It is well established that sub-micron ambient aerosol contamination of the intake air can produce fouling of the gas turbine compressor and result in a reduction of power output. Application of electrospun nanofibers of 0.25 micron diameter to a conventional filter media substrate has been demonstrated to improve the efficiency of gas turbine intake filters to remove sub-micron contaminate. The benefits of nanofiber filtration have been proven through use in gas turbine intake air filtration and other industrial and defense filtration applications for over twenty years. Recent advancements in electrospun nanofiber media technology have increased the filtering efficiency of gas turbine intake filters, with minimal differences in filter element pressure loss. These advances have also improved the durability of nanofibers in high temperature and high humidity applications. This paper discusses the laboratory testing that demonstrates these performance and durability improvements. A comparative field test program demonstrates the capability of nanofiber filtration to significantly reduce the fouling of gas turbine compressors.

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Gas turbine output and mass flow have increased significantly over the years. The current generation of self cleaning air filter systems are large and complex, occupying a great deal of space, and requiring significant amounts of field assembly. A new filter technology developed for gas turbine intake air systems allows for the same high efficiency self cleaning performance to be achieved with a system that has a 40% smaller three dimensional footprint. This new corrugated flute filter media packaging technology not only reduces the size of the intake filter system, but can also reduce the complexity of the installation, shorten field installation time, and reduce the total cost of shipping by up to 50%. The key to this size reduction is a new way to package the filter media that allows for twice the airflow per filter at the same initial pressure loss and filtration efficiency as the current industry standard self cleaning filter systems. This paper will discuss the benefits of corrugated flute filter media packaging, and highlight the size reduction possible in the self cleaning air intake system. The resulting advantages are documented through laboratory and field experience.