Thermodynamics analysis of a combined cycle power plant

The present paper is a thermodynamics analysis, i.e. both energy and exergy analyses for a natural gas based combined cycle power plant. The analysis was performed for an existing 240 MW plant, where the steam cycle reduces the irreversibilities during heat transfer from gas to water/steam. The effect of operating variables such as pressure ratio, gas turbine inlet temperature on the performance of combined cycle power plant has been investigated. The pressure ratio and maximum temperature (gas turbine inlet temperature) are identified as the dominant parameters having impact on the combined cycle plant performance. The work output of the topping cycle is found to increase with pressure ratio, while for the bottoming cycle it decreases. However, for the same gas turbine inlet temperature the overall work output of the combined cycle plant increases up to a certain pressure ratio, and thereafter not much increase is observed. The exergy losses of the individual components in the plant are evaluated based on second law of thermodynamics. The present results form a basis on which further work can be conducted to improve the performance of these units.