Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea and Air 1

GT2009
Proceedings
June 8-12, 2009, Orlando, of 2009
Florida, USA
ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea and Air
June 8-12, 2009, Orlando, Florida, USA

GT2009-59268
GT2009-59268

ALSTOM GT11N2 M EXPANSION TURBINE DESIGN MODIFICATION AND

OPERATION EXPERIENCE

Sergey Vorontsov, Stefan Irmisch, Alexey Karelin and Marcelo Rocha

ALSTOM (Switzerland) Ltd

GT11N2 customer engine. Performance validation

ABSTRACT
This paper summarizes the development steps and
measures taken for the upgrade of the GT11N2
Turbine. The main targets to be achieved were
specified as follows:
− GT power increase;
− GT gross efficiency increase;
− Flexible operation with respect to power
output and service interval length.
All 4 turbine stages were re-designed in order to
optimize their aerodynamic performance and
minimize cooling air consumption. Turbine
aerodynamic efficiency improvement was achieved
by means of:
- Turbine stage-to-stage loading optimization;
- 3D airfoil profiling;
- Replacement of the damping bolt of blade 4
by a full shroud;
- Stator/rotor sealing optimization.
On top of that, cooling air consumption was reduced
by means of cooling system optimization for Vane 1,
Blade 1, Vane 2, Blade2 and SHS/A. This allowed
an increase of TIT (inlet turbine mixed temperature)
keeping the hot gas temperature at the turbine inlet
unchanged, which is important for meeting lifetime
and emission targets. One of the key requirements for
this Turbine Upgrade was to use exclusively
validated design approaches and design features as
available from existing and proven Alstom Gas
Turbines ([1], [2], [3]) in order to minimize
development- and implementation risks.
Manufacturing of the new turbine parts was
completed in an exceptionally short time, thanks to a
dedicated R&D Logistic and Manufacturing
support/process, an efficient NCR (Non Conformance
Report) process, early supplier involvement and a
very close/open work with suppliers. The first
prototype of this turbine was implemented in a
© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
1
runs, performed in May 2008 confirmed that the
design targets for power and efficiency were fully
met. The validation of the turbine parts lifetime is
still ongoing.
1 INTRODUCTION
The 60 Hz gas turbine GT11N2 was developed in the
early 1990s (1994 – first ignition). The GT11N2 to
date has been rated at 115.4 MW with a 33.9%
electrical efficiency (ISO) in open cycle and 348.5
MW with 51.8% efficiency in combined cycle with
dual pressure HRSG. Few GT11N2s are 50Hz
engines working with a gear box. More than 50 units
are in commercial operation, and the GT11N2 fleet
has accumulated more than 1,270,000 OH. The 12-
month rolling average fleet reliability is more than
99.1% whilst the fleet leader has passed 73000 OH.
The GT11N2 core engine layout is presented in
Figure 1. The engine consist of the inlet housing and
the outlet axial diffuser as well as a 14 stage
compressor, an EV Dry Low NOx silo combustor and
a 4-stage axial turbine with a cooled stage 1 and
stage 2.
In 2004, a service upgrade program for the GT11N2
was initiated. The objective of this program was to
implement advanced aero/cooling technology into a
new expansion turbine module with increased power
output and efficiency. For this, all 4 turbine stages
were re-designed using an up-to-date 3D aero/cooling
approach in order to minimize the cooling air mass
flow and to increase turbine aerodynamic efficiency.
As part of the service upgrade program a test
campaign was conducted at two GT11N2 engines, in
order to obtain detailed boundary conditions and
determine precisely the turbine and exhaust diffuser

efficiencies for design and off-design operation point
conditions.
The upgrade of the GT11N2 was conducted as a
retrofitable turbine redesign, which allows the
replacement of the whole turbine blading and heat
shields, while vane carrier, rotor and the other GT
components remain unchanged. The advantage of a
retrofitable turbine upgrade is that the parts of the
new design can be installed during a standard
maintenance outage, thus minimizing downtime and
subsequent loss of revenues for the customers.
However, as a consequence, this approach imposes
mechanical restrictions on the turbine design and
challenges the designer.
Flexible operation was specified as a key requirement
for the service upgrade program. This includes the
options for the gas turbine owner to operate the
engine either with the highest power output and
efficiency, but with unchanged length of the service
interval, or to increase the length of the interval, but
with a smaller increase in power output and
efficiency. In the following, these two operation
options are called “Performance Mode” and
“Lifetime Mode”. The first GT11N2 upgrade was
installed in May 2008 in a GT11N2 customer engine.
During the subsequent validation phase, the new
rating, called GT11N2M, demonstrated that it meets
all the performance and emission targets. Lifetime
validation based on the results of regular visual
inspections is still ongoing.
The first part of this paper describes, the turbine
design changes developed for improving the engine
performance, and it compares the aerodynamic
characteristics of the upgraded turbine with those of
the original. The main contributors to the expansion
turbine efficiency increase are described in detail.
A process of turbine parts manufacturing is detailed
in the second part of the paper.
Finally, in the third part, the predicted turbine and
exhaust diffuser efficiency is compared with those
measured in the 1st prototype engine. These
measurements confirmed the expected performance
improvement and the correctness of 3D aerodynamic
approach used for the upgrade.
NOMENCLATURE
TIT - turbine inlet mixed temperature
TAT - turbine outlet temperature
THG - turbine inlet firing temperature
p* - total pressure
G - mass flow
M - Mach number
S - airfoil relative curvilinear coordinate
T - temperature
η*fl - turbine flange-to-flange efficiency
η*bl - turbine blading efficiency
πk - compressor pressure ratio
Gred - Exhaust Diffuser inlet reduced mass flow
© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
2
2
TCLA - total cooling and leakage air mass flow
(related to intake mass flow)
GT – Gas Turbine
2 TURBINE DEVELOPMENT
2.1 Performance & lifetime targets
The careful analysis of the performance data
accumulated from the existing fleet and the
comparison with the original design, allowed the
identification of areas of improvement, based on
which the following turbine design targets were
specified for the two main operation options:
Performance Mode and Lifetime Mode.
In case of Performance Mode operation, the firing
temperature remains unchanged compared to the
original GT11N2. Savings in cooling air mass flow
allow an increase in turbine inlet mixed temperature
(TIT) without having to increase the firing
temperature, which is beneficial from the combustor
lifetime point of view. Half of the targeted
improvements for gross power and efficiency are
related to this increase in TIT only. The other half
relates to an improvement in the turbine flange-to-
flange efficiency.
Table 1. Performance and lifetime targets for simple
cycle
Engine and Performance Lifetime
turbine parameters Mode Mode
change
/Option
TCLA -3.3% -3.3%
πk +3.4% +2.5%
TIT +1.9% 0
THG 0 -2.0%
η*bl +1.9% +2.0%
η*fl +1.9% +2.0%
C-insp. interval 0 +50%
In case of Lifetime Mode operation, the reduction in
cooling air mass flow allows the turbine inlet mixed
temperature to remain unchanged compared to the
original GT11N2, while the firing temperature and
subsequent turbine flow path temperatures are
reduced. This permitted the expansion of the interval
length between regular service inspections while also
gaining power and efficiency, thanks to the new
turbine design.
In order to be fully retrofitable into existing GT11N2
units, the turbine upgrade needed to be compatible
with the existing exhaust diffuser. Since the results
from the measurement campaign, conducted in
GT11N2 engines, confirmed a high GT11N2 exhaust
diffuser efficiency, it was decided to keep the diffuser
unchanged. However, that resulted in an additional
design requirement for the turbine upgrade, to keep
the turbine outlet flow conditions unchanged relative
to the original turbine.

Cooling requirements
The main target for turbine cooling development was
the reduction of cooling air mass flow by introducing
advanced cooling schemes, known and proven in
other designs, without any negative impact on
lifetime.
3
the Performance Mode operation point. This
operation point is characterized by a 3.4% and 1.9%
increase in turbine pressure ratio and TIT,
respectively, compared to the original design (see
Table 1).

Mechanical limits
The above listed design targets had to be achieved
under rather restrictive boundary conditions:
To minimize costs, re-work scope and
implementation time of the engine upgrade, the rotor
had to remain unchanged, and any new blade design
had to fit into the existing blade grooves. Since all
four blade rows have axial root fixations, there was
no possibility of changing the number of rotating
blades.
For the same reasons, the turbine vane carrier had to
remain unchanged: only additional machining
operations that can be carried out on-site were
allowed. However, since the stationary vanes are
mounted in radial grooves in the turbine vane carrier,
changing the vane count was a possibility.
As stated earlier, the turbine upgrade needed to be
compatible with the existing exhaust diffuser. Apart
from the design requirements with respect to the
turbine outflow conditions, this also meant that
mechanical parameters like flow path diameter and
distance between turbine exit and diffuser struts
could not be changed. Finally, the turbine upgrade
had to insure a prescribed swallowing capacity to
allow the engine to be operated with an enlarged
compressor pressure ratio (+3.4% in comparison with
the current machine) to provide additional gross
efficiency gain.
- New Parts
Figure 2. Principle turbine layout
The following basic modifications, directed at the
improvement of turbine blading efficiency, were
introduced during the development phase:
- Optimization of turbine stage-to-stage
loading;
- New airfoil profiling using advanced 3D
aerodynamic approaches;
- Optimization of stator-rotor sealing,
including a reduction of the maximum
allowable radial gap and a decrease in
sealing pressure ratio;
- Replacement of the damping bolt in the last
stage blade with a full shroud.
On top of that, cooling air consumption was reduced
by optimizing the cooling system for Vane 1, Blade
1, Vane 2, Blade 2 and Stator Heat Shield A. This
allowed an increase in TIT (inlet turbine mixed
temperature), while keeping the hot gas temperature
at the turbine inlet and, consequently, combustor
lifetime and emissions unchanged.

As shown in figure 3, the sum of all these measures

results in about 2.0% increase in turbine total blading
efficiency η*bl. The growth in gross power is a result
of the increased turbine blading efficiency (about
53%) and the increase in the cycle performance
parameters TIT and πk (about 47%).

Figure 1. GT11N2 engine layout

2.2 GT11N2 M Turbine modification

Figure 2 shows the layout of the existing and

modified GT11N2 turbine. All hot flow path
components, including vane and blade rows as well
as stator and rotor heat shields, were redesigned. The
design point for the turbine upgrade was chosen to be
© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
3
 4
Turbine efficiency gain Gross Power gain

2.5 100% Vane3 inlet gas temperature

90%
2 Reloading 80%
47%
Efficiency gain, %

0.40
Cycle improvement 1

Power gain, MW
New profiling 70%
1.5 60%
0.45 Sealing optimization Turbine Efficiecy gain 0.9
50%

Channel relative height

1 Blade4 tip upgrade 0.8
40%
0.65
30%
GT11N2
53% 0.7
0.5

0.50
20%
0.6
GT11N2M
10%
0 0%
0.5
0.4
0.3
Figure 3. The contribution of the different 0.2
improvement measures to turbine efficiency and gross 0.1
power growth 0
0.6 0.62 0.64 0.66 0.68 0.7 0.72 0.74 0.76
2.2.1 Stage-to-stage loading optimization T/THG

Figure 4 shows the original GT11N2 turbine stage Figure 5. Vane 3 inlet gas temperature in GT11N2
pressure ratio distribution (blue bars) in comparison and GT11N2M turbine
with that of the upgraded turbine (red bars). The
concept behind the turbine loading optimization is
based on a de-loading of the front stages, which have Blade3 inlet relative gas temperature
the lowest aerodynamic efficiency, in favor of the
1
rear stages with higher efficiency. That is why, in the
0.9
GT11N2 M turbine, the pressure ratio was reduced at

Channel relative height

0.8
stages 1 & 2 and increased at stages 3 & 4. This load 0.7
GT11N2
optimization resulted in a continuous increase in 0.6 GT11N2M
pressure ratio from the first to the last stage. 0.5
According to the aerodynamic calculations, this load 0.4

optimization resulted in a 0.4% gain in turbine 0.3

0.2
blading efficiency.
0.1
0
Stage pressure ratio distribution. 0.56 0.58 0.6 0.62 0.64 0.66 0.68 0.7

T/THG
1.2

1.15 GT11N2
Figure 6. Blade 3 inlet gas temperature in GT11N2
GT11N2M and GT11N2M turbine
Pressure ratio

1.1

1.05
2.2.2. Airfoil profiling
1 As indicated above, new advanced airfoils had to be
0.95 developed for the GT11N2 turbine upgrade, using
0.9
previously published 3D aerodynamic design
Stage1 Stage2 Stage3 Stage4 approaches ([4], [5]). Each row was tuned
Figure 4. Turbine stage-to-stage pressure ratio individually using 2D and 3D Navier-Stokes codes
distribution ([6], [7]).
The advantages of this approach are illustrated in
The fundamental disadvantage of front stage de- Figure 7, which shows a comparison of predicted
loading is the increase in gas temperature for the isentropic Mach number distributions for the original
downstream stages, namely the un-cooled stages 3 GT11N2 Blade 1 and the newly designed GT11N2 M
and 4. Owing to temperature profiles gradually Blade 1. The 3D Navier-Stokes code was used for
increasing towards larger radii (Figure 5, 6), the tip optimization of the aerodynamic shape of the airfoils,
regions of these uncooled rows became the most avoiding local overexpansion zones and controlling
critical areas for the upgrade. The mitigation and minimizing the level of profile, secondary and
measures comprised a 3D aerodynamic profiling radial gap losses. The chosen approach allows
combined with an aerodynamic loading optimization calculation of the loss coefficients in the turbine rows
over the turbine radius. Usage of a significantly more precisely, which is illustrated in Figure 8, where
higher loading of the tip sections of turbine stages 1,
the results of Blade1 loss assessment performed by
2 and 3 led to a substantial reduction in gas
the 3D Navier-Stokes code are compared with those
temperature for the tip sections of the uncooled blade
calculated by 2D methods. All blades and vanes of
rows (see Figure 5, 6).
© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
4
 5
the turbine upgrade were redesigned using this
approach.
Furthermore, adopting a compound lean design
approach (Figure 9) for Vanes 3 and 4 was beneficial
from the aerodynamic performance point of view,
providing:
- Substantial growth in stage reaction at the
inner diameter of stages 3 and 4;
- A noticeable reduction of outlet Mach Vane 4
number at the inner diameter of vanes 3 and
4;
- An increase of inlet flow angle for blades 3
and 4 (at inner diameter)
The total turbine blading efficiency benefit as a result
of advanced airfoil profiling has been estimated to be
0.45%.
Figure 9. Vane 4 compound lean design
Mλis is
1.2

1.1

1.
GT11N2 2.2.3. Turbine sealing optimization
0.9 The improvement of the turbine sealing was defined
0.8

0.7
as another important design target for the GT11N2
0.6 turbine upgrade. This resulted in a number of
0.5

0.4
modifications dedicated to minimizing cooling air
0.3 leakages through the stator parts (vanes, stator heat
0.2
shields) by introducing up-to-date seals, an improved
0.1

0. fixation of stator heat shields in the vane carrier, and

0. 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
-- hub -- mid -- tip
S
S a reduction of clearances between the stator parts.
λ is
Mis 1.2

1.1 Noticeable performance improvements were also

1.

0.9
GT11N2M achieved by reducing the hot gas leakages at the inner
0.8 diameter by:
− Adding platforms on vanes 2 and 3 (vane 1
0.7

0.6

0.5 and vane 4 already had inner platforms in

0.4

0.3
the original design );
0.2 − Introduction of staggered honeycomb
0.1

0.
labyrinth seals with fins on the rotor and
0. 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
-- hub
0.5
-- mid
0.6
-- tip
0.7 0.8 0.9 S
S axially stepped honeycombs on the
Suction side Pressure side platforms of vanes 2, 3, and 4, which is
more efficient than the previously used
Figure 7. Blade1 surface isentropic Mach number “look-through” seal design (Figure 10)
distribution (3D Navier-Stokes code) A comparison of the old and new inner diameter seal
design of vanes 2, 3 and 4 is shown in detail in Figure
Blade1. Loss radial variation
10. Figure 11 illustrates how the introduction of a
staggered honeycomb labyrinth seal has almost
1
halved the leakage-flow for vane 4, compared to the
0.9
original “look-through” design. The introduction of
0.8
the honeycombs in vanes 2, 3 and 4 also permitted a
Channel relative height

0.7
significant reduction of the stator-rotor radial
0.6
3D N-St.GT11N2
clearances and, subsequently, the leakages flows.
0.5
3D N-St. GT11N2M In total, the optimization of the vane’s inner platform
0.4
2D N-St. GT11N2
sealing contributes about 0.65% of turbine blading
0.3 2D N-St. GT11N2M

0.2
efficiency gain.
0.1

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
Losses

Figure 8. Blade1 radial variation of losses (2D and

3D Navier-Stokes code)

© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
5
 6
Anti-vibration
GT11N2 Damping bolts platform

Blade 4

GT11N2M

Figure 10. Comparison of inner diameter rotor/stator GT11N2 GT11N2M

design.
Figure 12. Comparison of blade 4 tip design
Vane 4 inner platform leakage

5
Turbine exit Total pressure
Current design (GT11N2) 1
4 0.9
Leakage, kg/s

Operation radial gap 0.8

Channel relative height

3
0.7
5-hole probe
0.6
2
0.5 Predicted damping bolt loss
1 0.4
New design (GT11N2M) 0.3
0 0.2
0 1 2 3 4 5
0.1
Radial gap, mm
0
0.76 0.78 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.9

Figure 11. Leakage vs. radial gap over vane 4 inner
platform ( 2D CFD FLUENT analysis)
2.2.4. Introduction of a tip shroud for the last
stage blade.
In addition to the measures listed above, the bolts
used in the original design to dampen blade 4
vibrations were replaced by an interlocking full
shroud. (Figure 12). This measure helped to further
improve the turbine performance due to the
elimination of aerodynamic losses caused by the
damping bolt and the reduction of tip-clearance
losses.
A comparison of the old and new designs is shown in
Figure 12. The impact of a damping bolt on the
aerodynamic losses is illustrated in Figure 13. This
figure shows, measurements of the total pressure
downstream of the last stage blade of the GT11N2.
These measurement results, obtained from two 5-hole
probes, were used to calibrate the GT11N2 through-
flow model and for a more reliable evaluation of the
delta in losses for blade 4, with and without the
damping bolts.
According to the aerodynamic analysis the total
turbine blading efficiency gain related to the
replacement of the damping bolts with a full shroud
was predicted to be 0.5%.
p*, bar
Figure 13. Impact of damping bolt on total pressure
radial distribution
2.2.5 Turbine cooling optimization.
As mentioned above, about 50% of the GT11N2
turbine power gain comes from the reduction of the
cooling air mass flow (see fig. 3). This was achieved
by the application of state-of-the-art cooling
technology and the use of advanced cooling design
methods and tools.
As an example, Figure 14 presents the principle
cooling schemes of GT11N2M vane 1 and blade 1.
For vane 1, a cooling system consisting of two
cavities was chosen. The front part of the airfoil is
cooled by the air passing through the channels
between the inner wall and the insert in the front
cavity and is then discharged on the leading edge
surface through the shower head consisting of 3
vertical film cooling rows. The rear part has a multi-
pass cooling system supported by two rows of film
cooling on the pressure side.
Blade 1 is a convectively cooled with a separate
channel in the leading edge. The air cooling the
leading edge passes through this channel and then
discharges into the tip crown of the blade. The rear
part of blade 1 has a multi-pass cooling system with
two turnings providing highly effective cooling with
a relatively small cooling mass flow.

© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
6
 7
2.3 Turbine manufacturing.
One of the biggest challenges of this project was
getting so many new parts through the supply chain
on time and meeting cost and quality targets at the
same time.
As short time to market was one of the key success
factors for this project, and taking into consideration
that there has been a world-wide bottleneck in the
supply of gas-turbine blading over the last years, this
represented a great challenge for the design team,
logistics and the suppliers. As a consequence, a great
deal of effort was spent on optimizing the way
design, logistics and suppliers interacted. Throughout
the whole turbine development and purchasing
phases, processes were adapted to support this.
One measure was to assign dedicated people from the
design/project team and the supplier’s side and to
empower them in order to efficiently take care of all
design, logistics and manufacturing issues as soon as
they arose.
Another measure was to have the suppliers selected
and involved in the design at the earliest possible
point in time. This meant, the suppliers were fully
aware of the design intent right from the beginning
and were able to directly feed back their input with
respect to expected tolerances, manufacturability and
potential quality risks to the design team.
Establishing this close loop between design teams
and suppliers saved a lot of time, which in the past
typically had to be spent correcting or revising
drawings and to re-analyzing based on supplier
feedback available only after the majority of the
design was already completed. Furthermore, this
approach also helped reduce tooling, qualification
Figure 14. Cooling scheme of vane 1 and blade 1 and first-set production time, since the design already
considered supplier-specific capabilities and
This article cannot go into all the details of the experience, avoiding e.g. long qualification loops to
turbine cooling design, and therefore only the main meet unnecessary or unrealistic tolerance
changes to the cooling flow are summarized in Figure requirements etc.
15. Overall, this approach helped to identify critical
issues, to share knowledge, to identify cost drivers
Cooling Air Consumption for Components and potential improvements at the earliest point in
time, and as a result to avoid potential causes for
40
35.7 delay or poor quality.
35
GT11N2: total -100% Another key aspect in working closely with logistics
% of GT11N2 TCLA

30
23.8 GT11N2M: total -82.1% and the suppliers was to identify and realize jointly
25
20.1 the opportunities to further reduce lead-times e.g. by
20
14.6
the parallelization of tasks that are independent of
15
9.3
each other, but traditionally have been performed
10
5.9 4.9 4.4 sequentially; joint agreements on the minimum
5
information necessary to start a certain task (i.e. key
0
geometric data sufficient to order raw material for
Vane1 Blade1 Vane2 Blade2
tools prior to having final drawings available), further
Figure 15. Contribution of the different turbine helped to minimize lead-times.
components cooling optimization to the cooling flow During workshops held together with people from
reduction % of total cooling air. logistics and the suppliers, a unique Design & Make
plan was established, offering a basis for monitoring
As shown, the mass flow of the cooling air was and controlling all engineering and production
reduced by a total of 18%, including the effects of tasks/steps and, therefore, the whole project plan.
sealing optimization, described above. Also, the delivery dates for all components were
© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
7
 8
generated from this Design & Make plan. This meant, The comparison of measured turbine flange
that only one master plan was available/agreed on efficiency of the original and re-designed turbines is
during the whole project phase, and this plan was the shown in Figure 16. The measurements in the field
basis for everyone involved in the project. confirmed the expected turbine performance targets.
Last but not least, such joint workshops were also an
excellent way to establish communication between Table 2. Comparison of target and achieved
the various suppliers and to get them committed to performance gain for Performance Mode option
the project plan. In many cases, smaller issues could
be resolved between the suppliers directly, without
Engine and Target Test data
the design team directly being involved.
turbine parameters analysis
When production of the first parts started a dedicated
πk +3.5% +4.0%
NCR (Non Conformance Report) process established
specifically for this development project allowed for TIT +1.9% +1.9%
quick responses to the suppliers in case parts were η*fl +1.9% +1.91%
manufactured outside of the specifications. Thanks to
this process, in one specific incidence, the issue could GT11N2 Turbine flange polytropic efficiency

be analyzed, a mitigation developed and the parts 2.5

brought back into production only 3 days after the
supplier issued the Non Conformance Report

Turbine Flange Efficiency gain (%)

2.0
GT11N2M
+1.91% validation test
(standard time is 4 weeks). 1.5

In the end, all parts were delivered on time and the GT11N2 test
GT11N2 pretest
1.0
whole design/manufacturing throughput time was GT11N2
Baseline
considered to be one of the fastest ever achieved 0.5

within Alstom. 0.0

0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00

2.4. Baselining and performance evaluation -0.5

Relatine flange pressure ratio

Typical performance data available from the engines
in the existing fleet include GT power output, GT
efficiency (evaluated based on measured power and
fuel consumption), pressures and temperatures
downstream of the compressor and the exhaust
diffuser. The latter allows the evaluation of the
turbine flange efficiency. In addition to this, in order
to have sufficient data available for a proper
baselining and model calibration, a special test
campaign was performed on an existing GT11N2 unit
prior to the start of the design phase. This test
campaign, in addition to standard performance
measurements as described above, included the
measurement of the radial distribution of the inlet gas
temperature by means of thermal crystals, metal
temperature measurements of vane row 3 and flow
traversing downstream of the turbine at the diffuser
inlet (using 5-hole probe measurements). Almost the
same scope of measurements was carried out later on
during the validation of the first upgrade installation
in May 2008 in a customer engine.
Figure 16. Measured turbine flange efficiency of the
original and a redesigned turbine.
The measurements of the flow structure with the 5-
hole probe traverse at the turbine exit/diffuser inlet on
both original GT11N2 and upgraded GT11N2 M
units permits the derivation of turbine blading
efficiency and diffuser performance from of the
turbine flange-efficiency measurements. The
comparison of measured turbine blading efficiency
between the original and re-designed turbines is
shown in Figure 17. It confirms that the expected
increase in turbine blading efficiency, as a result of
the described improvement measures, is achieved
fully. The measured pressure loss characteristics of
the exhaust diffuser for original and upgraded engine
is presented in Figure 18. The measurements confirm
that the exhaust diffuser performance is nearly
unchanged, which was one of the design objectives.
GT11N2 Turbine blading polytropic efficiency
2.5

The ultimate purpose of the engine upgrade was to

increase power output and engine efficiency. The
Turbine blading Efficiency gain (%)

2.0

validation measurements clearly confirmed, that the 1.5

GT11N2M
performance targets of the upgrade have been +1.9%
validation test
GT11N2
achieved. The difference between expected and 1.0
Baseline

evaluated gross efficiency improvement based on 0.5

GT11N2 test
GT11N2 pretest

measurements are within 0.02%. For gross power

0.0
output, the difference is 0.2 % in the Performance 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00

Mode operation. The measured compressor pressure -0.5

Relatine blading pressure ratio
ratio increase is slightly higher than expected (see
Figure 17. Measured turbine blading efficiency of the
Table 2), but confirms that the reduction in TCLA
original and a redesigned turbine.
could be achieved as planned. .

© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
8
 9
GT11N2/N2M. Diffuser total pressure loss 4. REFERENCES
[1] Harasgama, S.P., Kreitmeier, F., 1994, “A new
220%
upgraded turbine for the GT8 and GT8C turbine
200%

180%
family”, ASME Paper 1994-GT-65, The Nague,
160% GT11N2M.
GT11N2. Netherlands.
Baseline
[2] Schneider, C., Navrotsky, V., Harasgama, P.,
dP*/P*in

140% Validation test

120% 1998, “Gas Turbine Upgrading Program

100% Development and Testing of GT11NM”, ASME
80%
Paper 2000-GT-591, Munich, Germany.
60% GT11N2 test
[3] Vassiliev, V., Mooslechner, N., Kostege, M.,
40%
50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Granovskiy, A., 2007, “Aerodynamic Characteristics
Gred of a Redesigned Turbine”, ASME Paper GT-2007-
Figure 18. Measured diffuser characteristics of the 27472, Montreal, Canada.
original and redesigned turbines. [4] Afanasiev, I., Granovskiy, A., Kareline, A.,
Kostege, M., 2004, ‘Effect of 3D Vane Shape on the
3. CONCLUSION Flow Capacity”, ASME Paper GT-2004-53095,
Despite the fact, that severe design limitations were Vienna, Austria.
imposed, like the requirements to [5] Granovskiy, A., Kostezh, M., Krupa, V.,
• Keep the exhaust diffuser unchanged and Rudenko, S., 1999, “The Effect of the Flow
therefore maintain the turbine outlet Characteristics and the Shape of the Blade-Cascade
conditions on the Losses in the Peripheral Gross Sections of Gas
• Use the existing rotor and therefore keep the Turbine Blades”, Thermal Engineering, Vol.46, No.5,
number and axial location of the turbine 1999, pp.406-412.
blades fixed [6] Krupa, V., 1994, “Simulation of steady and
Keep the existing turbine vane carrier, thus limiting unsteady viscous flows in turbomachinery”,.
the possibility to modify the turbine flow-path in AGARD-lecture series, No 198, LS-198.
order to allow for retrofit-ability in existing GT11N2 [7] Nigmatullin, R., Ivanov, M., 1994, “The
units and to keep the upgrade scope and subsequent mathematical models of flow passage for gas turbine
upgrade costs as small as possible, a significant engines and their components”, AGARD Lecture
increase in turbine blading efficiency and reduction TCP 02/LS198 pp.4-1…4-28.
in TCLA could be achieved. [8] Karelin, A., Fischer, Y., Lomakin, N., 2007,
“Labyrinth Seal Improvement on the Basis of
The main contributors were the consistent application Numerical Investigations”, 7-th European
of advanced 3D profiling, to minimize aerodynamic Turmomachinery Conference Proceedings, Athens,
losses, achieve load optimization, e.g. by introducing Greece, pp. 1201-1210.
a compound lean design for vanes 3 & 4.
Furthermore, specific measures were taken to further
reduce aerodynamic losses, like the introduction of a
full shroud for blade 4 to replace the previous use of
damping bolts. Other measures were the introduction
of state-of-the-art inter-platform seals to reduce
leakages as well as the introduction of shrouds at the
inner diameter of the vanes 2 & 3 to minimize tip
leakages between these vanes and corresponding
rotor heat shields. Cooling air mass flow reduction
achieved with the application of up-to-date cooling
technologies permitted an increase of the gas mixed
temperature TIT and, as a result, an increase in GT
performance, keeping the firing temperature in the
combustor at the original level.
The performance measurements obtained during field
validation of the first turbine upgrade implemented
confirmed that the advanced 3D aero-design process
used for this upgrade together with the application of
state-of-the-art cooling and sealing technologies led
to remarkable performance improvements and that
the applied methods are reliable, with predictions and
measurements being in good agreement.

© ALSTOM 2009. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is provided without liability
for information purposes only and is subject to change without notice. No representation or warranty is
given or to be implied as to the completeness of information or fitness for any particular purpose.
Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties, without express written authority, is strictly prohibited.
9