How a Gas Turbine Works | Gas Power Generation | GE Power

Summary

This video explains how gas turbines generate electricity. Air and fuel, such as natural gas, combine in a gas turbine to produce power. Air is compressed, mixed with fuel, and ignited, creating hot gases that spin the turbine's blades. This mechanical energy rotates a generator’s drive shaft, converting it into electricity by moving electrons. In combined cycle power plants, steam turbines use exhaust heat to generate even more power, making the system highly efficient. This process is akin to jet engines and showcases the advanced functionality of GE gas turbines.

Takeaways

• 💨 Air and natural gas are key components in gas turbines that help produce electricity.
• ⚙️ The process of generating electricity often begins with gas turbines at power plants.
• 🔧 Air is drawn into the turbine, compressed in the compressor section, heating up and increasing in pressure.
• 🔥 Fuel is injected into the combustor where it mixes with hot compressed air and burns, creating chemical energy.
• 🚗 The gas turbine works similarly to car engines, but with much more horsepower, like jet airplane engines.
• 💨 The hot gas from combustion spins turbine blades at over 3,000 RPM, converting chemical energy into mechanical energy.
• 🔄 The turbine captures expanding gas energy to rotate a drive shaft connected to a generator.
• 🧲 The generator’s rotating magnet creates a magnetic field that causes electrons to move, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.
• 🚂 Combined cycle power plants use both gas and steam turbines, boosting power generation by 50%.
• ⚡ GE Gas Turbines offer an efficient system for converting fuel into energy, with steam turbines enhancing the overall energy output.

Q & A

What is the primary role of air in the gas turbine process?

Air is drawn into the gas turbine, where it is compressed and mixed with fuel to create combustion, which powers the turbine blades.

How does the compressor section of the turbine work?

The compressor squeezes air molecules together, increasing both the air's temperature and pressure, which prepares it for combustion.

What happens in the combustor section of the gas turbine?

Fuel is injected and mixed with hot, compressed air in the combustor, where it is ignited to release chemical energy through combustion.

How is the mechanical energy generated within a gas turbine?

The hot gases produced from combustion move through the turbine blades, forcing them to spin at high speed, converting chemical energy into mechanical energy.

What role does the generator play in producing electricity?

The spinning turbine blades rotate a drive shaft connected to a generator, which uses a large magnet surrounded by copper coils to create a magnetic field. This movement generates electricity by causing electrons to move through the coils.

How does a combined cycle power plant increase energy efficiency?

In a combined cycle power plant, the exhaust from the gas turbine is used to produce steam, which powers a steam turbine. This process generates 50% more energy by utilizing waste heat.

What is the significance of the rotating drive shaft in a gas turbine?

The drive shaft connects the spinning turbine blades to the generator, translating mechanical energy from the turbine into the rotational energy needed to produce electricity.

Why is the movement of electrons important in the generation of electricity?

Electricity is generated by the movement of electrons through a wire, which occurs when the rotating magnet inside the generator creates a magnetic field around the copper coils.

How does the gas turbine in a power plant compare to a car engine?

The gas turbine operates similarly to a car engine but at a much larger scale, producing about 2,900 times more horsepower.

Why is a gas turbine considered efficient for converting fuel into energy?

A gas turbine efficiently converts fuel into energy by using chemical energy from combustion to power mechanical motion, which is then converted into electrical energy through the generator.