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Model GT MASTER -Gas Turbine Combined Cycle & Cogeneration Plant Simulation
GT MASTER® simulates performance of a given plant at different operating conditions, such as different ambients, loads and control set-points. A GT MASTER plant model is defined by its hardware, by contrast with a GT PRO model which is defined by the assumptions used to create the hardware. The 4,000+ inputs which define plant hardware and control set-points are all initialized upon importing its GT PRO design. All these inputs may be adjusted and fine-tuned by the user. For example, the user may change the physical hardware of a heat exchanger within a HRSG, to make it match the specs provided by the HRSG’s vendor. As another example, the user may adjust a steam turbine nozzle area at the inlet to any group of stages, to match the pressure-flow characteristics supplied by the steam turbine vendor. As yet another example, the user may change the diameter, length, fittings, material, etc, of a pipe that had been initially sized by GT PRO.
GT MASTER is not just an off-design extension of GT PRO, but rather it is an off-design simulator of a plant described by its physical hardware, and this hardware is initialized from the GT PRO design, but remains available for adjustment as needed by the user. When used in conjunction with the PEACE module, any change of physical hardware implemented by the user will be reflected on the cost estimate, as well as being reflected on the plant’s thermodynamic performance, and this allows cost/benefit analysis of subtle design changes.
Many applications have been built into GT MASTER over the years. The TIME module provides detailed economic analysis based on annual operating cycle, including start-ups and shutdowns, and with provision for different hourly ambient conditions and prices for power, fuel and heat. The GT TRAN module provides a transient model for normal load changes, modeling the time lag between GT or duct burner ramp-up or ramp-down and HRSG steam production and steam turbine power output. A built-in 24-hour cycle model analyzes operation of a plant equipped with inlet air chillers and chilled water storage tanks, facilitating the optimization of chiller capacity and tank size, and how to schedule their operation over the 24-hour cycle. Tuning features have been included for major equipment to permit entering vendor guarantee points, and instruct GT MASTER to derive correction factors to superpose on its underlying physical models to match these guarantee points, then logically interpolate between them at other conditions. Facilities have been included to allow by-passing the GT MASTER physical models of major equipment, if desired, and substituting user-defined functional relationships or curves instead.
Any GT MASTER file can be read into THERMOFLEX for modeling unique details beyond GT MASTER’s intended scope, or special situations, such as integration with an LNG Terminals, or with concentrated solar thermal receivers, etc.
Any GT MASTER model can be run from MS Excel via Thermoflow’s E-LINK add-in, which allows GT MASTER to receive inputs from, and return outputs to Excel. This makes it easy to generate correction curves from the GT MASTER model to help planners forecast their fuel consumption and electricity production and to run their own in-house economic models in conjunction with GT MASTER’s plant performance model.