Fuel Switchover at High Load, Integration Into an Engine Operation Concept

Abstract

The capability to switch online from a main to a back-up fuel is a necessity for dual fuel gas turbines. The switching procedure is itself challenging; fuel gas, fuel oil and supporting systems need to be operated in parallel, with the safe start-up and shut-down of each system having to be ensured. Additionally, the requirements of gas turbine and combined cycle have to be considered; with the target to provide fast reliable fuel switching, without a major effect on the power output. Alstom’s GT26/GT24 High Load Fuel Switchover (HLFSW) fulfils these requirements. HLFSW is a concept which allows switching back and forth between fuel gas and fuel oil in the load range of base load down to 60 % relative GT load. A key feature of the HLFSW is the stable load during the complete duration of the fuel switchover process, ensuring nearly constant power output in combined cycle mode from the moment the fuel switchover is triggered until standard operation is achieved on the secondary fuel. In this paper the integration of the HLFSW into the engine operation concept is presented. It is shown, how the sequential combustion of the Alstom GT26/GT24 is transferred from primary to secondary fuel by sequential fuel switchover. The focus is on how the high load fuel switchover concept is embedded into the gas turbine’s engine operation concept, allowing a smooth transfer between the fuel gas standard operation concept and the fuel oil standard operation concept and vice-versa, resulting in a fuel switchover concept without any significant disturbances to the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG).