TIAC or Wet Compression: Which is Right for Your Application?

Ambient conditions have a significant impact on the operation of natural gas power plants. This is largely due to the fact that as temperature and humidity rise, air becomes less dense and mass flow rate through combustion turbines decreases.

Inlet cooling has become a popular method for boosting power output by lowering the temperature of air before it enters the turbine’s compressor. Plant operators today have the option of using any number of cooling/chilling techniques for reducing air inlet temperature – two of the most common of which are turbine inlet air chilling (TIAC) and wet compression.

Both TIAC and wet compression offer distinct advantages that make them more or less suitable for use depending on the specific needs of the facility. Understanding what those advantages are is essential to making the right decision when choosing which method to employ, thus ensuring optimal use of capital budgets.

The purpose of this blog is to help operators make that decision by providing an overview of both methodologies. 

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Modes & Benefits of Coil-Based Inlet Air Conditioning for Gas Turbines

This paper was delivered at Power-Gen International, December 2015.

Power demand is often greatest at the extreme temperatures due to an inherent desire (or required need) to maintain a steady, comfortable condition. The additional energy required to offset extreme ambient conditions, whether running an air conditioner or a heater, creates additional power demand. Unfortunately, a combustion turbine performance is highly sensitive to ambient air conditions and thus extreme hot and cold temperatures negatively impacts a generating unit’s performance and operation. Coil-based inlet air-conditioning systems are designed and operated to counteract these challenging conditions and maintain a combustion turbine performance and reliability throughout the ambient temperature range.

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