Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Walid Abdelghaffar
Fuel Systems
Fuel Systems
Gas Turbine Fuel Systems: Purpose
The purpose of a fuel system is to supply an exact amount of clean fuel to the engine under all operating conditions. The amount of fuel is based on turbine speed and load requirements. The fuel pressure required for a gas turbine is primarily a function of the compression ratio of the compressor section. For example, the lower the compression ratio, the lower the fuel pressure requirement; the higher the compression ratio, the higher the fuel pressure Gas Turbine_Fuel requirement. Systems
Fuel Systems
Gas Turbine Fuel Systems: Purpose
Almost any combustible fluid, either gaseous or liquid, can be used for turbine fuel. Some gas turbines operate on both liquid fuel and fuel gas. Both fuel gas and liquid fuel must be clean for efficient turbine operations. However, fuel requirement specifications differ among manufacturers. The following information on fuel gas and liquid fuel requirements is provided to illustrate the differences in specifications.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Fuel Systems
Fuel Gas Requirements
The figure lists typical fuel gas requirements for gas turbine engines. These requirements are: lower heating value supply pressure gas temperature fuel quality
Fuel Systems
Liquid Fuel Requirements
The figure lists typical liquid fuel requirements for gas turbine engines. These requirements are: fuel temperature fuel viscosity pour point fuel quality
NOTE: Always check the turbine manufacturer's fuel specifications to ensure that the fuel meets the specifications for the gas turbine you are operating. The main components of a fuel gas system and liquid fuel system are given next.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Fuel Systems
Fuel Gas System: Components
The main components of a typical gas turbine fuel gas system are as follows: fuel shutoff valve (SOV) vent valve pressure control valve (PCV) pressure indicator controller (PIC) pressure safety valve(s) (PSV) instruments and alarms filter separators control system fuel gas heater (optional depending on gas dew point)
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Fuel Systems
Liquid Fuel System: Components
The main components of a typical liquid fuel system are: manifold nozzles pumps filters pressure switches fuel control valves solenoid-operating valves control system
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Fuel Systems
NOTE: Nozzles are not shown in the figure. The main difference between the two systems is that the liquid fuel system has a storage tank and fuel pumps, whereas a fuel gas system does not.
Contd.
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
In the figure, a hand switch controls a four-way air valve to send instrument air pressure to either side of the shutoff valve actuator piston. In some cases actuator piston movement is controlled by hydraulic control oil ported through a servo valve. The actuator is operated by the hand switch or by the fire detection system by means of an interlock.
Contd.
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
The interlock receives signals from the hand switch and the fire detection system to change the positions of the fuel shutoff valve and the vent valve. When the fuel shutoff valve is closed, the vent valve must be open. The interlock is usually a part of the control system logic that closes the vent valve before the fuel shutoff valve opens.
The pressure transmitter signals gas pressure information to the DCS pressure indicator (PI), low pressure alarm (PAL), and high pressure alarm (PAH). The fuel gas pressure can be read from the turbine control system CRT and from the DCS.
Filter Separators
The purpose of the filter separators in the fuel gas supply system is to provide filtration and separation of the fuel gas before it enters the fuel control system. The fuel gas should be relatively clean and dry by the time it reaches this part of the system. Operators should monitor the filter separator sight glass (LG) during routine operating checks. Any liquid accumulation must be drained off. If liquid levels in the filter separator become excessively high, the high level switch (LSH) signals the DCS high liquid level alarm (LAH) and an alarm is initiated.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Control System
Fuel gas flows from the filter to the gas turbine fuel system which is controlled by the turbine control system. Several measuring devices are located between the filter separator and the gas turbine: pressure transmitter (PT) flow transmitter (FT) - optional temperature measuring elements (TE)
Contd.
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
These devices provide fuel gas supply information to the control system instruments. This information may be used for pressure indicators, pressure recorders, pressure alarms, flow indicators, totalizers, recorders, temperature indicators, and temperature recorders.
Control System
The information is also analyzed and computed by the control system to schedule fuel flow to the engine as needed for speed and load requirements.
( Contd.)
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
LVDTs sense the position of the SRV and the GCV and transmit signals to the appropriate Speedtronic control system segment. Here the signals are changed into DC signals, which are compared to the FSR. This signal is then transmitted to the servo valves, which regulate the flow of oil to the actuator cylinder, repositioning the SRV and the GCV.
Contd.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
The following is a basic description of how these sensors function. If speed is zero, permissive logic allows clutch engagement and the cranking sequence for turbine startup is initiated. The zero-speed detector provides a signal when the turbine shaft starts rotating.
Contd.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
Contd.
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
fuel oil pumps pressure switches fuel filters manifold nozzles fuel control valve solenoid-operated valves control system A fuel storage tank is discussed first.
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
The relief valve (PSV) is a safety device designed to prevent excessive pressure in the tank.
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
The boost pump is installed upstream from the low pressure duplex fuel filters. An electric boost pump is a rotary, positive-displacement, gear, motor-driven pump. The pump takes fuel from the low pressure liquid fuel supply and delivers it to the fuel system inlet at the required pressure.
The high pressure fuel filter is installed in the fuel line between the high pressure fuel pump and the fuel control valve. It contains a replaceable filter element rated at 40 microns nominal.
Fuel Manifold
Solar gas turbines may also have an air assist manifold. Air assist manifold-toinjector tube assemblies carry fuelatomizing air to the fuel nozzles. The fuel and air mixture ratio is the weight of combustor primary air in relation to the weight of the fuel. A specific proportion of air is needed for efficient operation.
Modern gas turbines use an electric or electronically controlled main fuel actuator to control turbine speed. The main fuel actuator controller can be programmed to maintain a constant gas producer turbine speed, a constant power turbine speed, or a constant compressor discharge pressure, depending on the requirements of the system.
(Contd.)
Shaft rpm is compared with speed setpoints by the main fuel actuator controller. The controller then increases or decreases fuel flow until the desired speed is reached.
Introduction
The preceding lesson explained liquid fuel system components and their function.
1) The Pcd bleed valve opens and begins to act on the acceleration limiter. 2) The purge valve closes. 3) The torch valve and the fuel valve open. 4) The electric motor-driven main fuel pump starts, if used. 5) The ignition relay and ignition exciter are energized. Spark plug starts firing. 6) Fuel flows through the torch valve to the torch. (Contd.)
Gas Turbine_Fuel Systems
Dr. Walid Abdelghaffar
After light-off occurs, turbine temperature increases rapidly. If temperature exceeds setpoint while accelerating to 90% engine speed, engine temperature control warning IMPENDING HIGH ENGINE TEMPERATURE is initiated.
The electronic load/speed controller (governor) takes control of the electrohydraulic servo actuator and positions the fuel control linkage to accelerate to operating speed. 2) Offset setpoints are transferred to normal operating values for engine temperature control. (Contd.)
6) Engine speed increases to operating speed. 7) The following events take place if a turbine over-temperature condition occurs when the engine is operating above 90% speed: 8) At approximately 1,155F, the engine shutdown timer is de-energized. 9) After a 5-second delay, allowing for transient over-temperatures, HIGH ENG TEMP alarm is indicated. 10) At approximately 1200F, engine shutdown is immediate and HIGH ENG TEMP is indicated and engine shutdown is initiated.