Degradation Effects on Combined Cycle Power Plant Performance—Part I: Gas Turbine Cycle Component Degradation Effects

This paper describes the effects of degradation of the main gas path components of the gas turbine topping cycle on the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant performance. First, the component degradation effects on the gas turbine performance as an independent unit are examined. It is then shown how this degradation is reflected on a steam turbine plant of the CCGT and on the complete combined cycle plant. TURBOMATCH, the gas turbine performance code of Cranfield University, was used to predict the effects of degraded gas path components of the gas turbine have on its performance as a whole plant. To simulate the steam (bottoming) cycle, another Fortran code was developed. Both codes were used together to form a complete software system that can predict the CCGT plant design point, off-design, and deteriorated (due to component degradation) performances. The results show that the overall output is very sensitive to many types of degradation, especially in the turbine of the gas turbine. Also shown is the effect on gas turbine exhaust conditions and how this affects the steam cycle.