With intelligent vibration measurement technology to clean energy
The increasing use of renewable energies from photovoltaic and wind power leads to an increased demand for electrical energy that can be generated quickly if there are fluctuations in solar irradiation or wind supply. Modern gas power plants bridge this supply gap perfectly because they start up quickly and vary their output over a wide range. This complex interaction is significantly supported by intelligent vibration measurement technology. The gas and steam turbine (CCGT) operation has a very good efficiency with low CO2 emissions at the same time - about 60 % less than from brown coal power plants. The currently most modern power plant of this type is located north of Munich in Irsching and has an efficiency of 60.75%. The world's most powerful Siemens Energy machine, the SGT5-8000H gas turbine with an electrical output of over 375 MW, is in operation there.
Test benches for optimizing gas turbines
Siemens Energy has built an ultra-modern test center, the Clean Energy Center (CEC) in Ludwigsfelde, near Berlin. There, individual gas-turbine combustors are operated under high- pressure and pre-heated air or gas conditions – in other words, under realistic conditions. In addition to emissions, thermoacoustic phenomena – also known as combustion dynamics – in the combustion chamber and the dynamic loads on materials are also part of the CEC's investigations. To measure these signals, high-temperature pressure- and, acceleration sensors, strain gauges and various other sensors are used.