Update on Westinghouse’s Advanced Turbine Systems Program

Abstract

This paper describes progress on Westinghouse’s Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) Program. The ATS Program objective is to develop new utility gas turbines with greater than 60% net plant thermal efficiency, NOx emissions limited to less than 10 parts per million, reduced cost of electricity generation by 10% over current systems, and reliability-availability-maintainability equivalent to modern power generation systems. The Westinghouse ATS plant is a highly efficient combined cycle, based on an advanced gas turbine incorporating novel design concepts and enhancements of existing technologies. The 501 ATS engine is a fuel-flexible design operating on natural gas with provisions for future conversion to coal or biomass fuels. It is based on proven concepts employed in Westinghouse 501F and 501G engines. To achieve the required performance and reliability, the engine utilizes closed-loop steam cooling, advanced materials and coatings, and enhanced component performance. To minimize NOx emissions, an ultra-low NOx combustion system was incorporated. To ensure success, the necessary technologies were developed and integrated into the ATS engine design.