4. Main Components of Solar Gas Turbines

Major components of a solar gas turbine (SGT) for generating electricity are solar field, compressor, combustion chamber (combustor), turbine and generator. The solar field comprises concentrators and receivers. Four widely exploited concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies are the parabolic trough concentrator (PTC), linear Fresnel reflector (LFR), parabolic dish concentrator (PDC) and solar tower (ST). Of all the CSP technologies, the ST system exhibits the highest potential for solarisation of gas turbines. The compressor helps to increase the pressure of the working fluid before it enters the solar receiver (or combustor where combustion of fuel–air mixture proceeds). Pollution control is one of the factors that influence the design of modern combustors. Turbines operate at very high temperatures and so they need to be cooled to avoid overheating and material failure. To enable generation of electricity, an electric generator is linked to a turbine. Many processes take place in a SGT, which require proper control to ensure the right output is obtained at a given time. A detailed discussion of the major gas turbine components has been presented in this chapter. It is shown that the receiver and combustor are critical components in the development of the SGT system.