OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE OF A SIMPLE GAS-TURBINE ENGINE USED AS A SOURCE OF COMPRESSED-AIR

A simple gas turbine unit is used as a source of compressed air. The turbine produces just enough work to drive the compressor. The part load performance of the cycle is analyzed to estimate the equilibrium running line on the compressor characteristics for different running conditions of pressure ratio, maximum cycle temperature and the amount of air bled off. Specific fuel-air consumption is also determined as the quantity of fuel consumed to produce one kilogram per second of bled air. Performance calculations show that the maximum cycle temperature is relatively the most influential parameter. Hence operation along an isothermal equilibrium line gives the best performance.