Gas Turbine Cooling Flows and Their Influence in Output

This article presents the importance of understanding cooling flow monitoring especially when applied to land-based gas turbines. Cooling flows are necessary for the engine to function; however, too much cooling has a negative impact on the performance and output. Strategically placed instrumentation in the cooling flow delivery system can monitor the health and hence the output of the gas turbine generator utilized in a simple or combined cycle operation. In order to monitor cooling flows, a good approach is to look at disc cavity temperatures as well as bypass valve positions. It is best to trend both bypass valve position and disc cavity temperatures over a range of temperatures and engine load operation to get a better idea if the orifice plates in the main lines are sized properly. A quick way to determine whether there are cooling issues in an engine or not is to trend disc cavity temperature and bypass valve positions {AQ: Edits have been made in this sentence “A quick…valve positions.” for better readability. Please check and correct if necessary.}