No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The objective of the present study was to improve the thermal efficiency of a Brayton cycle benefiting from the multiphase concepts of phase change in thermodynamics and incorporating it with a phase change material (PCM) melting system. This system could be alternatively used to decrease the temperature of intake air into the gas turbine and improve gas turbine efficiency. The present study investigated the presence of phase-change refrigeration storage. The complex system was modelled by a straightforward configuration of a rectangular cavity, which contained the phase change material with intermediate fluid. Reducing the temperature of the inlet air had a considerable impact on improving the thermal efficiency of the gas turbine cycles. In this study, a new cooling approach was proposed in which the intake air was cooled using a PCM-based heat exchanger along with an intake line. During the daylight hours, air moved over the phase change material, whose melting point was lower than the maximum temperature of the surrounding air. The melting process caused a decrease in surrounding air temperature before entering the compressor. Upon completion of the PCM melting, the necessary ambient air was taken from the surroundings utilizing conventional air inlet configurations. During the night-time, the ambient air was cooler, and the liquid PCM solidified. The temperature of the chosen PCM was lower than the maximum value of surrounding temperature. The numerical modelling of the PCM indicated that it was possible to reduce the temperature of the inlet air. The thermodynamic investigation of the results demonstrated that both the thermal efficiency and the power output increased at a specific surrounding temperature.

No abstract