Performance Analysis of Hydraulic Air Compressor

The combined exploitation of different kinds of primary energy sources in innovative power plants is a promising way to enhance the energy conversion efficiency. In recent years, a possible utilisation of the hydraulic resource for power generation in non-conventional plants has been proposed. The basic concept is to couple conventional Gas Turbine combustion chamber and expander with a Hydraulic Air Compressor, a device whose main characteristic is the capability to isothermally compress air using a hydraulic energy source. A Hydraulic Air Compressor - Gas Turbine power plant, with an extended regeneration at the turbine exhaust, can be characterised by an attractive overall efficiency. The performance of a Hydraulic Air Compressor - Gas Turbine power plant is strongly influenced by the characteristics of the hydraulic compressor itself. In the present paper, an improved -in respect to previous literature- model of the Hydraulic Air Compressor and an original loss analysis model are presented. Results of performance and loss parametric analysis are presented and discussed; maps which relate to the natural site characteristics the obtainable performance and main plant design parameters are also reported and discussed.