Inlet Fogging of Gas Turbine Engines—Part I: Fog Droplet Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Practical Considerations

The inlet fogging of gas turbine engines for power augmentation has seen increasing application over the past decade yet not a single technical paper treating the physics and engineering of the fogging process, droplet size measurement, droplet kinetics, or the duct behavior of droplets, from a gas turbine perspective, is available. This paper provides the results of extensive experimental and theoretical studies conducted over several years coupled with practical aspects learned in the implementation of nearly 500 inlet fogging systems on gas turbines ranging in power from 5 to 250 MW. Part I of the paper covers the underlying theory of droplet thermodynamics and heat transfer, and provides several practical pointers relating to the implementation and application of inlet fogging to gas turbine engines.