Design Criteria and Performance Assessment of Multi-Stage Gas Turbine Inlet Air Filtration Systems

Gas turbines play a vital role in maintaining the stability of the national power grid. With increasing operating temperatures and rising operating costs in next-generation gas turbines, their sensitivity to contaminants in the inlet air has increased substantially. Inadequate filtration performance can consequently lead to detrimental phenomena such as fouling, erosion, corrosion, and power degradation. Despite the availability of numerous filtration standards, reliance solely on standardized laboratory tests is insufficient to address the challenges encountered under actual power-plant operating conditions, particularly the simultaneous effects of humidity and airborne dust. In this study, the degradation mechanisms and the major applicable filtration standards, including ASHRAE 52.2, EN 779, ISO 16890, EN 1822, and ISO 29461, are comprehensively analyzed. Based on this analysis, an algorithmic decision-making framework is proposed for the selection, design, and multi-criteria evaluation of multistage filtration systems according to climatic and operational conditions. The framework also provides a systematic correlation between filtration performance indicators and the requirements of laboratory and field testing. The primary contribution of this study is the integration of the dispersed requirements of international filtration standards into a unified technical and operational screening model, aimed at standardizing the selection, testing, and acceptance procedures for gas-turbine air filtration systems under national power-plant conditions.