On the Possible Introduction of Mini Gas Turbine Cycles Onboard Ships for Heat and Power Generation

Abstract

The recent coming in force of MARPOL 2020 restrictions on shipping pollutant emissions highlights a growing interest in current times towards cleaner means of transport. One way to achieve more sustainable vessels is represented by updating onboard engines to suit current regulations and needs: Gas Turbines are not a novelty in the field and, despite the few applications in commercial shipping so far, this technology is again under evaluation for different reasons. Indeed, it is still a preferred choice in navy, where swift maneuvering is a key factor; it is employed by fast ferries and hydrofoils for its high power/weight ratio; it has been recently applied to LNG carriers to burn boil-off gas in a more efficient way and several studies in literature suggest its possible introduction on large Cruise Ships. Since there seems to be a lack of research concerning small size units, the present work attempts to evaluate the possible usages of Mini Gas Turbine Cycles in the range of 1 to 10 MW of electric output for heat and power generation onboard commercial vessels dedicated to passenger transport. For this purpose, a statistical analysis on existing operating vessels up to 2020 was made, to eplore main engine sizes; a literature review was carried out to find representative onboard heat demands. Once the main vessel electrical and thermal requirements were evaluated, Mini Cogenerative plants based on Gas Turbines were designed within the identified boundaries and compared with state-of-the-art Marine Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines on estimated global performance, dimensions and weights.

A Comparative Analysis of Distributor and Rotor Single Regulation Strategies for Low Head Mini Hydraulic Turbines

“…The analysis of the two regulation approaches is developed considering a typical low head small tubular axial propeller turbine (single point operation), recently designed by the authors [10][11][12] utilizing an in-house design procedure based on the sequential application of a mean line design, spanwise NISRE equation, parametric model of the geometry, CFD RANS analysis, and ANN (artificial neural network) optimization, employed also for small Energies 2024, 17, 2304 3 of 24 gas turbine design [13]. The meridional section of the propeller turbine is reported in Figure 1.…”

Feasibility of Hybrid Desalination Plants Coupled with Small Gas Turbine CHP Systems

“…The water temperature at the economizer inlet had been considered equal to 90 • C. The values of gas turbine exit temperature and mass flow rate (546 • C and 23.96 kg/s, respectively) were obtained again from the in-house developed code for cycle analysis, considering the cycle parameters (pressure ratio, components efficiencies) and the cycle thermal balances. The component efficiency values were determined from statistical analyses of data presented in the literature for machines of similar size to that of the present application and from previous works by the authors [26,27].…”

“…from the in-house developed code for cycle analysis, considering the cycle parameters (pressure ratio, components efficiencies) and the cycle thermal balances. The component efficiency values were determined from statistical analyses of data presented in the literature for machines of similar size to that of the present application and from previous works by the authors [26,27].…”

Design Optimization of a Gas Turbine Engine for Marine Applications: Off-Design Performance and Control System Considerations

“…Studies to investigate the performance of the GT engine for marine applications have been conducted. Assessments of the use of mini gas turbines for naval transportation were conducted for the GT, with a power output range between 1 MW to 10 MW [ 8 ]. The small GT shows competitive cogeneration performance if compared to commercial GT and marine diesel engines.…”