Engine Testing Using Highly Reactive Fuels on Siemens Industrial Gas Turbines

Abstract

Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB (SIT) Finspong is increasingly asked by customers to consider if a wider range of gas compositions may be operated in its gas turbines. A large part of these fuel compositions contain high concentrations of highly reactive components like hydrogen and ethane. Such fuel compositions are characterized by higher flame speeds than the standard natural gas which introduce increased risk for flashback and premature combustor and/or fuel nozzle distress. The SIT approach for fuel flexibility testing, Experimental Burner In Test engine (EBIT) uses a separate feed for testing a selected fuel composition in one burner in a standard gas turbine installation where the other burners use fuel from the standard fuel system. The separate feed is operated as a slave to engine governor heat demand, but can also be controlled independently. This paper describes how EBIT was used to test the capability of the SIT 3rd generation DLE burner to satisfactorily operate using highly reactive fuel components such as ethane and hydrogen. Combustion monitoring techniques and measurements to check flame behavior and assess flashback potentials of the tested fuel compositions are described. Results from testing show that the SIT 3rd generation DLE burner allows extending the levels of reactive fuel components accepted for operation on the SGT-700 33MW engine and SGT-800 50MW engine.