Various approaches have been suggested to address various thermal management issues (e.g., inlet air cooling, waste heat recovery) in gas turbines, gas turbine engines, internal combustion engines and other industrial processes. Such approaches include those discussed in the report entitled Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of New Power Cycles and Advanced Falling Film Heat Exchangers by the U.S. Department of Energy in conjunction with the University of New Mexico.
In this report two new thermodynamic cycles were proposed and investigated based on the second law of thermodynamics. Two computer programs were developed to find effect of important system parameters on the irreversibility distribution of all components in the cycle: (1) the first cycle was based on a combined triple (Brayton/Rankine/Rankine)/(Gas/steam/ammonia) cycle capable of producing high efficiencies; and (2) the second cycle is a combined (Brayton/Rankine)/(gas/ammonia) cycle with integrated compressor inlet air-cooling capable of producing high power and efficiency. The proposed cycles and the results obtained from the second law analyses of the cycles were published in Energy Conversion and Management and ASME proceedings (IMEC&E 2001).
Given the above, there is a need in the art for systems that are designed to address various thermal management issues for various devices (e.g., gas turbines, gas turbine engines, industrial process equipment and/or internal combustion engines). In one instance, there is a need for a system that is able to address various thermal management issues (e.g., inlet air cooling) in gas turbines, gas turbine engines, internal combustion engines and/or other industrial process equipment.