Analysis of Humid Air Turbine Cycle with Low- or Medium-Temperature Solar Energy

Abstract EN

A new humid air turbine cycle that uses low- or medium-temperature solar energy as assistant heat source was proposed for increasing the mass flow rate of humid air.

Based on the combination of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, this paper described and compared the performances of the conventional and the solar HAT cycles.

The effects of some parameters such as pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature (TIT), and sollar collector efficiency on humidity, specific work, cycle's exergy efficiency, and solar energy to electricity efficiency were discussed in detail.

Compared with the conventional HAT cycle, because of the increased humid air mass flow rate in the new system, the humidity and the specific work of the new system were increased.

Meanwhile, the solar energy to electricity efficiency was greatly improved.

Additionally, the exergy losses of components in the system under the given conditions were also studied and analyzed.