MORE EFFICIENT APPLICATIONS FOR NAVAL GAS TURBINES - ADDRESSING THE MISMATCH BETWEEN AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY AND THE REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN NAVAL GAS TURBINE INLETS

摘要

The US Navy has operated gas turbines (GT's) on board different types of vessel for several decades. To safe guard these engines against the harsh marine atmosphere several types of air inlet filtration system have been employed, with varying degrees of success. The purpose of this paper is to explore the various filtration technologies which are currently used in all GT inlet filtration applications; point out the benefits of each; and debate how these may be practically applied to the "Modern" Naval GT application. The changing vessel operational requirements; environmental requirements; advances in GT design; and how these impact the design of the GT inlet filtration system will be discussed. The current trends in Naval GT inlet filtration system specifications will also be detailed. The significant divergence of these from the capabilities of current marine GT filtration technology used will be highlighted. Recommendations will be proposed regarding how this situation may be addressed with the use of filtration technologies currently used in other GT applications.