Turbine blade, vane cooling—a primer
The most efficient powerplants ever produced are now entering service. These latest and largest combined cycles—powered by GE’s 7HA, Siemens’ SGT6-8000H, and Mitsubishi Hitachi’s M501J engines—are all clocking in at 62% – 63% thermal efficiency. This makes them the most efficient heat engines yet perfected by engineers, with all three OEMs striving to reach 65% …