STEAM BOILERS
Definition
A closed vessel in which steam is produced from
water by combustion of fuel
Purpose of boilers
➢For generating power in steam engines or
steam turbines
➢In textile industries for sizing and bleaching
➢For heating the buildings in cold weather and
for producing hot water for hot water supply
Primary requirements of a boiler
➢The water must be contained safely
➢The steam must be safely delivered in desired
condition (as regard its pressure, temperature,
quality and required rate)
Boiler terms
➢Shell: Consists of one or more steel plates bent
into a cylindrical form and riveted or welded
together. The shell ends are closed with end
plates
➢Setting: The primary function of setting is to
confine heat to the boiler and form a passage
for gases. It is made of brick work and may
form the wall of the furnace and combustion
chamber
➢Grate: it is a platform in the furnace upon
which fuel is burnt
➢Furnace: it is the chamber formed by the
space above the grate and below the boiler
shell, in which combustion takes place.
➢Water space and steam space: the volume of
the shell that is occupied by the water is
termed as water space while the entire shell
volume less the water and tubes is called steam
space
➢Mountings: The items which are used for
safety of boiler are called mountings
➢Accessories: The items which are used for
increasing the boiler efficiency are called
accessories
➢Water level: The level at which water stands
in the boiler is called water level
➢Refractory: insulation material used for lining
combustion chamber
➢Foaming: Formation of steam bubbles on the
surface of boiler water due to high surface
tension of water
➢Scale: A deposit of medium due to extreme
hardness occurring on the water heating
surfaces of boiler because of an undesirable
condition in the boiler water
➢Blowing off: The removal of mud and other
impurities of water from the lowest part of the
boiler. Accomplished with the help of blow off
cock or valve
➢Lagging: Insulation wrapped on the outside of
the boiler shell or steam piping
Boiler accessories
➢Feed pumps: Used to deliver feed water to the
boiler. It is desirable that the quantity of water
supplied should be at least equal to that
evaporated and supplied to the engine
➢Two types of which are commonly used as
feed pumps are (1) reciprocating pump (2)
rotary pump
Injector
➢Function of injector is to feed water into the
boiler
➢It is commonly employed for vertical and
locomotive boilers and does not find its
application in large capacity high pressure
boilers
➢Also used where the space is not available for
the installation of feed pump
Economizer
➢Is a device in which the waste heat of the flue
gases is utilized for heating the feed water
➢ Economizers are of two types
Independent type
Integral type
Air Pre-heater
➢ The function of the air pre-heater is to increase the
temperature of air before it enters the furnace.
➢ It is placed after the economizer.
➢ Flue gases pass through the economizer and then to
the air preheater
➢ Degree of preheating depends on
➢ Type of fuel
➢ Type of fuel burning equipment, and
➢ Rating at which the boiler and furnace are
operated
Types of air preheaters
I. Tubular type
II. Plate type
III. Storage type
Super heater
➢The function of a super heater is to increase
the temperature of the steam above its
saturation point
➢The super heater is very important accessory
of a boiler and can be used both on fire tube
and water – tube boilers.
➢Advantages of super heated steam
➢ Steam consumption of the engine or turbine is
reduced
➢ Erosion of turbine blade is eliminated
➢ Efficiency of the steam plant is increased
➢ Losses due to condensation in the cylinders and
the steam pipes are reduced.
Steam separator
➢The function of a steam separator is to remove
the entrained water particles from the steam
conveyed to the steam engine or turbine.
➢It is installed as close to the steam engine as
possible on the main steam pipe from the
boiler
➢According to principle of operation the steam
separators are classified as follows
➢ Impact or baffle type
➢ Reverse current type
➢ Centrifugal type
Boiler mountings
➢Pressure gauge
➢Fusible plug
➢Steam stop valve
➢Feed check valve
➢Blow off cock
➢Mud and man holes
Pressure gauge
➢ To record the steam pressure at which steam is
generated in the boiler
➢ A bourdon pressure gauge in its simplest form consists
of a simple elastic tube
➢ One end of the tube is fixed and connected to the steam
space in the boiler
➢ Other end is connected to a sector through a link
Pressure gauge
Fusible plug
➢To extinguish fire in the event of water level in
the boiler shell falling below a certain
specified limit
➢It is installed below boiler’s water level
Working of Fusible plug
➢ When the water level in the shell falls below the top
of the plug the steam cannot keep it cool and the
fusible metal melts due to over heating.
➢ thus the copper plug drops down and is held with in
the gun metal body by the ribs.
➢ Thus the steam space gets communicated to fire box
and extinguishes the fire.
➢ Thus damage to the fire box which could burn up is
avoided
➢ By removing the gun metal plug and copper plug the
Fusible plug can be put in position again by inserting
the fusible metal usually lead or metal alloy
Steam stop valve
➢ A valve is a device that regulates the flow of a fluid
(gases , fluidized solids slurries or liquids) by
opening or closing or partially obstructing various
passageways
➢ Function : to shut off or regulate the flow of steam
from the boiler to the steam pipe or steam from the
steam pipe to the engine
Steam stop valve
Feed check valve
➢ To allow the feed water
to pass in to the boiler
➢ To prevent the back
flow of water from the
boiler in the event of the
failure of the feed pump
Blow off cock
➢ To drain out water from
the boiler for internal
cleaning inspection or
other purposes
Mud and man holes
➢ To allow men to enter in to the boiler for
inspection and repair
Classification of boilers
➢Horizontal, vertical or inclined
➢Fire tube and water tube
➢Externally fired and internally fired
➢Forced circulation and natural circulation
➢High pressure and low pressure
➢Stationary and portable
➢Single tube and multi tube
Horizontal, vertical or inclined
➢If the axis of the boiler is horizontal, vertical
or inclined then it is called horizontal, vertical
or inclined boiler respectively
Fire tube and water tube
➢If hot gases are inside the tube and water is
outside the tube, it is called fire-tube boiler.
➢Examples: Cochran, Lancashire and
locomotive boilers
➢If water is inside the tube and hot gases are
outside the tube, it is called fire-tube boiler.
➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling,
Yarrow boiler etc
Externally fired and internally fired
➢The boiler is known as externally fired if the
fire is outside the shell.
➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling
➢The boiler is known as internally fired if the
furnace is located inside the boiler shell.
➢Examples: Cochran, Lancashire
Forced circulation and natural
circulation
➢In forced circulation type of boilers, the
circulation of water is done by a forced pump
➢Examples: Velox, Lamont, Benson boiler
➢In natural circulation type of boilers, circulation
of water in the boiler takes place due to natural
convection currents produced by the application
of heat
➢Examples: Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox
High pressure and low pressure
➢The boilers which produce steam at pressures
of 80 bar and above are called high pressure
boilers
➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Velox,
Lamont, Benson boilers
➢The boilers which produce steam at pressure
below 80 bar are called low pressure boilers
➢Examples: Cochran, Cornish, Lancashire
and locomotive boilers
Stationary and portable
➢Stationary boilers are used for power plant-
steam, for central station utility power plants,
for plant process steam etc
➢Mobile or portable boilers include locomotive
type, and other small unit for temporary use at
sites
Single tube and multi tube
➢The fire tube boilers are classified as single
tube or multi-tube boilers, depending upon
whether the fire tube is one or more than one
➢Examples of single tube boilers are Cornish
and simple vertical boiler
Comparison of fire tube and water
tube boilers
Particulars Fire-tube boilers Water-tube boilers
Position of water and hot
gases
Hot gases inside the tubes
and water outside the
tubes
Water inside the tubes
and hot gases outside the
tubes
Mode of firing Generally internally fired Externally fired
Operation pressure Limited to 16 bar Can go up to 100 bar
Rate of steam production Lower Higher
Suitability Not suitable for large
power plants
Suitable for large power
plants
Risk on bursting Involves lesser risk of
explosion due to lower
pressure
More risk on bursting
due to high pressure
Floor area For a given power it
occupies more floor area
For a given power it
occupies less floor area
Construction Difficult Simple
Cont…
Particulars Fire-tube boilers Water-tube boilers
Transportation Difficult Simple
Shell diameter Large for same power Small for same power
Chances of explosion Less More
Treatment of water Not so necessary More necessary
Accessibility of various
parts
Various parts not so easily
accessible for cleaning,
repair and inspection
More accessible
Requirement of skill Require less skill for
efficient and economic
Require more skill and
careful attention
working
Lancashire boiler
➢Reliable, has simplicity of design, ease of
operation and less operating and maintenance
costs
➢Commonly used in sugar-mills and textile
industries where along with the power steam
and steam for the process work is also needed
Cont…
➢Consists of cylindrical shell inside which two
large tubes are spaced
➢Shell is constructed with several rings of
cylindrical from it is placed horizontally over a
brick work which forms several channels for
the flow of hot gases
➢The furnace is placed at the front end of each
Locomotive boiler
➢Consists of cylindrical barrel with rectangular
fire box at one end and smoke box at another
end
➢Hot gases generated due to burning of coal are
deflected by an arch of fire bricks, so that
walls of the fire box may be heated properly
➢The heat of the hot gases is transmitted into
water through the heating surfaces of fire tubes
Babcock and Wilcox boiler
Cont…
➢It consists of a drum connected to a series of
front end and rear end header by short riser
tubes
➢To these headers are connected a series of
inclined (150 or more) water tubes
➢A hand hole is provided in the header in front
of each tube for cleaning and inspection of
Cont…
➢Feed valve is provided to fill the drum and
inclined tubes with water
➢Through the fire door fuel is supplied to grate
where it is burnt
➢The hot gases are forced to move upwards
between the tubes by baffle plates
➢The water from the drums flows through the
inclined tubes via down take header and goes
back into the shell in the form of water and
steam via uptake header
Nestler boiler
Nestler boiler
➢Fire tube type of fired horizontal axis boiler
➢The boiler shell consists of two mild steel
thick plates with large number of fire tubes
fitted between two plates
➢A bigger diameter furnace tube extending from
burner end to other end is used for carrying hot
flue gases from one smoke box to other smoke
box
➢At the rare end smoke box chimney is
provided for the rejection of exhaust gases
➢Hot gases passes through the furnace tube and
enter into the rear end smoke box and pass
through fire tubes to the front end smoke box
for final discharge through chimney
➢Water surrounding tubes get transformed into
steam and gets collected in steam space.
➢Oil is first heated up to 80oc by electric heater
before being supplied to burner for injection
into furnace tube.
➢Blower is employed for atomization of furnace
oil into furnace
➢Such a boilers are capable of generating steam
up to 10-11 bar.
Bent tube boilers
Straight tube boilers has many disadvantages like
1. They had less accessibility and poorer inspection
capability, considerable time, labour and expense
were required to open up or close the bolts in the
headers, and to remove and replace the gaskets
2. Inadequate design and imperfect fabrication of hand
hole caps (cleaning purpose) resulted in much
leakage
3. Circulation was sluggish sluggish due to low head,
and limited steam disengaging surface made
inadequate separation of steam and water reducing
steam rate
➢ Bent tube boilers offers many advantages over
straight-tube boilers
➢ The notable among them being greater accessibility
for inspection, cleaning, and maintenance, and ability
to operate at higher steaming rates and to deliver drier
steam
Four drum stirling boiler
Five-drum form
➢Water flows downwards from the mud drum to
headers feeding the tubes lining the walls of
the radiant surface
➢The low density steam-water mixture rises up
to the steam drum at the upper side
➢The steam is separated and flows to the central
drum, where it is removed
➢Feed water enters the drum at the left and
mixes with the saturated liquid in the drum
➢The cooled liquid flows down to mud drum
Cochran boiler
➢ One of the best types of vertical multi-tube boiler
➢ Consists of a cylindrical shell with a dome shaped top
where the space is provided for steam
➢ The furnace is one piece construction and is seamless
Cont..
➢ Its crown has a hemispherical shape and thus
provides maximum volume of space
➢ The fuel is burnt on the grate and ash is collected and
disposed from the ash pit
➢ The gases of combustion produced by burning the
fuel enter the combustion chamber through the flue
tube
➢ They strike against fire brick lining which directs
them to pass through number of horizontal tubes,
being surrounded by water
➢ After which the gases escape to the atmosphere
through the smoke box and chimney
➢ A number of hand holes are provided around the
outer shell for cleaning purposes
➢It is a component of steam generator
Basic requirements :
➢Through mixing of fuel and air
➢Optimum fuel-air ratios leading to most
complete combustion possible maintained over
full load range
➢Ready and accurate response of rate of
fuel feed to load demand
Contd..
➢Continuous and reliable ignition of fuel
➢Practical distillation of volatile components
of coal followed by adequate action
➢Adequate control over point of formation and
accumulation of ash, when coal is the fuel
Solid fuels fired
Hand fired Stoker fired Pulverized fuel
fired
Underfeed stockers Overfeed stockers
Unit system Central system Both
Liquid fuel fired
➢ Injection system
➢ Evaporator system
➢ Combination of both
Gaseous fuel fired
➢Atmospheric pressure system
➢High pressure system
➢Initial cost of equipment
➢Sufficient combustion space and its liability to
withstand high flame temp
➢Area of grate
➢Operating cost
➢Minimum smoke nuisance
➢Flexibility of operation
➢Arrangements for through mixing of air with fuel for
efficient combustion
➢A stoker is a power operated fuel feeding
mechanism and grate
➢A cheaper grade of fuel can be used
➢A higher efficiency can be attained
➢A greater flexibility of operations assured
➢Less smoke produced
➢Generally less building space is necessary
➢Can be used for small or large boiler units
➢Very reliable , maintenance charges are
reasonably low
➢Practically immune for explosion
➢Reduction in auxiliary plant
➢Capital investment as compared to
pulverized fuel system is less
➢Some reserve is gained by the large amount of
coal stored on the grate in the event of coal
handling plant failure
➢Construction is complicated
➢In case of very large units the initial cost may
be rather higher than with pulverized fuel
➢There is always a certain amount of loss of
coal in the form of riddling through the gates
➢Sudden vibrations in the steam demand
cannot be met to the same degree
➢Troubles due to slagging and clinkering of
combustion chamber walls are experienced
➢Banking and stand by losses are always present
➢Structural arrangements are not so simple
and surrounding floors have to be designed
for heavy loadings
➢There is excessive wear of moving parts due
to abrasive action of coal
➢In overfeed stokers the coal is fed into the
grate above the point of air admission
➢The fuel bed section receives fresh coal
from top surfaces
➢The ignition plane lies between green coal
and incandescent coke
➢The air enters the bottom of the grate
under pressure
➢In flowing through the grate opening the air is
heated while it cools the grate
➢The warm air then passes through a layer
of hot ashes and picks up the heat energy
➢The region immediately above the ashes
contains a mixture of incandescent coke and
ash, coke content increasing upward direction
➢As the air comes in contact with incandescent
coke, the O2 reacts with carbon to form CO2
➢Water vapor entering with the air reacts with
coke to form CO2, CO and free H2
➢Upon further travel through the incandescent
region some of the CO2 reacts with coke to
form CO
➢Hence no free O2will be present in the
gases leaving the incandescent region
➢Fresh fuel undergoing distillation of its volatile
matter forms the top-most layer of the fuel bed
➢Heat for distillation and eventually
ignition comes from
1. By conduction from the incandescent coke
below
2. From high temperature gases diffusing through
the surface of the bed
3. By radiation from flames and hot gases in the
furnace
4. From the hot furnace walls
➢The ignition zone lies directly below the
raw fuel undergoing distillation
➢To burn gases additional secondary air must be
fed into the furnace to supply the needed
oxygen
➢The secondary air must be injected at
considerable speed to create turbulence and to
penetrate to all parts of the area above the fuel
bed
➢The combustible gases then completely burn
in the furnace
➢Fuel, coke and ash in the fuel bed move in
the direction opposite to that of air and gases
➢Raw fuel continually drops on the surface
of the bed
➢The rising air feed cools the ash until it finally
rests in a plane immediately adjacent to the
grate
Types of overfeed stokers
1 Travelling grate stoker
• Chain grate type
• Bar grate type
2 Spreader stoker
➢A chain grate stoker consists of flexible
endless chain which forms a support for the
fuel bed
➢The chain travels over sprocket wheels one
at the front and one at the rear of furnace
➢The front sprocket is connected to a
variable speed drive mechanism
➢The grate should be saved from being
overheated, for this, coal should have sufficient
ash content which will form a layer on grate
➢Simple in construction
➢Initial cost low
➢Maintenance charges low
➢Self-cleaning stoker
➢Giving high release rates per unit volume
of the furnace
➢Heat release rates can be controlled just
by controlling the speed of the chain
➢Preheated air temperatures are limited to
1800C maximum
➢The clinker troubles are very common
➢There is always some loss of coal in the
form of fine particles through riddlings
➢Ignition arches are required
➢This cannot be used for high capacity boilers
➢In this type of stoker the coal is not fed
into furnace by means of grate
➢The function of the grate is only to support
a bed of ash and move it out of the furnace
➢From the coal hopper, coal is fed into the path
of a rotor by means of a conveyor
➢And it is thrown into the furnace by the
rotor and burnt in suspension
➢The air for combustion is supplied through
the holes in the grate
➢The secondary air to create turbulence and
supply oxygen for thorough combustion of
coal is supplied through nozzles located
directly above the ignition arch
➢Unburnt coal and ash are deposited on
the grate which can be moved
periodically to remove ash out of the
furnace
➢Spreader stokers can burn any type of coal
➢A wide variety of coal can be burnt
➢This stoker is simple to operate, easy to
light up and bring into commission
➢The use of high temperature preheated air
is possible
➢Operation cost is considerably low
➢The clinking difficulties are reduced even with
coals which have high clinkering tendencies
➢Volatile matter is easily burnt
➢Fire arches etc. Are generally not required
with this type of stokers
➢It is difficult to operate spreader with
varying sizes of coal with varying moisture
content
➢Fly-ash is much more
➢No remedy for clinker troubles
➢There is a possibility of some fuel loss in
the cinders up the stack because of the thin
fuel bed and suspension burning
Hand fired system
➢ Manual feeding system
➢ Very old system
➢ Used in small scale applications.
Hand fired system
➢Air entering through the holes in the
grate comes in contact with the raw coal
➢Then it passes through the incandescent
coke where reactions similar to overfeed
system takes place
➢The gases produced then pass through a
layer of ash
➢The secondary air is supplied to
burn combustible gases
➢The underfeed principle is suitable for burning
the semi-bituminous and bituminous coal
➢High thermal efficiency as compared to chain
grate stokers
➢Combustion rate is considerably higher
➢The grate is self cleaning
➢Part load efficiency is high particularly with
multi retort type
➢Different variety of coal can be used
➢Much higher steaming rates are possible
with this type of stoker
➢Grate bars, tuyeres and retorts are not
subjected to high temp as they remain contact
with fresh coal
➢Overload capacity of the boiler is high as
large amount of coal is carried on the grate
➢Smokeless operation is possible even at
very light load
➢With use of clinker grinder, more heat can be
liberated out of the fuel
➢Substantial amount of coal always remains
on the grate so that boiler may remain in
service in the event of temporary breakdown
of the coal supply system
➢It can be used with all refractory furnaces
because of non-exposure of stoker mechanism
to the furnace
➢High initial cost
➢Require large building space
➢The clinker troubles are usually present
➢Low grade fuels with high ash content
cannot be burnt economically
Contd..
➢Coal is reduced to a fine powder with the
help of grinding mill and then projected into
the combustion chamber with the help of hot
air current
➢The amount of air (secondary air) required to
complete the combustion is supplied separately
to the combustion chamber
➢The resulting turbulence in the combustion
chamber helps for uniform mixing of fuel and
air
➢The amount of air which is used to carry the
coal and dry it before entering into the
combustion chamber is known as primary air
➢The efficiency of the pulverized fuel firing
system mostly depends upon the size of the
powder
➢Any grade of coal can be used since coal
is powdered before use
➢The rate of feed of the fuel can be regulated
properly resulting in the economy
➢Since there is almost complete combustion
of the fuel there is increased rate of
evaporation and higher boiler efficiency
➢Greater capacity to meet peak loads
➢The system is practically free from sagging
and clinkering troubles
➢No stand by losses due to banked fires
➢Practically no ash handling problems
➢No moving parts in the furnace is subjected
to high temperatures
➢This system works successfully with or
in combination with gas or oil
➢Much smaller quantity of air is required
as compared to that of stoker firing
➢Practically free from clinker troubles
➢The external heating surfaces are free
from corrosion
➢It is possible to use highly preheated
secondary air which helps for rapid flame
propagation
➢The furnace volume required is considerably
less
➢High capital cost
➢Lot of flyash in the exhaust, which makes
the removing of fine dust uneconomical
➢The possibility of explosion is more as
coal burns like a gas
➢The maintenance of furnace brick work
is costly
➢Special equipment is needed to start
this system
➢Skilled operators are required
➢A separate coal preparation plant is necessary
➢High furnace temps cause rapid
deterioration of the refractory surfaces of the
furnace
➢Nuisance is created by the emission of
very fine particles of grit and dust
➢Fine regular grinding of fuel and proper
distribution of burners is usually difficult to
achieve
Self study topics
1. Schematic diagrams of modern steam
generators
2. Cyclone furnace
3. Fluidized bed combustion
THANK YOU

STEAM BOILER.pptx

  • 1.
  • 2.
    Definition A closed vesselin which steam is produced from water by combustion of fuel
  • 3.
    Purpose of boilers ➢Forgenerating power in steam engines or steam turbines ➢In textile industries for sizing and bleaching ➢For heating the buildings in cold weather and for producing hot water for hot water supply
  • 4.
    Primary requirements ofa boiler ➢The water must be contained safely ➢The steam must be safely delivered in desired condition (as regard its pressure, temperature, quality and required rate)
  • 5.
    Boiler terms ➢Shell: Consistsof one or more steel plates bent into a cylindrical form and riveted or welded together. The shell ends are closed with end plates ➢Setting: The primary function of setting is to confine heat to the boiler and form a passage for gases. It is made of brick work and may form the wall of the furnace and combustion chamber
  • 6.
    ➢Grate: it isa platform in the furnace upon which fuel is burnt ➢Furnace: it is the chamber formed by the space above the grate and below the boiler shell, in which combustion takes place. ➢Water space and steam space: the volume of the shell that is occupied by the water is termed as water space while the entire shell volume less the water and tubes is called steam space
  • 7.
    ➢Mountings: The itemswhich are used for safety of boiler are called mountings ➢Accessories: The items which are used for increasing the boiler efficiency are called accessories ➢Water level: The level at which water stands in the boiler is called water level
  • 8.
    ➢Refractory: insulation materialused for lining combustion chamber ➢Foaming: Formation of steam bubbles on the surface of boiler water due to high surface tension of water
  • 9.
    ➢Scale: A depositof medium due to extreme hardness occurring on the water heating surfaces of boiler because of an undesirable condition in the boiler water ➢Blowing off: The removal of mud and other impurities of water from the lowest part of the boiler. Accomplished with the help of blow off cock or valve ➢Lagging: Insulation wrapped on the outside of the boiler shell or steam piping
  • 10.
    Boiler accessories ➢Feed pumps:Used to deliver feed water to the boiler. It is desirable that the quantity of water supplied should be at least equal to that evaporated and supplied to the engine ➢Two types of which are commonly used as feed pumps are (1) reciprocating pump (2) rotary pump
  • 11.
    Injector ➢Function of injectoris to feed water into the boiler ➢It is commonly employed for vertical and locomotive boilers and does not find its application in large capacity high pressure boilers ➢Also used where the space is not available for the installation of feed pump
  • 12.
    Economizer ➢Is a devicein which the waste heat of the flue gases is utilized for heating the feed water ➢ Economizers are of two types Independent type Integral type
  • 13.
    Air Pre-heater ➢ Thefunction of the air pre-heater is to increase the temperature of air before it enters the furnace. ➢ It is placed after the economizer. ➢ Flue gases pass through the economizer and then to the air preheater ➢ Degree of preheating depends on ➢ Type of fuel ➢ Type of fuel burning equipment, and ➢ Rating at which the boiler and furnace are operated
  • 14.
    Types of airpreheaters I. Tubular type II. Plate type III. Storage type
  • 15.
    Super heater ➢The functionof a super heater is to increase the temperature of the steam above its saturation point ➢The super heater is very important accessory of a boiler and can be used both on fire tube and water – tube boilers.
  • 16.
    ➢Advantages of superheated steam ➢ Steam consumption of the engine or turbine is reduced ➢ Erosion of turbine blade is eliminated ➢ Efficiency of the steam plant is increased ➢ Losses due to condensation in the cylinders and the steam pipes are reduced.
  • 17.
    Steam separator ➢The functionof a steam separator is to remove the entrained water particles from the steam conveyed to the steam engine or turbine. ➢It is installed as close to the steam engine as possible on the main steam pipe from the boiler
  • 18.
    ➢According to principleof operation the steam separators are classified as follows ➢ Impact or baffle type ➢ Reverse current type ➢ Centrifugal type
  • 19.
    Boiler mountings ➢Pressure gauge ➢Fusibleplug ➢Steam stop valve ➢Feed check valve ➢Blow off cock ➢Mud and man holes
  • 20.
    Pressure gauge ➢ Torecord the steam pressure at which steam is generated in the boiler ➢ A bourdon pressure gauge in its simplest form consists of a simple elastic tube ➢ One end of the tube is fixed and connected to the steam space in the boiler ➢ Other end is connected to a sector through a link
  • 21.
  • 22.
    Fusible plug ➢To extinguishfire in the event of water level in the boiler shell falling below a certain specified limit ➢It is installed below boiler’s water level
  • 23.
    Working of Fusibleplug ➢ When the water level in the shell falls below the top of the plug the steam cannot keep it cool and the fusible metal melts due to over heating. ➢ thus the copper plug drops down and is held with in the gun metal body by the ribs. ➢ Thus the steam space gets communicated to fire box and extinguishes the fire.
  • 24.
    ➢ Thus damageto the fire box which could burn up is avoided ➢ By removing the gun metal plug and copper plug the Fusible plug can be put in position again by inserting the fusible metal usually lead or metal alloy
  • 26.
    Steam stop valve ➢A valve is a device that regulates the flow of a fluid (gases , fluidized solids slurries or liquids) by opening or closing or partially obstructing various passageways ➢ Function : to shut off or regulate the flow of steam from the boiler to the steam pipe or steam from the steam pipe to the engine
  • 27.
  • 28.
    Feed check valve ➢To allow the feed water to pass in to the boiler ➢ To prevent the back flow of water from the boiler in the event of the failure of the feed pump
  • 29.
    Blow off cock ➢To drain out water from the boiler for internal cleaning inspection or other purposes
  • 30.
    Mud and manholes ➢ To allow men to enter in to the boiler for inspection and repair
  • 31.
    Classification of boilers ➢Horizontal,vertical or inclined ➢Fire tube and water tube ➢Externally fired and internally fired ➢Forced circulation and natural circulation ➢High pressure and low pressure ➢Stationary and portable ➢Single tube and multi tube
  • 32.
    Horizontal, vertical orinclined ➢If the axis of the boiler is horizontal, vertical or inclined then it is called horizontal, vertical or inclined boiler respectively
  • 33.
    Fire tube andwater tube ➢If hot gases are inside the tube and water is outside the tube, it is called fire-tube boiler. ➢Examples: Cochran, Lancashire and locomotive boilers ➢If water is inside the tube and hot gases are outside the tube, it is called fire-tube boiler. ➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling, Yarrow boiler etc
  • 34.
    Externally fired andinternally fired ➢The boiler is known as externally fired if the fire is outside the shell. ➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling ➢The boiler is known as internally fired if the furnace is located inside the boiler shell. ➢Examples: Cochran, Lancashire
  • 35.
    Forced circulation andnatural circulation ➢In forced circulation type of boilers, the circulation of water is done by a forced pump ➢Examples: Velox, Lamont, Benson boiler ➢In natural circulation type of boilers, circulation of water in the boiler takes place due to natural convection currents produced by the application of heat ➢Examples: Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox
  • 36.
    High pressure andlow pressure ➢The boilers which produce steam at pressures of 80 bar and above are called high pressure boilers ➢Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Velox, Lamont, Benson boilers ➢The boilers which produce steam at pressure below 80 bar are called low pressure boilers ➢Examples: Cochran, Cornish, Lancashire and locomotive boilers
  • 37.
    Stationary and portable ➢Stationaryboilers are used for power plant- steam, for central station utility power plants, for plant process steam etc ➢Mobile or portable boilers include locomotive type, and other small unit for temporary use at sites
  • 38.
    Single tube andmulti tube ➢The fire tube boilers are classified as single tube or multi-tube boilers, depending upon whether the fire tube is one or more than one ➢Examples of single tube boilers are Cornish and simple vertical boiler
  • 39.
    Comparison of firetube and water tube boilers Particulars Fire-tube boilers Water-tube boilers Position of water and hot gases Hot gases inside the tubes and water outside the tubes Water inside the tubes and hot gases outside the tubes Mode of firing Generally internally fired Externally fired Operation pressure Limited to 16 bar Can go up to 100 bar Rate of steam production Lower Higher Suitability Not suitable for large power plants Suitable for large power plants Risk on bursting Involves lesser risk of explosion due to lower pressure More risk on bursting due to high pressure Floor area For a given power it occupies more floor area For a given power it occupies less floor area Construction Difficult Simple
  • 40.
    Cont… Particulars Fire-tube boilersWater-tube boilers Transportation Difficult Simple Shell diameter Large for same power Small for same power Chances of explosion Less More Treatment of water Not so necessary More necessary Accessibility of various parts Various parts not so easily accessible for cleaning, repair and inspection More accessible Requirement of skill Require less skill for efficient and economic Require more skill and careful attention working
  • 41.
    Lancashire boiler ➢Reliable, hassimplicity of design, ease of operation and less operating and maintenance costs ➢Commonly used in sugar-mills and textile industries where along with the power steam and steam for the process work is also needed
  • 44.
    Cont… ➢Consists of cylindricalshell inside which two large tubes are spaced ➢Shell is constructed with several rings of cylindrical from it is placed horizontally over a brick work which forms several channels for the flow of hot gases ➢The furnace is placed at the front end of each
  • 45.
  • 46.
    ➢Consists of cylindricalbarrel with rectangular fire box at one end and smoke box at another end ➢Hot gases generated due to burning of coal are deflected by an arch of fire bricks, so that walls of the fire box may be heated properly ➢The heat of the hot gases is transmitted into water through the heating surfaces of fire tubes
  • 47.
  • 48.
    Cont… ➢It consists ofa drum connected to a series of front end and rear end header by short riser tubes ➢To these headers are connected a series of inclined (150 or more) water tubes ➢A hand hole is provided in the header in front of each tube for cleaning and inspection of
  • 49.
    Cont… ➢Feed valve isprovided to fill the drum and inclined tubes with water ➢Through the fire door fuel is supplied to grate where it is burnt ➢The hot gases are forced to move upwards between the tubes by baffle plates ➢The water from the drums flows through the inclined tubes via down take header and goes back into the shell in the form of water and steam via uptake header
  • 50.
  • 51.
    Nestler boiler ➢Fire tubetype of fired horizontal axis boiler ➢The boiler shell consists of two mild steel thick plates with large number of fire tubes fitted between two plates ➢A bigger diameter furnace tube extending from burner end to other end is used for carrying hot flue gases from one smoke box to other smoke box
  • 52.
    ➢At the rareend smoke box chimney is provided for the rejection of exhaust gases ➢Hot gases passes through the furnace tube and enter into the rear end smoke box and pass through fire tubes to the front end smoke box for final discharge through chimney ➢Water surrounding tubes get transformed into steam and gets collected in steam space. ➢Oil is first heated up to 80oc by electric heater before being supplied to burner for injection into furnace tube.
  • 53.
    ➢Blower is employedfor atomization of furnace oil into furnace ➢Such a boilers are capable of generating steam up to 10-11 bar.
  • 54.
    Bent tube boilers Straighttube boilers has many disadvantages like 1. They had less accessibility and poorer inspection capability, considerable time, labour and expense were required to open up or close the bolts in the headers, and to remove and replace the gaskets 2. Inadequate design and imperfect fabrication of hand hole caps (cleaning purpose) resulted in much leakage 3. Circulation was sluggish sluggish due to low head, and limited steam disengaging surface made inadequate separation of steam and water reducing steam rate
  • 55.
    ➢ Bent tubeboilers offers many advantages over straight-tube boilers ➢ The notable among them being greater accessibility for inspection, cleaning, and maintenance, and ability to operate at higher steaming rates and to deliver drier steam
  • 56.
  • 57.
  • 58.
    ➢Water flows downwardsfrom the mud drum to headers feeding the tubes lining the walls of the radiant surface ➢The low density steam-water mixture rises up to the steam drum at the upper side ➢The steam is separated and flows to the central drum, where it is removed ➢Feed water enters the drum at the left and mixes with the saturated liquid in the drum ➢The cooled liquid flows down to mud drum
  • 60.
    Cochran boiler ➢ Oneof the best types of vertical multi-tube boiler ➢ Consists of a cylindrical shell with a dome shaped top where the space is provided for steam ➢ The furnace is one piece construction and is seamless
  • 61.
    Cont.. ➢ Its crownhas a hemispherical shape and thus provides maximum volume of space ➢ The fuel is burnt on the grate and ash is collected and disposed from the ash pit ➢ The gases of combustion produced by burning the fuel enter the combustion chamber through the flue tube
  • 62.
    ➢ They strikeagainst fire brick lining which directs them to pass through number of horizontal tubes, being surrounded by water ➢ After which the gases escape to the atmosphere through the smoke box and chimney ➢ A number of hand holes are provided around the outer shell for cleaning purposes
  • 66.
    ➢It is acomponent of steam generator Basic requirements : ➢Through mixing of fuel and air ➢Optimum fuel-air ratios leading to most complete combustion possible maintained over full load range ➢Ready and accurate response of rate of fuel feed to load demand
  • 67.
    Contd.. ➢Continuous and reliableignition of fuel ➢Practical distillation of volatile components of coal followed by adequate action ➢Adequate control over point of formation and accumulation of ash, when coal is the fuel
  • 68.
    Solid fuels fired Handfired Stoker fired Pulverized fuel fired Underfeed stockers Overfeed stockers Unit system Central system Both
  • 69.
    Liquid fuel fired ➢Injection system ➢ Evaporator system ➢ Combination of both
  • 70.
    Gaseous fuel fired ➢Atmosphericpressure system ➢High pressure system
  • 71.
    ➢Initial cost ofequipment ➢Sufficient combustion space and its liability to withstand high flame temp ➢Area of grate ➢Operating cost ➢Minimum smoke nuisance ➢Flexibility of operation ➢Arrangements for through mixing of air with fuel for efficient combustion
  • 72.
    ➢A stoker isa power operated fuel feeding mechanism and grate ➢A cheaper grade of fuel can be used ➢A higher efficiency can be attained ➢A greater flexibility of operations assured ➢Less smoke produced ➢Generally less building space is necessary ➢Can be used for small or large boiler units ➢Very reliable , maintenance charges are reasonably low
  • 73.
    ➢Practically immune forexplosion ➢Reduction in auxiliary plant ➢Capital investment as compared to pulverized fuel system is less ➢Some reserve is gained by the large amount of coal stored on the grate in the event of coal handling plant failure
  • 74.
    ➢Construction is complicated ➢Incase of very large units the initial cost may be rather higher than with pulverized fuel ➢There is always a certain amount of loss of coal in the form of riddling through the gates ➢Sudden vibrations in the steam demand cannot be met to the same degree
  • 75.
    ➢Troubles due toslagging and clinkering of combustion chamber walls are experienced ➢Banking and stand by losses are always present ➢Structural arrangements are not so simple and surrounding floors have to be designed for heavy loadings ➢There is excessive wear of moving parts due to abrasive action of coal
  • 76.
    ➢In overfeed stokersthe coal is fed into the grate above the point of air admission ➢The fuel bed section receives fresh coal from top surfaces ➢The ignition plane lies between green coal and incandescent coke ➢The air enters the bottom of the grate under pressure ➢In flowing through the grate opening the air is heated while it cools the grate
  • 77.
    ➢The warm airthen passes through a layer of hot ashes and picks up the heat energy ➢The region immediately above the ashes contains a mixture of incandescent coke and ash, coke content increasing upward direction ➢As the air comes in contact with incandescent coke, the O2 reacts with carbon to form CO2 ➢Water vapor entering with the air reacts with coke to form CO2, CO and free H2
  • 78.
    ➢Upon further travelthrough the incandescent region some of the CO2 reacts with coke to form CO ➢Hence no free O2will be present in the gases leaving the incandescent region ➢Fresh fuel undergoing distillation of its volatile matter forms the top-most layer of the fuel bed
  • 79.
    ➢Heat for distillationand eventually ignition comes from 1. By conduction from the incandescent coke below 2. From high temperature gases diffusing through the surface of the bed 3. By radiation from flames and hot gases in the furnace 4. From the hot furnace walls
  • 80.
    ➢The ignition zonelies directly below the raw fuel undergoing distillation ➢To burn gases additional secondary air must be fed into the furnace to supply the needed oxygen ➢The secondary air must be injected at considerable speed to create turbulence and to penetrate to all parts of the area above the fuel bed ➢The combustible gases then completely burn in the furnace
  • 81.
    ➢Fuel, coke andash in the fuel bed move in the direction opposite to that of air and gases ➢Raw fuel continually drops on the surface of the bed ➢The rising air feed cools the ash until it finally rests in a plane immediately adjacent to the grate
  • 82.
    Types of overfeedstokers 1 Travelling grate stoker • Chain grate type • Bar grate type 2 Spreader stoker
  • 84.
    ➢A chain gratestoker consists of flexible endless chain which forms a support for the fuel bed ➢The chain travels over sprocket wheels one at the front and one at the rear of furnace ➢The front sprocket is connected to a variable speed drive mechanism ➢The grate should be saved from being overheated, for this, coal should have sufficient ash content which will form a layer on grate
  • 85.
    ➢Simple in construction ➢Initialcost low ➢Maintenance charges low ➢Self-cleaning stoker ➢Giving high release rates per unit volume of the furnace ➢Heat release rates can be controlled just by controlling the speed of the chain
  • 86.
    ➢Preheated air temperaturesare limited to 1800C maximum ➢The clinker troubles are very common ➢There is always some loss of coal in the form of fine particles through riddlings ➢Ignition arches are required ➢This cannot be used for high capacity boilers
  • 88.
    ➢In this typeof stoker the coal is not fed into furnace by means of grate ➢The function of the grate is only to support a bed of ash and move it out of the furnace ➢From the coal hopper, coal is fed into the path of a rotor by means of a conveyor ➢And it is thrown into the furnace by the rotor and burnt in suspension ➢The air for combustion is supplied through the holes in the grate
  • 89.
    ➢The secondary airto create turbulence and supply oxygen for thorough combustion of coal is supplied through nozzles located directly above the ignition arch ➢Unburnt coal and ash are deposited on the grate which can be moved periodically to remove ash out of the furnace ➢Spreader stokers can burn any type of coal
  • 90.
    ➢A wide varietyof coal can be burnt ➢This stoker is simple to operate, easy to light up and bring into commission ➢The use of high temperature preheated air is possible ➢Operation cost is considerably low ➢The clinking difficulties are reduced even with coals which have high clinkering tendencies
  • 91.
    ➢Volatile matter iseasily burnt ➢Fire arches etc. Are generally not required with this type of stokers
  • 92.
    ➢It is difficultto operate spreader with varying sizes of coal with varying moisture content ➢Fly-ash is much more ➢No remedy for clinker troubles ➢There is a possibility of some fuel loss in the cinders up the stack because of the thin fuel bed and suspension burning
  • 93.
    Hand fired system ➢Manual feeding system ➢ Very old system ➢ Used in small scale applications.
  • 94.
  • 97.
    ➢Air entering throughthe holes in the grate comes in contact with the raw coal ➢Then it passes through the incandescent coke where reactions similar to overfeed system takes place ➢The gases produced then pass through a layer of ash ➢The secondary air is supplied to burn combustible gases ➢The underfeed principle is suitable for burning the semi-bituminous and bituminous coal
  • 99.
    ➢High thermal efficiencyas compared to chain grate stokers ➢Combustion rate is considerably higher ➢The grate is self cleaning ➢Part load efficiency is high particularly with multi retort type ➢Different variety of coal can be used ➢Much higher steaming rates are possible with this type of stoker
  • 100.
    ➢Grate bars, tuyeresand retorts are not subjected to high temp as they remain contact with fresh coal ➢Overload capacity of the boiler is high as large amount of coal is carried on the grate ➢Smokeless operation is possible even at very light load ➢With use of clinker grinder, more heat can be liberated out of the fuel
  • 101.
    ➢Substantial amount ofcoal always remains on the grate so that boiler may remain in service in the event of temporary breakdown of the coal supply system ➢It can be used with all refractory furnaces because of non-exposure of stoker mechanism to the furnace
  • 102.
    ➢High initial cost ➢Requirelarge building space ➢The clinker troubles are usually present ➢Low grade fuels with high ash content cannot be burnt economically
  • 104.
  • 105.
    ➢Coal is reducedto a fine powder with the help of grinding mill and then projected into the combustion chamber with the help of hot air current ➢The amount of air (secondary air) required to complete the combustion is supplied separately to the combustion chamber ➢The resulting turbulence in the combustion chamber helps for uniform mixing of fuel and air
  • 106.
    ➢The amount ofair which is used to carry the coal and dry it before entering into the combustion chamber is known as primary air ➢The efficiency of the pulverized fuel firing system mostly depends upon the size of the powder
  • 107.
    ➢Any grade ofcoal can be used since coal is powdered before use ➢The rate of feed of the fuel can be regulated properly resulting in the economy ➢Since there is almost complete combustion of the fuel there is increased rate of evaporation and higher boiler efficiency
  • 108.
    ➢Greater capacity tomeet peak loads ➢The system is practically free from sagging and clinkering troubles ➢No stand by losses due to banked fires ➢Practically no ash handling problems ➢No moving parts in the furnace is subjected to high temperatures ➢This system works successfully with or in combination with gas or oil ➢Much smaller quantity of air is required as compared to that of stoker firing
  • 109.
    ➢Practically free fromclinker troubles ➢The external heating surfaces are free from corrosion ➢It is possible to use highly preheated secondary air which helps for rapid flame propagation ➢The furnace volume required is considerably less
  • 110.
    ➢High capital cost ➢Lotof flyash in the exhaust, which makes the removing of fine dust uneconomical ➢The possibility of explosion is more as coal burns like a gas ➢The maintenance of furnace brick work is costly ➢Special equipment is needed to start this system
  • 111.
    ➢Skilled operators arerequired ➢A separate coal preparation plant is necessary ➢High furnace temps cause rapid deterioration of the refractory surfaces of the furnace ➢Nuisance is created by the emission of very fine particles of grit and dust ➢Fine regular grinding of fuel and proper distribution of burners is usually difficult to achieve
  • 112.
    Self study topics 1.Schematic diagrams of modern steam generators 2. Cyclone furnace 3. Fluidized bed combustion
  • 113.