Experimental investigation on humidifying performance of counter flow spray saturator for humid air turbine cycle

A number of experiments of the humidifying performance of a counter flow spray saturator (CFSS) for a humid air turbine (HAT) cycle are conducted in this work. The critical parameters, such as the temperature and relative humidity of the humid air and the temperature of the water droplets in the saturator as well as its inlet and outlet, are measured. The absolute humidity of the humid air at every measuring location and the evaporative capacity between two measuring locations along with the height of the saturator are obtained according to these measured data. The temperature of the outlet humid air increases with increasing water-gas ratio, and the outlet humid air reaches or is close to the saturation level. On the whole, the temperature and relative humidity of the humid air in the saturator is enhanced along with the height of the saturator. The water droplets entrainment is mainly decided by the diameter of the water droplets and the velocity of the humid air. There is a small temperature difference between the humid air and the water droplets in most areas of the saturator. The experiments show the humid air is mainly humidified at the lower part of the saturator and is simultaneously humidified and heated at the upper part.