Abstract:
This invention relates to electrical power systems, including generating capacity of a gas turbine, and more specifically to augmentation of power output of gas turbine systems, that is useful for providing additional electrical power during periods of peak electrical power demand.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/686,222, filed Apr. 2, 2012, hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to gas turbine power systems, including supplementing the generating capacity of such gas turbines, as well as to energy storage, that is useful for providing additional electrical power during periods of peak electrical power demand while self consuming power generated by the gas turbine during times of reduced power demand. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Currently, marginal energy, or peak energy, is produced mainly by gas turbines, operating either in simple cycle or combined cycle configurations. As a result of load demand profile, the gas turbine base systems are cycled up during periods of high demand and cycled down, or turned off, during periods of low demand. This cycling is typically driven by the electrical grid operator under a program called “active grid control”, or AGC. Unfortunately, because industrial gas turbines, which represent the majority of the installed power generation base, were designed primarily for base load operation, a severe penalty is associated with the maintenance cost of that particular unit when they are cycled. For example, a gas turbine that is miming base load might go through a normal maintenance cycle once every three years, or 24,000 hours of operation, at a cost of between two million dollars and three million dollars ($2,000,000 to $3,000,000). That same cost could be incurred in one year for a gas turbine that is forced to start up and shut down every day due to the severe penalty associated with the maintenance cost of cycling that particular gas turbine. Also, even aero-derivative engines, which are designed for quick starting capability, may still take ten (10) minutes or longer to deliver the required power when called on. This need to cycle the gas turbine fleet is a major issue, and is becoming more problematic with the increased use of intermittent renewable energy sources on the grid. 
         [0004]    Currently the gas turbine engines used at power plants can turn down to approximately 50% of their rated capacity. They do this by closing the inlet guide vanes of the compressor, which reduces the air flow to the gas turbine and in turn reduces fuel flow, as a constant fuel air ratio is desired in the combustion process at all engine operating conditions. The goal of maintaining safe compressor operation and gas turbine exhaust emissions typically limit the level of turn down that can be practically achieved. 
         [0005]    One way to safely lower the operating limit of the compressor in current gas turbines is by introducing warm air to the inlet of the gas turbine, typically extracted from a mid-stage bleed port on the compressor. Sometimes, this warm air is introduced into the inlet to prevent icing as well. In either case, when this is done, the work that is done to the air by the compressor is sacrificed in the process for the benefit of being able to operate the compressor safely at a lower air flow, yielding the increased turn down capability. Unfortunately, bleeding air from the compressor has a further negative impact on the efficiency of the overall gas turbine system as the work performed on the air that is bled off is lost. In general, for every 1% of air that is bled off the compressor for this turn down improvement, approximately 2% of the total power output of the gas turbine is lost. Additionally, the combustion system also presents a limit to the system. 
         [0006]    The combustion system usually limits the amount that the system can be turned down because as less fuel is added, the flame temperature reduces, increasing the amount of carbon monoxide (“CO”) emissions produced. The relationship between flame temperature and CO emissions is exponential with reducing temperature, consequently, as the gas turbine system gets near the turn-down limit, the CO emissions spike up, so it is important to a maintain a healthy margin from this limit. This characteristic limits all gas turbine systems to approximately 50% turn down capability, or, for a 100 MW gas turbine, the minimum power turn-down that can be achieved is about 50%, or 50 MW. As the gas turbine mass flow is turned down, the compressor and turbine efficiency falls off as well, causing an increase in heat rate of the machine. Some operators are faced with this situation every day and as a result, as the load demand falls, gas turbine plants hit its lower operating limit and the gas turbines have to be turned off, which causes the power plant to incur a tremendous maintenance cost penalty. 
         [0007]    Another characteristic of a typical gas turbine is that as the ambient temperature increases, the power output goes down proportionately due to the linear effect of the reduced density as the temperature of air increases. Power output can be down by more than 10% from nameplate power rating during hot days, which is typically when peaking gas turbines are called on most frequently to deliver power. 
         [0008]    Another characteristic of typical gas turbines is that air that is compressed and heated in the compressor section of the gas turbine is ducted to different portions of the gas turbine&#39;s turbine section where it is used to cool various components. This air is typically called turbine cooling and leakage air (hereinafter “TCLA”) a term that is well known in the art with respect to gas turbines. Although heated from the compression process, TCLA air is still significantly cooler than the turbine temperatures, and thus is effective in cooling those components in the turbine downstream of the compressor. Typically 10% to 15% of the air that enters the inlet of the compressor bypasses the combustor and is used for this process. Thus, TCLA is a significant penalty to the performance of the gas turbine system. 
         [0009]    Other power augmentation systems, like inlet chilling for example, provide cooler inlet conditions, resulting in increased air flow through the gas turbine compressor, and the gas turbine output increases proportionately. For example, if inlet chilling reduces the inlet conditions on a hot day such that the gas turbine compressor has 5% more air flow, the output of the gas turbine will also increase by 5%. As ambient temperatures drops, inlet chilling becomes less effective, since the air is already cold. Therefore, inlet chilling power increase is maximized on hot days, and tapers off to zero at approximately 45° F. ambient temperature days. 
         [0010]    In power augmentation systems such as the one discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,158 to Nakhamkin (the “&#39;158 patent”), there are three basic modes of operation defined, a normal mode, charging mode, and an air injection mode, but it is limited by the need for an electrical generator that has the capacity to deliver power “exceeding the full rated power” that the gas turbine system can deliver. The fact that this patent has been issued for more than ten (10) years and yet there are no known applications of it at a time of rapidly rising energy costs is proof that it does not address the market requirements. 
         [0011]    First of all, it is very expensive to replace and upgrade the electrical generator so it can deliver power “exceeding the full rated power” that the gas turbine system can currently deliver. Also, although the injection option as disclosed in the &#39;158 patent provides power augmentation, it takes a significant amount of time to start and get on line to the electrical grid. This makes application of the &#39;158 patent impractical in certain markets like spinning reserve, where the power increase must occur in a matter of seconds, and due to do the need for the large auxiliary compressor in these types of systems, that takes too long to start. 
         [0012]    Another drawback is that the system cannot be implemented on a combined cycle plant without significant negative impact on fuel consumption and therefore efficiency. Most of the implementations outlined in the &#39;158 patent use a recuperator to heat the air in simple cycle operation, which mitigates the fuel consumption increase issue, however, it adds significant cost and complexity. The proposed invention outlined below addresses both the cost and performance shortfalls of the invention disclosed in the &#39;158 patent. 
         [0013]    Also, as outlined in a related U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,063 to Nakhamkin (the “&#39;063 patent”), there is a valve structure that “selectively permits one of the following modes of operation: there is a gas turbine normal operation mode, a mode where air is delivered from the storage system and mixed with air in the gas turbine, and then a charging mode”. The &#39;063 patent has also been issued for more than ten (10) years and there are also no known applications of it anywhere in the world. The reason for this is again cost and performance shortfalls, similar to those related to the &#39;158 patent. Although this system can be applied without an efficiency penalty on a simple cycle gas turbine, simple cycle gas turbines do not run very often so they typically do not pay off the capital investment in a timeframe that makes the technology attractive to power plant operators. Likewise, if this system is applied to a combined cycle gas turbine, there is a significant heat rate penalty, and again the technology does not address the market needs. The proposed invention outlined below addresses both the cost and performance issues of the &#39;063 patent. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The current invention, which may be referred to herein as TurboPHASE™, provides several options, depending on specific plant needs, to improve the efficiency and power output of a plant at low loads, and to reduce the lower limit of power output capability of a gas turbine while at the same time increasing the upper limit of the power output of the gas turbine, thus increasing the capacity and regulation capability of a new or existing gas turbine system. 
         [0015]    One aspect of the present invention relates to methods and systems that allow running gas turbine systems to provide additional power quickly during periods of peak demand. 
         [0016]    Another aspect of the present invention relates to an energy storage and retrieval system for obtaining useful work from an existing source of a gas turbine power plant. 
         [0017]    Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to methods and systems that allow gas turbine systems to be more efficiently turned down during periods of lowered demand. 
         [0018]    One embodiment of the invention relates to a system comprising at least one existing gas turbine that comprises one first compressor, at least one electrical generator, at least one turbine connected to the generator and the compressor, a combustor, and a combustion case (which is the discharge manifold for the compressor) and further comprising a supplemental compressor which is not the same as the first compressor. 
         [0019]    An advantage of other preferred embodiments of the present invention is the ability to increase the turn down capability of the gas turbine system during periods of lower demand and improve the efficiency and output of the gas turbine system during periods of high demand. 
         [0020]    Another advantage of embodiments of the present invention is the ability to increase the turn down capability of the gas turbine system during periods of low demand by using a supplemental compressor driven by a fueled engine, operation of which is which is independent of the electric grid. 
         [0021]    Another advantage of embodiments of the present invention is the ability to increase the turn down capability of the gas turbine system during periods of low demand by using a supplemental compressor driven by a fueled engine which produces heat that can be added to compressed air flowing to the combustion case, from either the supplemental compressor, an air storage system, or both, or such heat can be added to the steam cycle in a combined cycle power plant. 
         [0022]    Another advantage of some embodiments of the present invention is the ability to increase output of the gas turbine system during periods of high demand by using a supplemental compressor which is not driven by power produced by the gas turbine system. 
         [0023]    Another advantage of some embodiments of the present invention is the ability to increase output of the gas turbine system during periods of high demand by using a supplemental compressor which is driven by steam produced by the heat recovery steam generator of a combined cycle power plant. 
         [0024]    Another advantage of the present invention is the ability to incorporate selective portions of the embodiments on existing gas turbines to achieve specific plant objectives. 
         [0025]    Another advantage of an embodiment of the present invention is the ability to inject compressed air into a turbine cooling circuit without heating up the air prior to such injection, and because cool cooling air can achieve the same desired metal temperatures with use of less compressed air (as compared to heated compressed air), efficiency is improved. 
         [0026]    Another advantage of another embodiment of the present invention is that because the incremental amount of compressed air can be added at a relatively constant rate over a wide range of ambient temperatures, the power increase achieved by the gas turbine is also relatively constant over a wide range of ambient temperatures. Additionally, since the supplemental compressed air is delivered without any significant power increase from the gas turbine&#39;s compressor, (because the compressed air is from either a separately fueled compressor or an a compressed air storage system), for every 1% of air injected (by mass flow), a 2% power increase results. This is significant because other technologies, such as inlet chillers, for supplementing power yield closer to a 1% power increase for each 1% increase of injected air, therefore, twice as much power boost is achieved with the same incremental air flow through the turbine and combustor, resulting in a physically smaller, and lower cost, power supplementing system. 
         [0027]    One preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an intercooled compression circuit using a supplemental compressor to produce compressed air that is stored in one or more high pressure air storage tanks, wherein the intercooling process heat absorbed from the compressed air during compression is transferred to the steam cycle of a combined cycle power plant. 
         [0028]    Optionally, when integrated with a combined cycle gas turbine plant with a steam cycle, steam from the steam cycle can be used to drive a secondary steam turbine which in turn drives a supplemental compressor. The use of high pressure air storage tanks in conjunction with firing this air directly in the gas turbine gives the gas turbine the ability to deliver much more power than could be otherwise produced, because the maximum mass flow of air that is currently delivered by the gas turbine system&#39;s compressor to the turbine is supplemented with the air from the air tanks. On existing gas turbines, this can increase the output of a gas turbine system up to the current generator limit on a hot day, which could be as much as an additional 20% power output, while at the same time increasing the turn down capability by 25-30% more than current state of the art. 
         [0029]    On new gas turbines, the generator and turbine can be oversized to deliver this additional power at any time, thus increasing the name plate power rating of the system by 20% at a total system cost increase that is much lower than 20%, with 25-30% more turn down capability than the current state of the art. 
         [0030]    Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure and the combination of parts will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0031]      FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention having a supplemental energy system with a recuperated engine driving the supplemental compressor. 
           [0032]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention having a supplemental energy system with a recuperated engine driving the supplemental compressor and energy storage. 
           [0033]      FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention incorporating a continuous power augmentation system. 
           [0034]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention in which an auxiliary steam turbine is drives the supplemental compressor. 
           [0035]      FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention in which includes an auxiliary steam turbine driving the supplemental compressor and energy storage. 
           [0036]      FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention installed in conjunction with two gas turbines and a steam turbine. 
           [0037]      FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention installed in conjunction with one gas turbine and a steam turbine. 
           [0038]      FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the present invention installed in conjunction with one gas turbine. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0039]    The components of one embodiment of the present invention are shown in  FIG. 1  as they are used with an existing gas turbine system  1 . The existing gas turbine system  1 , which compresses ambient air  2 , includes a compressor  10 , combustor  12 , combustion case  14 , turbine  16  and generator  18 . A fueled engine  20  is used to drive a multistage intercooled supplemental compressor  22  which compresses ambient air  24  and discharges compressed air  26 . As used herein, the term “fueled engine” means a reciprocating internal combustion engine, a gas turbine (in addition to the gas turbine in the existing gas turbine system  1 , or a similar machine that converts fuel into energy through an exothermic reaction such as combustion (e.g., gasoline, diesel, natural gas, or biofuel and similar fuel). The fueled engine draws in ambient air  42  and as a result of the combustion process, produces hot exhaust gas  32 . As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, as air in the supplemental compressor  22  passes from one compressor stage to the next, the air is intercooled by use of an intercooler heat exchanger  28 , such as a cooling tower, to reduce the work required to compress the air at the subsequent compressor stage. As used herein, the term “intercooler heat exchanger” means a heat exchanger that receives compressed air from an upstream stage of a compressor, and cools that air before delivering it to another compression stage downstream of the upstream compressor stage. Use of the intercooler heat exchanger  28  increases the efficiency of the supplemental compressor  22 , which makes it more efficient than the compressor  10  of the existing gas turbine system  1 . As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, although referred to herein as an “intercooler”, the intercooler heat exchanger  28  actually includes an intercooler and an after-cooler as described in greater detail below. 
         [0040]    This embodiment further includes a recuperator  30 , which is a heat exchanger that receives the exhaust gas  32  from the fueled engine  20  and the compressed air  26  from the supplemental compressor  22 . Flow of compressed air from the supplemental compressor  22  to the recuperator  30  is controlled by the recuperator flow control valve  44 . Within the recuperator  30 , the hot exhaust gas  32  heats the compressed air  26  and then exits the recuperator  30  as substantially cooler exhaust gas  34 . At the same time in the recuperator  30 , the compressed air  26  absorbs heat from the exhaust gas  32  and then exits the recuperator  30  as substantially hotter compressed air  36  than when it entered the recuperator  30 . The substantially hotter compressed air  36  is then discharged from the recuperator  30  into the combustion case  14  of the gas turbine system  1  where it becomes an addition to the mass flow through the turbine  16 . 
         [0041]    The cooler exhaust gas  34  is then discharged to atmosphere. A selective catalytic reduction (“SCR”) device (not shown) of the type known in the art, can be inserted before, in the middle of, or after the recuperator  30  to achieve the most desirable condition for the SCR function. Alternately, after the SCR device, the cooler exhaust gas  34  can be injected into the exhaust gas  38  of the turbine  16  as shown in  FIG. 1 , and then the mixed flow exhaust  38  will either be discharged to the atmosphere (in the case for the simple cycle gas turbine) or directed to the heat recovery steam generator (“HRSG”) of a steam turbine of the type known in the art (not shown) in combined cycle power plants. If the mixed flow exhaust  38  is to be discharged into the HRSG, the means used must ensure that the exhaust gas  38  flow from the turbine  16  into the HRSG and the SCR device is not disrupted. On “F-Class” engines, such as the General Electric Frame 9FA industrial gas turbine, there are large compressor bleed lines that, for starting purposes, bypass air around the turbine section and dump air into the exhaust plenum of the turbine  16 . These bleed lines are not in use when the gas turbine system  1  is loaded, and therefore are a good place to discharge the cooler exhaust gas  34  after it exits the recuperator  30 , since these compressor bleed lines are already designed to minimize the impact on the HRSG and SCR device. By injecting the exhaust  32  from the fueled engine  20  into to exhaust  38  of the gas turbine system  1 , the SCR of the gas turbine system  1  may be used to clean the exhaust  32 , thus eliminating an expensive system on the fueled engine  20 . 
         [0042]    It turns out that gasoline, diesel, natural gas, or biofuel and similar reciprocating engines are not sensitive to back pressure, so putting the recuperator  30 , on the fueled engine  20  does not cause a measurable effect on the performance of the fueled engine  20 . This is significant because other heat recovery systems, such as the HRSGs used in the exhaust of a typical gas turbine power plants, create a significant power loss all of the time, independent of whether a power augmentation system is in use or not. 
         [0043]    The power from the fueled engine  20  is used to drive the intercooled compressor  22 . If the installation does include a HSRG and a steam turbine, the auxiliary heat from the engine jacket, oil cooler and turbocharger on the fueled engine  20  can be transferred into the steam cycle of the steam turbine via the HSRG (typically the low pressure and temperature condensate line). Likewise, heat removed by the intercooler heat exchanger  28  from the air as it is compressed in the multistage supplemental compressor  22  can be transferred into the steam cycle in a similar manner, prior to the compressed air being cooled by the cooling tower, to lower the temperature of the compressed air to the desired temperature prior to entering the subsequent compression stage of the supplemental compressor  22 . If an auxiliary gas turbine is used as the fueled engine  20  instead of a reciprocating engine, lower emission rates will be achievable, which will allow emission permitting even in the strictest environmental areas. Also, if the auxiliary gas turbine is used as the fueled engine  20 , the exhaust gas from the auxiliary gas turbine can be piped directly to the exhaust bleed pipes of the existing gas turbine system  1  described above, thus avoiding the cost and maintenance of an additional SCR device. 
         [0044]    When peaking with this system, the gas turbine system  1  will most likely be down in power output and flow (assuming that the peaking is needed in the summer when higher ambient air temperatures reduce total mass flow through the gas turbine system  1  which in turn reduces power output of the gas turbine system  1  as a whole, and the supplemental compressor  22  will just bring the air mass flow through the gas turbine system  1  back up to where the flow would have been on a cooler day (i.e. a day on which the full rated power of the gas turbine system  1  could be achieved). 
         [0045]      FIG. 2  shows the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with the addition of compressed air storage. The compressed air storage system includes an air storage tank  50 , a hydraulic fluid tank  52 , and a pump  54  for transferring hydraulic fluid, such as water, between the hydraulic fluid tank  52  and the air storage tank  50 . According to preferred embodiments, during periods when increased power delivery is needed, the air exit valve  46  opens, the air bypass valve  48  opens, the air inlet valve  56  closes, and the supplemental compressor  22  is operated, driven by the fueled engine  20 . As one skilled in the art will readily appreciate, if compressed air is to be stored for later use, it will likely need to be stored at a higher pressure, thus, the supplemental compressor  22  would preferably have additional stages of compression, as compared to the supplemental compressor  22  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . These additional stages may be driven by the fueled engine  20  all the time, or may be capable of being driven intermittently by installing a clutch type mechanism that only engages the additional stages when the fueled engine  20  is operated to store compressed air in the air storage tank  50  (where the desired storage pressure is substantially higher to minimize the required volume of the air storage tank  50 ). Alternatively, the additional stages may be decoupled from the fueled engine  20  and driven by a separately fueled engine (not shown) or other means, such as an electric motor. 
         [0046]    The compressed air  26  flowing from the supplemental compressor  22  is forced to flow to the mixer  58  as opposed to towards the intercooler heat exchanger  28  because the air inlet valve  56 , which controls air flow exiting the intercooler heat exchanger  28 , is closed. The compressed air  26  flowing from the outlet of the supplemental compressor  22  is mixed in the mixer  58  with the compressed air exiting the air storage tank  50  and introduced to the recuperator  30  where it absorbs heat from the exhaust gas of the fueled engine  20  before being introduced into the combustion case  14  using the process described below. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, for thermal efficiency purposes, the recuperator  30  would ideally be a counter-flow heat exchanger, since that would allow the maximum amount of heat from the exhaust  32  to be transferred to the compressed air exiting the air storage tank  50 . Alternately, if the recuperator  30  is made up of one or more cross-flow heat exchangers, it can have a first stage, which is a first cross-flow heat exchanger, followed by a second stage, which is a second cross-flow heat exchanger. In this configuration, where the exhaust  32  first enters the first stage of the recuperator, is partially cooled, then flows to the second stage of the recuperator. At the same time, the compressed air exiting the air storage tank  50  first enters the second stage of the recuperator  30 , where additional heat is extracted from the partially cooled exhaust  32 , thereby “pre-heating” the compressed air. The compressed air then flows to the first stage of the recuperator  30  where it is heated by exhaust  32  that has not yet been partially cooled, prior to flowing to the mixer  58  to join the air flowing from the supplemental compressor  22 . In this case, the “two stage” recuperator acts more like a counter-flow heat exchanger, yielding higher thermal efficiency in the heating of the compressed air. 
         [0047]    As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, since the air being compressed in the supplemental compressor  22  is bypassing the intercooler heat exchanger  28  due to the bypass valve  48  being open, the compressed air exiting the supplemental compressor  22  retains some of the heat of compression, and when mixed with the compressed air flowing from the air storage tank  50 , will increase the temperature of the mixed air so that when the mixed air enters the recuperator  30 , it is hotter than it would be if only compressed air from the air storage tank  50  was being fed into the recuperator  30 . Likewise, if the air exiting the air storage tank  50  is first preheated in a “second stage” of the recuperator as described above prior to entering the mixer  58 , an even hotter mixture of compressed air will result, which may be desirable under some conditions. 
         [0048]    As the combustion turbine system  1  continues to be operated in this manner, the pressure of the compressed air in the air storage tank  50  decreases. If the pressure of the compressed air in the air storage tank  50  reaches the pressure of the air in the combustion case  14 , compressed air will stop flowing from the air storage tank  50  into the gas turbine system  1 . To prevent this from happening, as the pressure of the compressed air in the air storage tank  50  approaches the pressure of the air in the combustion case  14 , the fluid control valve  60  remains closed, and the hydraulic pump  54  begins pumping a fluid, such as water, from the hydraulic fluid tank  52  into the air storage tank  50  at a pressure high enough to drive the compressed air therein out of the air storage tank  50 , thus allowing essentially all of the compressed air in the air storage tank to be delivered to the combustion case  14 . 
         [0049]    As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, if additional compressor stages, or high pressure compressor stages, are added separate from the supplemental compressor  22  driven by the fueled engine  20 , then, if desired, air from the gas turbine combustion case  14  can be bled and allowed to flow in reverse of the substantially hotter compressed air  36  as bleed air from the gas turbine combustion case  14  and take the place of air from the separately fueled engine  20  driven supplemental compressor  22 . In this case, the bleed air could be cooled in the intercooler heat exchanger  28 , or a cooling tower, and then delivered to the inlet of the high pressure stages of the supplemental compressor  22 . This may be especially desirable if low turn down capability is desired, as the bleed air results in additional gas turbine power loss, and the drive system for the high pressure stages of the supplemental compressor  22  can driven by an electric motor, consuming electrical power generated by the gas turbine system  1 , which also results in additional gas turbine power loss. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, this is not an operating mode that would be desirable during periods when supplemental power production from the gas turbine system is desired. 
         [0050]    According to preferred embodiments, independent of whether or not the hydraulic system is used, when the air stops flowing from the air storage tank  50 , the supplemental compressor  22  can continue to run and deliver power augmentation to the gas turbine system  1 . According to other preferred embodiments, such as the one shown in  FIG. 1 , the supplemental compressor  22  is started and run without use of an air storage tank  50 . Preferably, an intercooler heat exchanger  28  is used to cool air from a low pressure stage to a high pressure stage in the supplemental compressor  22  that compresses ambient air  24  through a multistage compressor  22 . 
         [0051]    The air inlet valve  56 , the air outlet valve  46 , the bypass valve  48 , and the supplemental flow control valve  44 , are operated to obtain the desired operating conditions of the gas turbine system  1 . For example, if it is desired to charge the air storage tank  50  with compressed air, the air outlet valve  46 , the bypass valve  48  and the supplemental flow control valve  44  are closed, the air inlet valve  56  is opened and the fueled engine  20  is used to drive the supplemental compressor  22 . As air is compressed in the supplemental compressor  22 , it is cooled by the intercooler heat exchanger  28  because the bypass valve  48  is closed, forcing the compressed air to flow through the intercooler heat exchanger  28 . Air exiting the supplemental compressor  22  then flows through the air inlet valve  56  and into the air storage tank  50 . Likewise, if it is desired to discharge compressed air from the air storage tank  50  and into the combustion case  14  the air outlet valve  46 , the bypass valve  48  and the supplemental flow control valve  44  are opened, and the air inlet valve  56  can be closed, and the fueled engine  20  can be used to drive the supplemental compressor  22 . As air is compressed in the supplemental compressor  22 , it heats up due to the heat of compression, and it is not cooled in the intercooler heat exchanger because bypass valve  48  is open, thereby bypassing the intercooler heat exchanger. Compressed air from the air storage tank  50  then flows through the mixer  58  where it is mixed with hot air from the supplemental compressor  22  and then flows to the recuperator  30  where it absorbs heat transferred to the recuperator  30  from the exhaust gas  32  of the fueled engine  20  and then flows on to the combustion case  14 . In the event that all of the airflow from the supplemental compressor  22  is not needed by the gas turbine system  1 , this embodiment can be operated in a hybrid mode where the some of the air flowing from the supplemental compressor  22  flows to the mixer  58  and some of the air flow from the supplemental compressor  22  flows through the intercooler heat exchanger  28  and then through the air inlet valve  56  and into the air storage tank  50 . 
         [0052]    As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the preheated air mixture could be introduced into the combustion turbine at other locations, depending on the desired goal. For example, the preheated air mixture could be introduced into the turbine  16  to cool components therein, thereby reducing or eliminating the need to extract bleed air from the compressor to cool these components. Of course, if this were the intended use of the preheated air mixture, the mixture&#39;s desired temperature would be lower, and the mixture ratio in the mixer  58  would need to be changed accordingly, with consideration as to how much heat, if any, is to be added to the preheated air mixture by the recuperator  30  prior to introducing the compressed air mixture into the cooling circuit(s) of the turbine  16 . Note that for this intended use, the preheated air mixture could be introduced into the turbine  16  at the same temperature at which the cooling air from the compressor  10  is typically introduced into the TCLA system of the turbine  16 , or at a cooler temperature to enhance overall combustion turbine efficiency (since less TCLA cooling air would be required to cool the turbine components). 
         [0053]    It is to be understood that when the air storage tank  50  has hydraulic fluid in it prior to the beginning of a charging cycle to add compressed air to the air storage tank  50 , the fluid control valve  60  is opened so that as compressed air flows into the air storage tank  50  it drives the hydraulic fluid therein out of the air storage tank  50 , through the fluid control valve  60 , and back into the hydraulic fluid tank  52 . By controlling the pressure and temperature of the air entering the turbine system  1 , the gas turbine system&#39;s turbine  16  can be operated at increased power because the mass flow of the gas turbine system  1  is effectively increased, which among other things, allows for increased fuel flow into the gas turbine&#39;s combustor  12 . This increase in fuel flow is similar to the increase in fuel flow associated with cold day operation of the gas turbine system  1  where an increased mass flow through the entire gas turbine system  1  occurs because the ambient air density is greater than it is on a warmer (normal) day. 
         [0054]    During periods of higher energy demand, the air flowing from the air storage tank  50  and supplemental compressor  22  may be introduced to the gas turbine system  1  in a manner that offsets the need to bleed cooling air from the compressor  10 , thereby allowing more of the air compressed in the compressor  10  to flow through the combustor  12  and on to the turbine  16 , thereby increasing the net available power of the gas turbine system  1 . The output of the gas turbine  16  is very proportional to the mass flow rate through the gas turbine system  1 , and the system described above, as compared to the prior art patents, delivers higher flow rate augmentation to the gas turbine  16  with the same air storage volume and the same supplemental compressor size, when the two are used simultaneously to provide compressed air, resulting in a hybrid system that costs much less than the price of prior art systems, while providing comparable levels of power augmentation. 
         [0055]    The supplemental compressor  22  increases the pressure of the ambient air  24  through at least one stage of compression, which is then cooled in the intercooler heat exchanger  28 , further compressed in a subsequent stage of the supplemental compressor  22 , and then after-cooled in the intercooler heat exchanger  28  (where the compressed air exiting the last stage of the supplemental compressor  22  is then after-cooled in the same intercooler heat exchanger  28 ), and then the cooled, compressed, high pressure air is delivered to the air storage tank  50  via the open air inlet valve  56  and the inlet manifold  62 , and is stored in the air storage tank  50 . 
         [0056]    As the pressurized air flowing through the intercooler heat exchanger  28  is cooled, the heat transferred therefrom can be used to heat water in the HRSG to improve the efficiency of the steam turbine. An alternate method to cool the compressed air in the intercooler heat exchanger  28  is to use relatively cool water from the steam cycle (not shown) on a combined cycle plant. In this configuration, the water would flow into the intercooler heat exchanger  28  and pick up the heat that is extracted from the compressed air from the supplemental compressor  22 , and the then warmer water would exit the intercooler heat exchanger  28  and flow back to the steam cycle. With this configuration, heat is captured during both the storage cycle described in this paragraph, and the power augmentation cycle described below. 
         [0057]    According to preferred embodiments, the air storage tank  50  is above-ground, preferably on a barge, skid, trailer or other mobile platform and is adapted or configured to be easily installed and transported. The additional components, excluding the gas turbine system  1 , should add less than 20,000 square feet, preferably less than 15,000 square feet, and most preferably less than 10,000 square feet to the overall footprint of the power plant. A continuous augmentation system of the present invention takes up 1% of the footprint of a combined cycle plant and delivers from three to five times the power per square foot as compared to the rest of the plant, thus it is very space efficient, while a continuous augmentation system of the present invention with storage system takes up 5% of the footprint of the combined cycle plant and delivers from one to two times the power per square foot of the power plant. 
         [0058]      FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the present invention in which an auxiliary gas turbine  64  is used to provide supplemental air flow at times when additional power output from the gas turbine system  1  is needed. The auxiliary gas turbine  64  includes a supplemental compressor section  66  and a supplemental turbine section  68 . In this embodiment, the auxiliary gas turbine is designed so that substantially all of the power produced by the supplemental turbine section  68  is used to drive the supplemental compressor section  66 . As used herein the term “substantially all” means that more than 90% of the power produced by the supplemental turbine section  68  is used to drive the supplemental compressor  66 , because major accessories, such as the electric generator used with the gas turbine system  1 , are not drawing power from the auxiliary gas turbine section  68 . Manufacturers of small gas turbines, such as Solar Turbines Inc., have the capability to mix and match compressors and combustors/turbines because they build their systems with multiple bearings to support the supplemental compressor section  66  and the supplemental turbine section  68 . A specialized turbine, with an oversized gas turbine compressor  66  and with a regular sized turbine/combustion system  68  is used to provide additional supplemental airflow to the gas turbine system  1 , and the excess compressed air  70  output from the oversized compressor  66 , which is in excess of what is needed to run the turbine/combustion system  68 , flows through the combustion case flow control valve  74 , when it is in the open position, and is discharged into the combustion case  14  of the gas turbine system  1  to increase the total mass flow through the turbine  16  of the gas turbine system  1 , and therefore increases the total power output by the gas turbine system  1 . For example, a 50 lb/sec combustor/turbine section  68  that would normally be rated for 4 MW, may actually be generating 8 MW, but the compressor is drawing 4 MW, so the net output from the generator is 4 MW. If such a turbine were coupled with a 100 lb/sec compressor on it, but only 50 lbs/sec were fed to the combustor/turbine section  68 , the other 50 lb/sec could be fed to the combustion case of the gas turbine system  1 . The exhaust  72  of the 50 lb/sec combustor/turbine section  68  could be injected into the exhaust  38  of the main turbine  16  similar to the manner described in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , and jointly sent to the SCR. Optionally, the exhaust can be separately treated, if required. 
         [0059]    Obviously, the pressure from the 100 lb/sec compressor  66  has to be sufficient to drive the compressed air output therefrom into the combustion case  14 . Fortunately, many of the smaller gas turbine engines are based on derivatives of aircraft engines and have much higher pressure ratios than the large industrial gas turbines used at most power plants. As shown in  FIG. 3 , this embodiment of the present invention does not include the recuperator  30 , the intercooled compressor  22 , or the intercooler heat exchanger  28  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Of course, the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  does not provide the efficiency improvement of the intercooled embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , however the initial cost of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  is substantially less, which may make it an attractive option to operators of power plants that typically provide power in times of peak demand, and that therefore are not run much and are less sensitive to fuel efficiency. When the auxiliary gas turbine  64  is not running, the combustion case flow control valve  74  is closed. 
         [0060]    The embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  shows another way to incorporate a supplemental compressor  22  into the gas turbine system  1 . In some situations, the gas turbine augmentation of the present invention with (i) the additional mass flow to the HRSG, and/or (ii) the additional heat from the intercooler heat exchanger  28  and fueled engine  20  (as compared to a gas turbine system  1  that does not incorporate the present invention), may be too much for the steam turbine and/or the steam turbine generator to handle if all of the additional heat flows to the steam turbine generator (especially if the power plant has duct burners to replace the missing exhaust energy on hot days). In this case, the additional steam generated as a result of adding the heat of compression generated by the supplemental compressor  22  can be extracted from the steam cycle HRSG. As it happens, when compressed air augmentation is added to the gas turbine system  1 , the heat energy extracted from the intercooler heat exchanger  28  generates about the same amount of energy that it takes to drive the supplemental compressor  22 . In other words, if you had a steam turbine that generated 100 MW normally and 108 MW when the supplemental compressor  22  was injecting compressed air into the gas turbine system  1 , the extra 8 MW is approximately equal to the power requirement to drive the intercooled supplemental compressor  22 . Therefore, if some of the steam is extracted from the steam cycle of the power plant, and the steam turbine is kept at 100 MW, a small auxiliary steam turbine  76  can be used to drive the intercooled supplemental compressor  22 , and there would be no additional source of emissions at the power plant. 
         [0061]    In  FIG. 4 , an auxiliary steam turbine  76  drives the intercooled supplemental compressor  22  and the steam  78  that is used to drive the steam engine  76 , which comes from the HRSG (not shown) of the power plant, is the extra steam produced from the heat, being added to the HRSG, which was extracted by the intercooler heat exchanger  22  during compression of air in the supplemental compressor  22 . The exhaust  80  of the steam engine  76  is returned to the HRSG where it is used to produce more steam. This embodiment of the present invention results in a significant efficiency improvement because the compression process of the supplemental compressor  22  is much more efficient than the compressor  10  of the gas turbine system  1 . In this situation, the power augmentation level will, of course, be reduced as the steam turbine will not be putting out additional MW, however there will be no other source of emissions/fuel burn. 
         [0062]      FIG. 5  shows the embodiment of  FIG. 4  with the addition of compressed air storage. This implementation of compressed air energy storage is similar to that described with respect to  FIG. 2 , as is the operation thereof. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the power augmentation level of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5  is less than the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , since the steam turbine will not be putting out additional MW, however there will be no other source of emissions/fuel burn. 
         [0063]      FIGS. 6-8  show various implementations of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , referred to as the “TurboPHASE system”. TurboPHASE, which is a supplemental power system for gas turbine systems, is a modular, packaged “turbocharger” that can be added to most, if not all, gas turbines, and can add up to 20% more output to existing simple cycle and combined cycle plants, while improving efficiency (i.e. “heat rate”) by up to 7%. The TurboPHASE system is compatible with all types of inlet chilling or fogging systems, and when properly implemented, will leave emissions rates (e.g. ppm of NOx, CO, etc.) unchanged, while the specific emissions rates should improve as the result of improvement in heat rate. Since only clean air, at the appropriate temperature, is injected into the turbine, the TurboPHASE system has no negative effect on gas turbine maintenance requirements. Due to the factory-assembled &amp; tested modules that make up the TurboPHASE system, installation at an existing power plant is quick, requiring only a few days of the gas turbine system being down for outage to complete connections and to perform commissioning. 
         [0064]      FIG. 6  shows an implementation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1  in conjunction with two 135 MW General Electric Frame 9E industrial gas turbines  82 ,  84  in a combined cycle configuration with a 135 MW steam turbine  86  (“ST”). The results of this implementation are shown below in Table 1. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 (7.0% additional Flow added to 2 × 1 9E combined 
               
               
                 cycle on a 59 F. day (+71 lbs/sec per GT)) 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Existing plant 
                 With TurboPHASE ™ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Compressor Pressure ratio 
                 12.7 
                 13.6 
               
               
                 Compressor discharge temperature 
                 673 F. 
                 760 .F 
               
               
                 Compressor discharge pressure 
                 185 psi 
                 197 psi 
               
               
                 Turbine Firing temperature 
                 2035 F. 
                 2035 F. 
               
               
                 Turbine exhaust temperature 
                 1000 F. 
                 981 F. (−19 F.) 
               
               
                 9E GT Output (MW each) 
                 135 MW (base load each) 
                 +23 MW (+17% output) 
               
               
                 Increase flow 
                 N/A 
                 +20.7 
               
               
                 Increase PR turbine output (delta) 
                 N/A 
                 +5.6 
               
               
                 Increase PR compressor load (delta) 
                 N/A 
                 −3.3 
               
               
                 ST output (MW) 
                 135 MW (base load) 
                 +16 MW (+12%) 
               
               
                 Increased flow 
                 N/A 
                 +9.4 
               
               
                 Cooler Exhaust temp 
                 N/A 
                 −2.9 
               
               
                 Jacket heat and IC heat put into ST 
                 N/A 
                 +9.9 
               
               
                 9E Plant Output SC (MW) 
                 135 MW (base load) 
                 158 MW (+23 MW or +17%) 
               
               
                 9E Plant Output CC (MW) 
                 405 MW (base load) 
                 467 MW (+62 MW or +15%) 
               
               
                 Base load Fuel Burn per GT 
                 1397 MMBTU/hr 
                 1514 MMBTU/hr 
               
               
                 Fuel burn of aux engine delivering 71 lbs/sec 
                 N/A 
                 96 MMBTU/hr (740 Gal/hr ~15.000HP) 
               
               
                 Total additional fuel burn of GT 
                 N/A 
                 11 MMBTU/hr (+1%) 
               
               
                 Increase flow 
                 N/A 
                 98 MMBTU/hr (+7%) 
               
               
                 Increased RR/higher CDT/mixed temp 
                 N/A 
                 −77 MMBTU/hr 
               
               
                 Total Plant Fuel Burn CC 
                 2974 MMBTU/hr 
                 3028 MMBTU/hr 
               
               
                 Heat rate SC 
                 10350 BTU/kWh 
                 5582 BTU/kWh (−767 BTU/kWh or −7%) 
               
               
                 Heat rate CC 
                 6900 BTU/kWh 
                 6483 BTU/kWh (−416 BTU/kWh or −6%) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0065]    As is clear from Table 1, the implementation increased power output from each of the gas turbines by 23 MW, and increased power output from the steam turbine by 6 MW, for a total of 52 MW (2×23 MW+6 MW=52 MW). The TurboPHASE system increases air flow to the gas turbines by 7%, is operable at any ambient temperature, and yields a 4% heat rate improvement. In doing so, the pressure ratio (“PR”) at the gas turbine outlet of each gas turbine increased by 5.6, while the PR of the compressor load exhibited a 3.3 decrease. The total fuel consumption rate for the combined cycle (“CC”) plant increased by 54 MMBTU/hr while the heat rate for the CC plant decreased by 416 BTU/kWh. For informational purposes, Table 1 also shows that if the implementation had been on a simple cycle (“SC”) plant, the increased power output from each of the gas turbines by would have totaled 46 MW, while the heat rate would have decreased by 767 BTU/kWh. As an option, the intercooler heat exchanger can be eliminated and the supplemental compressor heat and engine heat added to the steam turbine cycle, which increases ST output from +6 MW to +16 MW (62 MW total) and improves heat rate by 6%. 
         [0066]      FIG. 7  shows an implementation of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  on a CC plant comprising one General Electric Frame 9FA industrial gas turbine  82  and one 138 MW steam turbine. In this implementation, power output by the 9FA industrial gas turbine  82  is increased by 42 MW from 260 MW, and power output by the steam turbine  88  is increased by 8 MW, for a total power output increase of 50 MW, along with a heat rate improvement of 0.25%. As an option, the intercooler heat exchanger  28  can be eliminated and the heat of compression of the supplemental compressor  22  and the heat from the exhaust  32  of the fueled engine can be added to the HRSG in the steam cycle, which increases ST output from +8 MW to +14 MW (56 MW total) and improves heat rate to 1.8%. 
         [0067]      FIG. 8  shows an implementation of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  on a SC plant comprising one General Electric Frame 9B (or 9E) industrial gas turbine  90 . In this implementation, power output by the 9B is increased by 23 MW from 135 MW, along with a heat rate improvement of 7%. 
         [0068]    Implementation of the embodiments of the present invention preferably provide the following benefits:
       (i) Installation is quick and simple, with no major electric tie-in required.   (ii) No change in gas turbine firing temperature, so gas turbine maintenance costs are unchanged.   (iii) It uses existing ports on gas turbine system&#39;s combustion case to inject air.   (iv) High efficiency, recuperated and internal combustion engine-driven inter-cooled supplemental compressor improves both SC and CC heat rates.   (v) It is compatible with water injection, fogging, inlet chilling, steam injection, and duct burners.   (vi) Air is injected into gas turbine combustion case at compatible temperatures and pressures.   (vii) The internal combustion, reciprocating, fueled engine can burn natural gas, low BTU biofuel or diesel (also available with small steam turbine driver and small gas turbine driver for the fueled engine.)   (viii) Energy storage option also available: approximately 2 times the price and 2 times the efficiency improvement.       
 
         [0077]    While the particular systems, components, methods, and devices described herein and described in detail are fully capable of attaining the above-described objects and advantages of the invention, it is to be understood that these are the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and are thus representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention, that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular means “one or more” and not “one and only one”, unless otherwise so recited in the claim. It will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the invention are covered by the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.