in detail, water spray injection can be performed at the inlet of a high-pressure compressor, at the entrance of an intensifier, or at both locations. Water spray injection provides many of the same intercooling advantages, even overcoming some intercooling deficiencies. For example, with quench cooling, heated water (or air) is removed and the removal of such heated water (or air) reduces the thermal efficiency of the cycle as well as causes environmental issues. The important increase in power provided by the inter-cooling basically outweighs the deficiencies associated with the inter-cooling and as a result, inter-cooling is often used when additional power is required using a different or larger airflow intensifier and a larger flow function of the high pressure turbine. The water spray injection, as described below, provides an increase in power which may be somewhat less than the maximum power increase provided in an intercooler placed in a similar manner. Nevertheless, with the injection of water spray, much less water is used and the water leaves the cycle as steam at the temperature of the exhaust gas. Referring specifically to the drawings, Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine 10 which, as is well known, includes a low pressure compressor 12, a high pressure compressor 14 and a combustion chamber 16 The machine 10 also includes a high pressure turbine 18, a low pressure turbine 20, and a power turbine 22. The machine 10 further includes a water injection apparatus 24 for injecting water into an inlet 26 of the compressor. high pressure 14. Further details on the water injection apparatus 22 are mentioned below. For purposes of Figure 1, however, it should be understood that the apparatus 24 is in fluid communication with a water supply (not shown) and water is supplied from said supply through the apparatus 24 to the inlet 26 of the compressor 14. The apparatus 24 is aspirated by air using a drain source of the compressor 14 to provide a finer spray mist. The excess heat boilers 28, 30 and 32 are located downstream of the power turbine 22. As is known in the art, the water supply is supplied to the boilers 28, 30 and 32 via a water supply line 34 , and the water in the form of steam is communicated from the boilers 28, 30 and 32 to several upstream components. Particularly, steam from the boiler 28 is provided at an inlet 36 of the combustion chamber 16, steam from the boiler 30 is provided at an inlet of the low pressure turbine 20 and an inlet of the power turbine 22, and steam from the boiler 32 is provided to a last stage of the power turbine 22. With the exception of the water spray injection apparatus 24, different components of the turbine 10 are known in the art. During operation, the air it flows through the low pressure compressor 12, and the compressed air is supplied from the low pressure compressor 12 to the high pressure compressor 14. In addition, a water spray is supplied to the inlet 26 of the high pressure compressor 14, and the water spray enters the high pressure compressor 14 through the inlet 26. Due to the high temperature environment in the place where the water spray is injected, the water spray evaporates partially before entering the high pressure compressor 14. The water spray cools the air flow in the high pressure compressor 14 at least at each stage of the compressor 14 through which said spray flows, i.e. that evaporates. Generally in the sixth stage of the compressor 14, the water spray evaporates completely. The high pressure compressor 14 also compresses the air and the highly compressed air is delivered to the combustion chamber 16. The air flow from the combustion chamber 16 drives the high pressure turbine 18, the low pressure turbine 20 and the power turbine 22. The excess heat is captured by the boilers 28, 30 and 32, and the remaining heat vapor is delivered to upstream components coupled to the boilers 28, 30 and 32 as described above. The water particles of the water spray apparatus 24 provide an advantage in that the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the high pressure compressor 14 (temperature T3) and the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the combustion chamber 16 (temperature T41) are reduced in constant state operations as compared to such temperatures without sprinkling. Specifically, the water spray extracts heat from the hot air flowing in and through the compressor 14, and when extracting said heat from the air flow, the temperatures T3 and T41 are reduced along with the required power of the compressor. Reducing temperatures T3 and T41 provides the advantage that machine 10 is not restricted by T3 and T41, and therefore, the machine 10 can operate at higher output levels by means of choke thrust than is possible without such water spraying. In addition to the increased power output, the water spray injection described above provides the advantage of lower water consumption as compared to the intercooling under the same conditions. Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of another embodiment of a gas turbine machine 50 including water spray injection. The machine 50 includes a low pressure compressor 52, a high pressure compressor 54 and a combustion chamber 56. The machine 50 also includes a high pressure turbine 58, a low pressure turbine 60, and a power turbine 62. The machine 50 further includes a water injection apparatus 64 for injecting water into an inlet 66 of the high pressure compressor 54. For purposes of Figure 2, it should be understood that the apparatus 64 is in fluid communication with a water supply. (not shown) and water is supplied from said supply through the apparatus 64 to the inlet 66 of the compressor 54. An intercooler 68 is placed in flow relation in series with the intensifier 52, and the intercooler output 68 is coupled at the inlet 66 of the compressor 54. Of course, the chilled water is supplied to the intercooler 68 as illustrated or fans could be used for air cooling. The intercooler 68 could, for example, be one of the intercoolers described in the U.S. Patent. No. 4,949,544. The excess heat boilers 70, 72 and 74 are located downstream of the power turbine 62. As is known in the art, the water supply is supplied to the boilers 70, 72 and 74 via a water supply line 76 , which extends through a first stage 78A of the intercooler 68, and the steam is communicated from the boilers 70, 72 and 74 to several upstream components. Particularly, steam from the boiler 70 is provided at an inlet 80 of the combustion chamber 56, steam from the boiler 72 is provided at an inlet of the low pressure turbine 60 and an inlet of the power turbine 62, and Steam from the boiler 74 is provided to a last stage of the power turbine 62. With the exception of the water sprinkler injection apparatus 64, different components of the turbine 50 are known in the art. During operation, the air it flows through the low pressure compressor 52, and the compressed air is supplied from the low pressure compressor 52 to the high pressure compressor 54. At least, some or all of the compressed air of the low pressure compressor 52 is diverted to flow through a second stage 78B of the intercooler 68, and said diverted air is cooled and supplied to the inlet 66 of the high pressure compressor 54. In addition, a water spray is supplied to the inlet 66 of the high pressure compressor 54, and the water spray enters the compressor 54 through the inlet 66. Due to the high temperature environment in the place where the water spray is injected, the water spray evaporates partially before entering the high pressure compressor 54. The water spray cools the air flow in the high pressure compressor 54 at least at each stage of the compressor 54 through which said spray flows, i.e. that evaporates. Generally in the sixth stage of the compressor 54, the water spray evaporates. The high pressure compressor 54 also compresses the air and the highly compressed air is delivered to the combustion chamber 56. The air flow from the combustion chamber 56 drives the high pressure turbine 58, the low pressure turbine 60 and the power turbine 62. The excess heat is captured by the boilers 70, 72 and 74, and the remaining heat vapor is delivered to upstream components coupled to the boilers 70, 72 and 74 as described above. By providing a combination of intercooling and water spray injection, it is believed that the increased power output is provided by a machine 50 as compared to the machine 10. Intercooler 68 could lower the flow field in the compressor at the temperature where a condensate of ambient humidity could appear. Then the water spray would be added to the compressor 54 to reduce T3 on its output along with the reduction of the power required to operate. However, the machine 50 requires more water compared to the machine 10, and the machine 50 dissipates some water in the environment, due to the operation of the intercooler 68 together with the sprinkling of additional water leaving the exhaust pipe as steam at exhaust pipe temperature. However, according to the comparison of the results obtained if only the intercooling was used to reach a power output of the machine 50, the combination of water spray injection and quench-cooling results in higher water consumption. Although not shown in the example configuration set forth in Figure 2, it is contemplated that instead of or in addition to the water spray injection at the inlet 66 of the high pressure compressor 54, said injection may be performed in the input of the low pressure compressor, or intensifier 52 (the injection of water spray by intensifier is illustrated in figure 3). By means of said injection similar advantages can be achieved in decreasing the temperatures T3 and T41.

Figure 3 shows an example configuration of a machine 82 including injection of water spray by intensifier. The configuration of the machine 82 is substantially similar to the machine 10 shown in Fig. 1 with the exception that the water spray injection apparatus 24 is located in an inlet 38 of the low pressure compressor, or in the intensifier 12. In the machine 82, the water is injected into the intensifier 12 and cools the air flowing through the intensifier 12. Cooling the air flow through the intensifier 12 provides the advantages of lowering the temperatures T3 and T41 as described above . Only about 1% water spray may be injected into the intensifier 12, whose water will evaporate at the end of the intensifier. Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a single rotor gas turbine machine 84 that includes water injection by compressor in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The machine 84 includes a high pressure compressor 86, a combustion chamber 88 and a high pressure turbine 90. An arrow 92 coupled to the high pressure compressor 86 and a high pressure turbine 90. A power turbine 94 is current down the high pressure turbine 90, and an arrow 96 is coupled and extends from the power turbine 94. The water spray injection apparatus 98 is located at an inlet 100 of the high pressure compressor 86. A machine double rotor gas turbine 10 is schematically shown in figure 5. The machine 160 includes an intensifier 162 and a power turbine 164 connected by a first arrow 166, a high pressure compressor 168 and a high pressure turbine 170 connected by a second arrow 172, and a combustion chamber 174. The machine 160 further includes an apparatus for injecting water spray by pre-intensifier 176 and an asper injection apparatus Water supply by pre-compressor 178. Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine 200 including a water injection by compressor according to another embodiment of the present invention. The machine 200 includes a low pressure compressor 202 and a high pressure compressor 204. In this embodiment, the low pressure compressor 202 is a five stage compressor, and the high pressure compressor 204 is a fourteen stage compressor. A combustion chamber (not shown) is downstream of the compressor 204. The machine 200 also includes a high pressure turbine (not shown) and a low pressure turbine (not shown). The high-pressure turbine is a two-stage turbine, and the low-pressure turbine is a five-stage turbine. The machine 200 further includes a water injection apparatus 206 for injecting water into the inlet 208 of the high pressure compressor 204. The water injection apparatus 206 includes a water metering valve 210 in fluid communication with a water manifold. 212. The water is supplied to the metering valve 210 from a source or water reservoir. The air is supplied to an air manifold 213 from an eight stage drain 214 of the high pressure compressor 204. The drain 214 serves as a source of heated air. A heat exchanger 216 is coupled to a pipe or flow tube 218 which extends from the eight stage drain 214 to air manifold 213. The feeder pipes 220 and 221 extend from the air manifold 213 and the manifold water 212 to twenty-four spray nozzles 222 and 223 radially spaced and extending through the outer cover 224. The nozzles 222 are sometimes referred to herein as "short nozzles" 222 and the nozzles 223 are sometimes referred to herein as long nozzles 223. The nozzles 222 and 223 are radially spaced around the circumference of the cover 224 in an alternating arrangement as described below in detail. Twenty-four water feeder tubes 221 extend from the water manifold 212, and twenty-four air feeder tubes 220 extend from the air manifold 213. Each nozzle 222 is coupled to a water feeder tube 221 from the water manifold 212 and to an air feeder tube 220 from the air manifold 213. Generally, the water flowing to each nozzle 222 and 223 is atomized using high pressure air (e.g. to approximately 10,545 kg / cm 2) taken from the eight stage drain 214 of the high pressure compressor 204. The diameter of the drop, in this mode, it should be maintained at approximately 20 microns. Such drop diameter is maintained by controlling the water flow rate through the valve 210 using the water graph described below in detail and using the high pressure air from the drain 214. Except for the water spray injection apparatus 206, the different components of the machine 200 are known in the art. During operation, the machine 200 is operated at its maximum power output without spray injection, ie, the water valve 210 is closed. In this mode of operation, the air flows through the air pipe 218 to the nozzles 222 and 223. The air is cooled by the heat exchanger 216. However, because no water is allowed in the valve 210, no water is injected into the flow of the high pressure compressor 204. Once the maximum power output is reached, the water injection apparatus is activated and the water flows to the nozzles 222 and 223. The heat exchanger 216 it continues to operate to reduce the temperature of the air supplied to the nozzles 222 and 223. Particularly, the air flow of the eight stage drain 214 will usually be approximately 315.5-343.3 ° C. To reduce the thermal difference or mismatch between the hot drain air and the water in the water reservoir, the air temperature of the eight stage drain 214 is reduced to approximately 121.1 ° C by the heat exchanger 216 while maintaining the pressure of air at approximately 10,545 kg / cm2. By maintaining the pressure at approximately 10,545 kg / cm2, the air has enough pressure to atomize the water.

The nozzles 222 and 223 inject water sprays 226 and 227 (illustrated schematically in Figure 6) to the flow at the inlet 208 of the high pressure compressor 204, and the water spray enters the compressor 204 through the inlet 208. Due to the high temperature environment in the place where the water spray is injected, the water spray evaporates partially before entering the high pressure compressor 204. The water spray cools the air flow in the high pressure compressor at least at each stage of the compressor 204 through which said sprinkling flows, that is until it evaporates. Generally in the sixth stage of the compressor 204, the water spray evaporates completely. The high-pressure compressor 204 also compresses air, and highly compressed air is supplied to the combustion chamber. The air flow from the combustion chamber drives the high pressure turbine and the low pressure turbine. The water particles of the water spray apparatus 206 provide the advantage that the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the high pressure compressor 204 (temperature T3) and the temperature of the air flow at the outlet of the combustion chamber (temperature T41) are reduced as compared to such temperatures without sprinkling. Specifically, the water spray extracts heat from the hot air flowing in and through the compressor 204, and when extracting said heat from the air flow, the temperatures T3 and T41 are reduced along with the required power of the compressor. Reducing the temperatures T3 and T41 provides the advantage that the machine 200 is not restricted by T3 and T41, and therefore, the machine 200 can operate at higher output levels by means of choke thrust than is possible without said sprinkling of water. That is, by injecting atomized water spray in front of the high pressure compressor 204, the inlet temperature of the high pressure compressor 204 is significantly reduced. Therefore, by using the same discharge temperature control limit of the compressor, the high pressure compressor 204 is capable of pumping more air, achieving a higher pressure ratio. This results in a higher output and improved efficiency. In addition to the increased power output, the water spray injection as described above provides the advantage of a lower water consumption as compared to the intercooling under the same conditions. Instead of the temperature restrictions T3 and T41, it should be understood that with the water spray configuration, the machine restrictions can no longer be such temperatures, for example the restrictions may be the inlet temperature of the T48 turbine. the high pressure turbine and the core speed. The above-described water injection apparatus 206 can also be used in connection with the injection of water spray by pre-low pressure compressor. It is believed that said water spray injection by pre-low pressure compressor provides at least many of the same advantages as the spray injection by intermediate or pre-high pressure compressor described above in relation to figure 9. Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of a gas turbine machine 200 coupled to an electric generator 228. As shown in Figure 10, the machine 200 includes a high pressure turbine 230 and a low pressure turbine 232 downstream of the compressor high pressure 204. The high pressure compressor 204 and the high pressure turbine 230 are coupled via a first arrow 234, and the low pressure compressor 202 and the low pressure turbine are coupled via a second arrow 236. The second arrow 236 it is also coupled to the generator 228. The machine 200 can be, for example, the LM6000 Gas Turbine Machine commercially available from General Electric Company, Ci ncinnati, Ohio, 45215, modified to include water sprinkler injection apparatus 206 (Figure 9). Instead of being originally manufactured to include the injection apparatus 206, it is possible that the apparatus 206 is reconverted into existing machines. The injection apparatus 206 could be provided in package form and include pipes 218 and 220, together with water and air manifolds 212 and 213 and a water measuring valve 210. Nozzles 222 and 223 could also be provided. When it is desired to provide water spray injection, the nozzles 222 and 223 are installed in the outer cover 224 and the flow pipe 218 is installed and extends from the eight stage drain 214 to the air manifold 213. The valve 210 is coupled between a water source and a water manifold 212 and the water manifold 212 is coupled to the air manifold 213. Figure 8 is a side view of an LM6000 machine 250 of General Electric Company modified to include spray injection. The machine 250 includes an inlet 252, a low pressure compressor 254 and a front frame 256, and a high pressure compressor 258. The machine 250 is modified to include a water spray injection apparatus 260, which includes a manifold of air 262 and a water manifold 264 coupled to twenty-four radially spaced nozzles 266 installed in an outer cover of the machine 268. The nozzles 266 spread water to the machine 250 at a location between the low pressure compressor 254 and the high compressor. pressure 258. The injection apparatus 260 also includes a connector 270 for connecting to an eight stage drain 272 of the high pressure compressor 258, and a line 274 extending from the connector 270 to the air manifold 262. Although not shown in Figure 8, a heat exchanger (air to air or water to air) can be coupled to line 274 to reduce the air temperature supplied to the multiple air compressor 262. For illustrative purposes, the nozzles 276 are shown secured to the inlet 252 of the low pressure compressor 254. The air and water manifolds could also be coupled to the nozzles 276 to provide water spray injection by compressor of pre-low pressure. The components of the injection apparatus 260 described above are made of stainless steel. The high pressure compressor 258 includes stator vanes which are not generally supported on the cover 268. When used in combination with the water spray injection, it has been found that it may be necessary to support at least some of said vanes which they are in contact with the water spray. To the extent that it is required, and using for example graphite grease, such vanes can be supported on the cover 268. That is, the graphite grease can be applied to the support area of said vanes. For example, said graphite grease can be used in the input guide vane and for each vane downstream through the second stage. During operation, a portion of the fat is heated and dissipated, and the graphite remains to provide a path of conduction from the vane to the cover 268. It should also be understood that if the water can be supplied to the spray nozzles of water under sufficient pressure, it may not be necessary to supply high pressure air to the nozzles. Therefore, it is contemplated that the eight stage drain could be removed if such high pressure water is available. Figure 9 is a perspective view of the connector 270 for connecting the eight stage drain 272 of the machine 250. The connector 270 is configured to be engaged with the cover 268 of the machine and includes an opening 274 normally closed by a screw 276. When it is desired to provide drainage air to the air manifold 262, the screw 276 is removed and the pipe 274 is coupled to the connector 270 using a coupling flange at the end of the pipe 274 that engages the surface 278 of the connector 270. The screw openings 280 allow the pipe coupling flange to be screwed to the connector 270. Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the machine 250 and illustrates nozzles 266. The nozzles 266 are configured so that the water injected into the flow of gas in the high pressure compressor 258 provides substantially uniform radial and circumferential temperature reductions at the outlet of the high pressure compressor Ion 258. The nozzles 266 include a series 282 of long nozzles and a series 284 of short nozzles. In the configuration shown in figure 10, at least one short nozzle 284 is located at a radially intermediate location between the two radially aligned long nozzles 282. The short nozzles 284 are almost flush with the circumference of the flow path and the long nozzles 282 extend to approximately 10.16. cm in the flow path. Of course, other nozzle lengths may be used depending on the desired operation results. In a specific implementation, the nozzle 284 extends to approximately 1.10 cm in the flow path, and the nozzle 282 extends to 9.36 cm in the flow path. The water ratio between the short nozzles 284 and the long nozzles 282 (eg, 50/50) can also be selected to control the resulting coding at the outlet of the compressor. The temperature sensor for obtaining the temperature at the inlet of the high-pressure compressor (i.e., temperature T25), is aligned with a long nozzle 282. By aligning said temperature sensor with a long nozzle 282, a temperature measurement is obtained. more precise temperature than having said sensor aligned with a short nozzle 284. Figures 11 and 12 illustrate one of the nozzles 266. The long and short nozzles 282 and 284 only differ in length. The nozzle 266 includes a head 286 having an air nozzle 288 and a water nozzle 290. The air nozzle 288 is coupled to an air line (not shown) which extends from the nozzle 288 to the air manifold 262 The water nozzle 290 is coupled to a water line (not shown) which extends from the nozzle 290 to the water manifold 264. The nozzle 266 also includes a rod 292 and a mounting flange 294 for mounting the nozzle 266. to the cover 262. A mounting portion 296 of the rod 292 facilitates the engagement of the nozzle 266 with the cover 262. The rod 292 is formed by an outer tubular conduit 298 and an internal tubular conduit 300 located within the conduit 298. The air flows to nozzle 288 and through the annulus between external conduit 298 and internal conduit 300. Water flows to nozzle 290 and through internal conduit 300. The mixture of air and water occurs in portion of piston rod 302 formed by a single conduit 304. An end 306 of the nozzle 266 is opened so that the water-air mixture can flow outwardly from said end 306 and into the flow path. Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of a control circuit 350 for controlling the supply of water and air to the nozzles 282 and 284 in the machine 250 for both the injection of water into the frame and for the injection of water at the inlet. As shown in Figure 13, demineralized water is pumped through a motor driven water pump 352. The sensors 354 are coupled to the water supply line such as a linear variable differential transformer, a pressure sensor and a water measuring valve. A safety valve 356 is connected in parallel with the pump 352, and a flow meter 358 is coupled in series with the pump 352. An air purge line 360 is also coupled to the water supply line. Controls 362 for a normally closed solenoid valve 364 control air purge operations. A filter 366 is also provided in the water supply line, and sensors 368 with valves 370 (manual valve closure indication feature (normally open)) are coupled in a parallel fashion with the filter 366. Normally open valves 372, coupled to controls 374, are provided to allow water to drain from the water supply line to the water drainage system. The water in the water supply line flows through a heat exchanger 376 which receives air from the eight stage drain of the high pressure compressor 258. For water injection to the frame, the multiple sensors 378 and control valves 380 control the water supply to the nozzles 282 and 284. The circuit 350 also includes a water accumulator 382. For water injection at the inlet, the sensors 378 and control valve 384 control the supply of water to the nozzles 282. The indications with letter in figure 13 have the following meanings. T - temperature measurement location P - pressure measurement location Pl - pressure indicator N / C - normally closed N / O - normally open PDSW - differential pressure switch PDI - differential pressure indicator DRN - drain ZS - switch WMV position - water measurement valve PRG - purge LVDT - linear variable differential transformer In figure 13, the continuous line is a water supply line, the dotted line is a drainage line, and a continuous line with marks is a line electric The tables identify interfaces between the water supply system and the machine. Water measuring valves 286 and other control / metering valves 288 are used, and a hole 290 (for water injection at the inlet) in relation to the control of water flow through the circuit 350. The following are controls for different modes of operation of the circuit 350 in relation to the machine 250. In the following description, the indications Z _SPRINTON, Z_SPRINT, and Z_RAISE have the following meaning. Z_SPRINTON = activation control / system supply sequence for H2O supply with the machine switched off. Z SPRINT = limit sequence of the logic program of the core control followed by the heat exchanger purge used for water injection, stop and protection functions. Z_RAISE = Z_SPRINT plus the full manifold fill time regulator used for alarm functions. In addition, an * indicates that the selected variable is adjustable.

Pre-Invention Tolerances / Purge Activation (AUTOMATIC or MANUAL) 1. T2 > -1.1 ° C * = ON T2 < -27F * = OFF 2. Accumulator charge pressure > 2,812 kg / cm2 gauge * 3. Fair operator Z_SPRINTON to TRUE, heat exchange purge to initiate deviation. AUTO at any time according to the MANUAL purge time required at the water injection start point. 4. Closed drain valves.

Invention Tolerances (Pre-Invention Tolerances 1-4 Satisfied) 1. PS3 3,515 kg / cm2 * or less below the limit program. 2. T2 regulator not active (MANUAL only) 3. Air pressure of stage eight > (PS3 / 4) 4. Purge time regulator of the complete heat exchanger 5. Air temperature of the 8th stage lower than 148.8 ° C * 6. Water temperature less than 121.1 ° C * MANUAL mode sequence 1. The operator adjusts the power to meet injection tolerances 1-2 above and adjusts Z_SPRINTON = T (TRUE = ON) 2.- Water pump turned on and heat exchange purge valve directed towards deflection ( minimum water flow). 3. The purge of the water heat exchanger reduces the eight stage air temperature to < 148.8 ° C (five minutes *) 4. Z-SPRINT = T (TRUE = ON) SPRINT, the ShutOff valve opens (the deflection of the heat exchanger is diverted to the machine), minimum flow programmed to the machine 5. The flow fills the manifold at the minimum water flow programmed for 60 seconds * Z_RAISE = T (TRUE = ON) 6. The operator raises the SPRINT flow (0.5 gpm / sec) to the maximum program level. 7.- The operator increases the power to the desired level or as it is limited by MW, T3, T48, Ps3, XN25R3, or XN25R. 8.- Power and water are reduced as desired between the programmed limits. 9.- To PS3 of 4.218 kg / cm2 below the programmed base limit is set Z_SPRINT = F and SPRINT is reduced (-2 gpm / sec) to a minimum flow program and turns off. 10.- Z_SPRINTON is activated to OFF (FALSE = OFF) the SPRINT shut-off valve directs the water of the machine to the deviation, water pump turned off, valve of purge of heat exchanger to the deviation, opens the drains of the system and purge the pipe until it is clear and close the drains.

AUTOMATIC mode (Tolerances satisfied) 1.- The operator sets Z_SPRINTON to ON (TRUE = ON) in time to complete the heat exchanger purge before the SPRINT activation tolerances. 2.- Z_SPRINT = T will start automatically when reaching the tolerance point. 3.- SPRINT shut-off valve opens (directs the water to the machine from the deviation). 4.- Filling the manifold in the minimum program (60 seconds delay *) Z_RAISE = T then carries the water (0.5 gpm / sec) to a maximum programmed flow. 5.- The power is brought to the desired level and limited by MW against Limiter T2, T3, T48, Ps3, XN25R3, or XN25R. 6.- Power is reduced as desired to 4,218 kg / cm2 below the base programmed limit (T_P3BNVG) before SPRINT is reduced (-2 gpm / sec) to the minimum flow program and switched off. 7.- Z-SPRINTON is activated to OFF (FALSE = OFF) shut-off valve SPRINT off, heat exchanger purge valve to bypass, water pump turned off, and open the system drains and purge the pipe until it is clear.

Alarm Requirements Z_RAISE = TRUE (TRUE = ON) Satisfied multiple fill timer and SPRINT flow for ALARMS. 1.- Flow error (demand-measured) > 3 gpm * for 5 seconds * - Alarm. 2.- Air temperature of the 8th stage > 121.1 ° C for 5 seconds * - Alarm.

Aqua Z-SPRINT Shutdown Requirements = F initiates water shutdown through reduction control limits and activates water shutdown. 1. - Flow error (demand - measured) > 6 gpm * for 10 seconds * - - Z-SPRINT = F 2.- Loss of pressure below 1.6872 kg / cm2 at water demand > 6 gpm * - - Z-SPRINT is set = F 3.- Pressure loss below 3.515 kg / cm2 at water demand >; 10 gpm * - - set Z-SPRINT = F 4.- Air temperature of the 8th stage higher than 148.8 ° C * - - set Z-SPRINT = F 5.- Air pressure of eight stages < (PS3 / 4) - - set Z-SPRINT = F 6.- T2 < -2.7 ° C - set Z-SPRINT = F 7.- PS3 is not within 4.218 kg / cm2 of limit program Ps3 - - is set Z-SPRINT = F 8.- Any gas turbine shutdown, load of droplets, or go to the inactive state - - Z-SPRINT = F (deviation water reduction control) is set 9.- The circuit breaker is not closed - - Z-SPRINT = F is set diverting water) Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a water graph for the machine arrangement illustrated in Figure 8, and Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the output, heat index, flow, and water supplied to the machine illustrated in FIG. 8 at various ambient temperatures. The amount of water supplied to the nozzles varies depending on, for example, the ambient temperature as well as the size of the desired drops. It has been found that a droplet size of 20 microns, in at least one application, provides acceptable results. Of course, the operating parameters of the machine in which water spray injection is used, the desired operating parameters, and other factors known to those skilled in the art affect the amount of water spray injection.

TABLE 1"Output, heat index, flow, and water supplied to the machine illustrated in figure 8 at various ambient temperatures" Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating the high pressure turbine cavity flow ratio versus the corrected high pressure compressor output speed of the machine illustrated in Fig. 8. An additional machine control limit is used with the machine illustrated in Figure 8 to avoid high internal pressure turbine cavity temperatures becoming too hot as a result of ingesting high pressure turbine gas path air. The high pressure turbine cavities are cooled with air from the high pressure compressor to an appropriate level of flow and pressure so that there is always a positive air flow from the internal cavity in the high pressure turbine gas path, thus eliminating the possibility of ingestion. Because the objective of water injection in the compression components is to cool the temperature T3 so that the machine can be pushed by a choke to increase the power, the high pressure system operates faster than it would normally without the water injection. However, the parasitic air provided by the compressor to cool the turbine cavities is reduced. The curve illustrated in Figure 15 shows the high pressure compressor cooling air flow ratio as a function of the corrected high pressure compressor speed at the high pressure compressor outlet temperature. The corrected high pressure compressor output temperature is defined as: HP physical speed * square root (international standard temperature / HPC output temperature) or, XN25R3 = 1/2 XN25 * (TSTD / T3) where TSTD = 518.67 ° R (15 ° C). As shown in the curve illustrated in Figure 15, there is a minimum required high pressure turbine cavity flow to ensure that there is no ingestion of high pressure turbine cavity. This flow level and its relation to the corrected high pressure compressor output speed defines the XN25R3 to which the machine must be controlled as a maximum limit. With respect to droplet size, a minimum droplet size should be produced at each flow rate both to reduce residence time for complete evaporation and to keep droplet sizes small enough to avoid blade wear. Here is a way to analyze the drop size. More specifically, and for a preliminary analysis, a 3D model of a 30 ° sector of the LM-6000 intensifier duct is used to determine the velocity and temperature field in the duct. A vortex is not assumed at the inlet of the duct and the tips of the nozzle are located on the outer cover at the entrance of the intensifier duct directed radially inward. The nozzle axis was orthogonal to the outer cover surface and the injection point was approximately 0.508 cm radially inward from the cover surface. The droplet size values generated by the nozzle were taken as the smallest values of the RR drop size, given by equation 1. Two smaller values (ie, 10.5 μm and 7.5 μm) were also assumed to determine the effect of smaller droplet sizes than those typically generated by air atomized nozzles. The results are presented in table 2. It was assumed that 36 nozzles at 0.5 GPM each were used, that is, 3 at a 30 ° sector.

TABLE 2 'Results for atomized nozzle operation with pressure and air ") oo Fraction of volume above diameter (1) The relationship between the water flow at the entrance to the HP compressor and the complete evaporation stage is shown in Figure 16. The data in Figure 16 can be used to determine the drop size approximate maximum that has to be present at the HP compressor inlet in order to allow complete evaporation in the indicated stage. The drop sizes obtained are also shown in FIG. 16. This calculation assumes that the average droplet size obtained from the re-entrainment on the moistened surface is the same as the droplet size deposited. Due to the increasing air density and the smaller amount of liquid present in the compressor the actual re-entrained drop sizes will be smaller than those shown in Figure 16. Although it may be unnecessary to generate smaller droplets with spray nozzles that those that are generated in the compressor through reartransfer, this is not the case since the smaller the drops generated by the nozzle, the smaller the fraction of the compressor input flow rate that is deposited in the HP inlet guide vanes. Also, the fraction of wetted area in stages where the wetting was indicated could not be determined with accuracy. Therefore, it is possible that less water was present in the HP compressor than that implied by the 'wet' cover temperatures. The location for complete evaporation is shown in Table 3. The information shows that approximately 20% more water injection can be evaporated at a given stage than that calculated in the preliminary analysis.

TABLE 3 'Effect of nozzle performance on evaporation in the high pressure compressor " The same nozzle flow rates and initial drop sizes provided in Table 3 were located at the entrance to the LP compressor to evaluate the complete evaporation location on the HP compressor. The smaller droplet sizes generated by the nozzles cause only a fraction of the nozzle flow to be deposited on the LP compressor inlet guide vanes. Although the deposited flow behaves the same, the fraction that does not settle evaporates more quickly in the LP compressor and intensifier duct. The method to calculate the evaporation of the water initially deposited in the LP compressor is the same as mentioned above. The evaporation of the droplet fraction was calculated using a model that determines the location of complete drop evaporation. The latter was placed in the LP compressor due to the small cut size for the non-deposited flow. This cut-off size was calculated to be 13 μm at the entrance to the LP using a trajectory analysis. The results for the first four nozzles in Table 3 are shown in Table 4 where a total of 18 GPM is injected again initially at 0.5 GPM per nozzle.

TABLE 4 Results for the first four nozzles in table 3 'U) As a calibration for the effect of the initial drop drop size, if a cut-off size of 13 μm is used instead of 10 μm for nozzle 3 in table 4, then complete evaporation would take place at 11 ° stage instead of the 9th -10th stage of the HP compressor. Compared to the injection at the inlet of the intensifier duct, a little less evaporation takes place in the intensifier duct due to an increase in the average drop size in the intensifier duct with injection at the LP inlet, while the Evaporation in the LP compressor results in faster evaporation in the HP compressor. With respect to nozzle selection and performance, the performance of selected pressure and air atomized nozzles and their effect on evaporation in the HP compressor requires knowledge of the temporary droplet size distribution generated by the nozzles in the environment in the which will be used. The temporal size distribution has to be measured at the air density of interest. The spatial distribution of droplet size, fraction of liquid volume and drop rate profile need to be measured to calculate the temporary droplet size. A spray tunnel can be used to measure the performance of the nozzles. The tunnel, in a test example, is supplied by up to 3,178 kg / second of air at pressures sufficient to equal the intensifier duct air density of 2.0824 grams / liter.

The air velocity in the tunnel was changed from 13,716 to 22.86 m / s to eliminate the reverse circulation of the spray to the outer spray boundary and to keep the spray diameter small enough to avoid droplet collision in the quartz windows. The air temperature remained below 35 ° C to eliminate the need to justify evaporation between the nozzle and measurement locations. The radial distribution of the droplet velocities in the axial direction is obtained from the measurement of the air velocities of the respective atomization air flow rates but without water flow. The radial values of the drop size RR are multiplied by the radial values of volume fraction of the liquid and the axial droplet velocities with the resulting product then integrated into the spray radius. After dividing between the volume fraction of the integrated average liquid and the axial velocity in the spray cross section, the average flow RR drop size is obtained. The atomized nozzle performance with air is better than that of the atomized nozzle with pressure. At 9.4905 kg / cm2 gauge, 24 spray nozzles with 24 GPM total injection air allows evaporation in the HP compressor while spray nozzles with pressure at 210.9 kg / cm2 cause 5 GPM to leave 24 GPM to pass through the HP compressor. In order to evaporate 24 GPM in the HP compressor with atomized nozzles with pressure at 1 GPM per nozzle, at least some nozzle configurations would have to be operated at 351.5 kg / cm2. At lower water velocities per nozzle, the atomized nozzle performance with air improves while the performance of the atomized nozzle with pressure is reduced if the nozzle configuration is not changed. The nozzles can be obtained commercially from FST Woodward, Zeeland, Michigan, 49464. Again, and shortly, the water spray injection described above provides the important result that the increased power output can be obtained using the same control limit of compressor discharge temperature. That is, by injecting atomized water spray in front of the intensifier and / or high pressure compressor, the entry temperature of the high compressor present is significantly reduced. Therefore, using the same compressor discharge temperature control limit, the high pressure compressor can pump more air, achieving a higher pressure ratio. This results in a higher output and improved efficiency. In addition to the increased power output, the water spray injection described above provides the advantage of lower water consumption compared to intercooling under the same conditions. Although the invention has been described in terms of several specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Claims (20)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A nozzle configuration for a plurality of fixed nozzles to a machine including a high pressure compressor, said nozzles can be configured so that the water injected into the gas flow to the high pressure compressor provides radial temperature reductions and circumferentially uniform in the outlet of the high-pressure compressor.

2. The nozzle configuration according to claim 1 comprising a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles.

3. The nozzle configuration according to claim 2, further characterized in that at least one short nozzle is in a radially intermediate location between two radially aligned long nozzles.

4. The nozzle configuration according to claim 1, further characterized in that the nozzles are located upstream of the high pressure compressor so that the water injected into the gas flow by said nozzles results in a considerable reduction and Uniform temperature of the gas flow at the outlet of the high-pressure compressor.

5. - The nozzle configuration according to claim 4, further characterized in that the machine further comprises a low pressure compressor, and further characterized in that the nozzles are located upstream of the low pressure compressor.

6. The nozzle configuration according to claim 1 comprising a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles, said short nozzles configured so that a nozzle outlet is approximately at the level of a circumference of a flow path through the compressor and said long nozzles configured so that a nozzle outlet extends in the flow path through the compressor.

7. The nozzle configuration according to claim 1 comprising a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles, the ratio of water between the flow of water through said short nozzles and said long nozzles being approximately 50 / fifty.

8. The nozzle configuration according to claim 1 comprising a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles, and a temperature sensor for obtaining the temperature at the inlet of the high pressure compressor, said sensor aligned with one of said long nozzles.

9. A nozzle for injecting water into a gas flow of a turbine machine, said nozzle comprising: a head comprising an air inlet nozzle and a water inlet nozzle; a rod through which air and water flow from said air inlet nozzle and said water inlet nozzle; a conduit extending from said rod and comprising an open end.

10. The nozzle according to claim 9, further comprising a mounting edge for mounting to a cover of a machine.

11. The nozzle according to claim 9, further characterized in that said rod comprises an external tubular conduit and an internal tubular conduit located inside said external conduit.

12. The nozzle according to claim 11, further characterized in that the air flows through a ring between said external conduit and said internal conduit, and further characterized in that the water flows through said internal conduit.

13. The nozzle according to claim 12, further characterized in that the air and water are mixed in said duct extending from said rod.

14. An apparatus for injecting water into a gas flow through a turbine machine, said apparatus comprises a plurality of nozzles arranged so that the water injected into the gas flow through said nozzles provides temperature reductions radial and circumferential uniformly.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further characterized in that said nozzles comprise a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, further characterized in that at least one short nozzle is in an intermediate radiation location between two radially aligned long nozzles.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, further characterized in that the turbine machine includes a high pressure compressor and said nozzles are located so that the water injected into the gas flow by said nozzles results in a considerable reduction and uniform temperature of the gas flow at the outlet of the high pressure compressor.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, further characterized in that the turbine machine includes a low pressure compressor and said nozzles are located upstream of the low pressure compressor.

19. The apparatus according to claim 14, further characterized in that said nozzles comprise a series of long nozzles and a series of short nozzles, said short nozzles configured so that a nozzle outlet is approximately at the level of a circumference of a flow path through the compressor and said long nozzles configured so that a nozzle outlet extends in the flow path through the compressor.

20. - The apparatus according to claim 19 further comprising a temperature sensor aligned with one of said long nozzles.