Thermal efficiency of a regenerative Brayton cycle with isothermal heat addition

The effect of two heat additions, rather than one, in a gas turbine engine is analysed using a regenerative Brayton cycle model, where all fluid frict ion losses in the compressor and turbine are quantified by an isentropic ef ficiency term and all global irreversibilities in the regenerator are taken into account by means of an effective efficiency. It has been established that the application of an isothermal heat addition process in regenerative gas turbine engines may result in significant efficiency improvements of o ver 10% compared with conventional engines. Moreover, substantial reduction s of pollutant emissions are expected. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.