This article explores the increasing use of natural gas in different turbine industries and in turn creating an efficient electrical system. All indications are that the aviation market will be good for gas turbine production as airlines and the military replace old equipment and expanding economies such as China and India increase their air travel. Gas turbines now account for some 22% of the electricity produced in the United States and 46% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom. In spite of this market share, electrical power gas turbines have kept a much lower profile than competing technologies, such as coal-fired thermal plants and nuclear power. Gas turbines are also the primary device behind the modern combined power plant, about the most fuel-efficient technology we have. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is developing a new J series gas turbine for the combined cycle power plant market that could achieve thermal efficiencies of 61%. The researchers believe that if wind turbines and gas turbines team up, they can create a cleaner, more efficient electrical power system.
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Powering Ahead
Jet Engines Dominate the Gas Turbine Industry, But other Sectors are Also Primed for Growth.
Lee S. Langston, an ASME Fellow, is professor emeritus of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. He was a member and a past chair of ASME's International Gas Turbine Institute.
Mechanical Engineering. May 2011, 133(05): 30-33 (4 pages)
Published Online: May 1, 2011
Citation
Langston, L. S. (May 1, 2011). "Powering Ahead." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. May 2011; 133(05): 30–33. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2011-MAY-2
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