A General Purpose Test Rig for Innovative Cycles Based on a 100 kWe Micro Gas Turbine

A new micro gas turbine based experimental facility has been designed and installed at the Thermochemical Power Group (TPG) laboratory of the University of Genoa, Italy. The main objective of this rig is the physical emulation of innovative cycles connecting a modified commercial 100 kWe recuperated micro gas turbine to a modular volume for the experimental analysis of the interaction between new components, such as fuel cells, with turbomachines. The lay-out of the system (connecting pipes, valves, and instrumentation, in particular mass flow meter locations) has also been carefully designed, and is presented in detail in the paper. The plant layout has been designed with the highest flexibility approach for the volume variation, the flow control management, the study of co-generative applications, and an easy connection with new components. This paper reports a large number of experimental data measured with the rig, essential for commercial microturbine performance improvement, control strategy development and theoretical model validation.