Modeling,numerical optimization,and irreversibility reduction of a triple-pressure reheat combined cycle

The main methods for improving the efficiency of the combined cycle are: increasing the inlet temperature of the gas turbine (TIT), reducing the irreversibility of the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), and optimization. In this paper, modeling and optimization of the triple-pressure reheat combined cycle as well as irreversibility reduction of its HRSG are considered. Constraints were set on the minimum temperature difference for pinch points (PP_m), the temperature difference for superheat approach, the steam turbine inlet temperature and pressure, the stack temperature, and the dryness fraction at steam turbine outlet. The triple-pressure reheat combined cycle was optimized at 41 different maximum values of TIT using two different methods; the direct search and the variable metric. A feasible technique to reduce the irreversibility of the HRSG of the combined cycle was introduced. The optimized and the reduced-irreversibility triple-pressure reheat combined cycles were compared with the regularly designed triple-pressure reheat combined cycle, which is the typical design for a commercial combined cycle. The effects of varying the TIT on the performance of all cycles were presented and discussed. The results indicate that the optimized triple-pressure reheat combined cycle is up to 1.7% higher in efficiency than the reduced-irreversibility triple-pressure reheat combined cycle, which is 1.9–2.1% higher in efficiency than the regularly designed triple-pressure reheat combined cycle when all cycles are compared at the same values of TIT and PP_m. The optimized and reduced-irreversibility combined cycles were compared with the most efficient commercially available combined cycle at the same value of TIT.