THE REHEAT-GAS-TURBINE COMBINED CYCLE

Thanks to the Carnot principle, engineers have known for years that increasing the initial working temperature will increase cycle efficiency, and this understanding has led to many cycle improvements, particularly in the areas of first the steam turbine, and then the gas turbine, and finally the combination of the two. This article retraces the history of the steam turbine cycle, the early gas-turbine combined cycles, the early reheat-gas-turbine combined cycle, the Japanese reheat-gas-turbine combined cycle, and finally the nonintercooled reheat-gas turbine and its innovations.