THE PERFORMANCE PREDICTION OF A 30-KW MULTI-FUELED MICRO GAS TURBINE

This study focuses on the performance prediction of a 30-kW micro gas turbine, using natural gas, ethanol from sugarcane, and biogas from palm-oil residues. The theories of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and mathematical modelling were applied. To clarify the full-load and part-load performance of the micro gas turbine, a compressor performance characteristic map and a turbine performance characteristic map were developed. A steady-state thermodynamic model of the micro gas turbine was developed and validated against the manufacturing data for a Capstone C30 micro gas turbine, the results from testing a Capstone C30, and the analytical results. Natural gas properties were applied for model-validation purposes and the results were found to be in good agreement. The effects of the fuel variation on the electrical efficiency, fuel consumption, heat recovery at the recuperator, exhaust temperature, and power output of the micro gas turbine were investigated. This study found no significant difference in the micro-gas-turbine performance when the fuel was changed from natural gas to renewable energy; i.e., ethanol and biogas. However, utilizing renewable energy instead of natural gas required much more fuel to be fed into the system, which increased the fuel expenses and operational costs.