🔍 Key Concepts

• Intercooler function in a gas turbine cycle and how cooling the air between compressor stages affects compressor work/power required. • Recuperator (regenerator) function and how transferring heat from exhaust gas to compressor discharge air changes required fuel and turbine inlet temperature. • Overall goal of an intercooled-recuperated cycle compared with a simple cycle: higher efficiency and/or reduced specific fuel consumption.

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens to the compressor work when the air is cooled between stages: does cooler, denser air make it easier or harder for the next compressor to raise its pressure? • If the recuperator preheats the compressed air using hot exhaust, what does that do to the amount of fuel needed in the combustor to reach the desired turbine inlet temperature? • Look for which option mixes up "decreasing turbine inlet temperature" versus "decreasing fuel to reach a given turbine inlet temperature."

✅ Before You Answer

• Be sure which device, intercooler vs. recuperator, affects compressor power, and which affects fuel requirement/thermal efficiency. • Verify whether a recuperator’s job is to increase or decrease the turbine inlet temperature for a fixed fuel flow, or to reduce fuel for a given turbine inlet temperature. • Eliminate any choice that claims the intercooler increases high‑pressure compressor power if you determine that cooling between stages actually reduces the work of later compression.