APPLIED THERMODYNAMICS

ME 504

Chapter 1: Boilers
 Introduction
• Steam is the most important working substance in steam
engine and turbines
• Equipment for producing steam – steam generator or boiler
• An enclosed vessel that provides a mean for combustion heat
to be transferred to water until it becomes heated water or
steam
• Thermal energy released by combustion of fuel is used to
make steam at the desired temperature and pressure

“A combination of apparatus for producing, furnishing or

recovering heat together with apparatus for transferring
the heats so made available to the fluid being heated
and vaporized. (ASME)”
• The larger the heating surface boiler has, the more
efficient it becomes
• Quantity of steam generated is indicated in tonnes of
water evaporated in steam per hour
• All boilers are steam generators but vice versa may not
be true
• The steam produced is used for:
– Producing mechanical work by expanding it in steam
engine or steam turbine.
– Heating the residential and industrial buildings
– Performing certain processes in the sugar mills,
chemical and textile industries
Boiler Specification
 Boiler Terms
• Shell : It is the main container usually of cylindrical shape,
which contains water and steam
• Grate: It is the platform in the furnace upon which fuel is
burnt and it is made of cast iron bars
• Furnace: it is a chamber formed by the space above the grate
and below the boiler shell, in which combustion takes place
• Water Flow Path: It is the path followed by the water in the
boiler during the process of absorption of heat from hot gases
and conversion into steam
• Gas Flow Path: The path followed by the gas
• Steam Path: In most cases, steam is taken out preferably at
the top of the shell to avoid water particles being carried with
the steam
• Mountings: The valves and gauges necessary for the safety of
the boiler are called mountings
 Boiler Terms
• Accessories: Equipment like economizer, air preheater and
superheater attached to the boiler to improve its overall
efficiency
• Foaming: formation of steam bubbles on the surface of boiler
due to high surface tension of water
• Scale: A deposit of medium to extreme hardness occurring on
water heating surfaces of boiler because of an undesirable
condition in the boiler water
• Blowing Off: Removal of mud and other impurities of water
from the lowest part of boiler
• Refractory: A heat insulating material, such as fire brick or
plastic fire clay
 Classification of Boilers
According to relative position of water and hot gases:
• Fire Tube Boilers
– Hot gases pass through tubes which are surrounded with water
– Due to simplicity and because of small capacity requirements of
individual users, they are most commonly used
– Eg: Cochran, Lancashire and Locomotive boilers

• Water Tube Boilers

– The water circulates through the tubes and hot gases around them
– Steam is generated inside the tubes and collected in a cylindrical
vessel known as boiler drum
– Eg: Babcock and Wilcox, Stirling, Yarrow, etc.
 Classification Contd

According to axis of Shell :Horizontal , Vertical and Inclined

According to the Position of Furnace:

• External Fired Boiler
– The furnace is placed outside the boiler shell
– Fire place is simple and can be enlarged easily
– All water tube boilers are external fired boilers
• Internal Fired Boiler
– The furnace is placed inside the boiler shell
– Most fire tube boilers are internal fired boilers
 Classification Contd…

According to Method of Water Circulation:

• Forced Circulation type Boilers
– Water is circulated with the help of pump
– Usually high pressure high capacity boilers
– Eg: Velox, Lamont, Benson boilers, etc.
• Natural Circulation type Boilers
– Circulation of water takes place through natural convection currents
which are set up due to the temperature difference
– Boilers of low capacity
– Eg: Lancashire, Babcock and wilcox boiler, etc.
 Classification contd..

According to Use of Boiler:

• Stationary Boilers
– They are used for power plant, central station utility plants, plants
process steam, etc
• Mobile Boilers
– They are portable boilers and include locomotive type, and other small
units for temporary use at sites
Other Boilers
• High Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers
• Single Tube and Multi – tube Boilers
 Essentials of Good Boiler

• Should be capable of producing max. amount of steam with

min fuel consumption, min attention and min. operating cost
• Should occupy less space
• should be safe under operating conditions
• Strong enough to resist temperature, stress, corrosion
• Best gauges, safety valves and other mountings
• The various parts of the boiler should be accessible for repair
and maintenance, inspection, cleaning
• Should have constant and thorough circulation of water
throughout the boiler
 Selection of a Boiler

• The working pressure and quality of steam required

• Steam generation rate
• Floor area available
• Accessibility for repair and inspection
• Comparative initial cost
• Erection facilities
• The fuel and water available
• Operating and maintenance cost
 Boiler Mountings
• These are different fittings and devices necessary for the
operation and safety of a boiler
– Safety valves
– Water level indicator
– Fusible plugs
– Pressure gauge
– Steam stop valve
– Feed check valve
– Blow- off cock
 Mountings Contd..

• Water Level Indicator

– Two indicators are mounted
on a boiler to ascertain the
level of water inside the
boiler
 Mountings Contd…
• Safety Valves
– Mounted on top of the boiler shell
– #2 are provided so that at least one of
them is working all the time
– Function-to NOT TO allow steam
pressure to rise more than the design
value
– Opens automatically if steam pressure
goes beyond the design value or some
leakage occurs
– Types: Dead weight, Lever, Spring
Loaded Safety Valves
 Mountings Contd..
• Fusible Plugs
– Crucial for all boilers
– Used to protect boiler from
overheating due to low water level
– Made of fusible alloy
– Fusible alloy part of plug melts when
water level in the boiler goes below
critical level, and allows passage for
water to come down over the fire
grate to extinguish fire
– Located above furnace
 Mountings Contd…
• Feed Check Valve
– One way valve to control the
supply of feed water to the
boiler
– Prevents any high pressure
water from escaping through it
• Pressure Gauge
– To record pressure inside the
boiler
– Bourdon tube pressure gauge,
the most commonly used
pressure gauge
 Mountings Contd…
• Blow – off Cock
– Performs two functions:
• Discharge a portion of water when the boiler is in operation to
blow out mud, scale or sediments periodically
• Empty the boiler when necessary for cleaning, inspection and
repair
• Junction or Stop Valve
– Junction valve is placed near boiler while stop valve is
placed near engine in steam path
– The function is to regulate the flow of steam from one
steam pipe to the other or from the boiler to the steam
pipe
 Boiler Accessories
• Auxiliary parts required to increase the overall efficiency of
the boiler
– Water feeding equipment
– Economiser
– Air preheater
– Superheater
– Steam Seperator
 Accessories Cont…

• Feed Pumps
– Pump used to deliver feed water
to the boiler
– Quantity of water supplied should
be at least equal to that
evaporated and supplied to the
engine
– Basically two types
• Reciprocating
• Rotary
 Accessories Contd..
• Economiser
– Heat carried away by flue gases through chimney slack
accounts for greatest heat loss in boiler
– Economizer is heat exchanger through which feed water is
pumped
– Some heat carried away by flue gas is used to heat feed
water
– Hot gases are allowed to pass over the tubes carrying feed
water
– Feed water arrives to the boiler at elevated temperature
– Same quantity of fuel can generate more steam raising the
resulting efficiency of the boiler
 Accessories Contd..
• Air Preheater
– Function is similar to economizer
– Recovers some portion of waste heat from flue gases, uses it to heat
air before it enters the furnace
– Hot air used for combustion in the furnace increases efficiency of the
combustion
– Types: tubular, plate and storage types
• Steam Injector
– Injects feed water into the boiler
– Commonly employed in vertical and locomotive boilers
– Also used in case of unavailability of space for feed pump installation
 Accessories Contd…

• Superheater
– It increases the temperature of the steam above its
saturation point
– Advantages:
• Reduction in steam consumption
• Reduction in losses due to condensation
• Elimination of erosion of turbine blades
• Increase in efficiency of the steam plant
– Types:
• Convective superheater
• Radiant superheater
 Accessories Contd…

• Steam Separator
– Steam available from the boiler
may be either wet, dry or
superheated
– Loss of heat during passage,
tend to produce wetness
– Steam separator is used to
remove the water particles
from the steam conveyed to
the steam engine or turbine
 Fire Tube Boilers

• Cochran Boiler
• Cornish Boiler
• Lancashire Boiler
• Locomotive Boiler
• Scotch Boiler
 Fire Tube Contd…

• Cochran Boiler
– Vertical, multi – tube, fire tube
boiler
– Shell is cylindrical
– Spherical top and spherical shape of
fire – box are the special features
– Hemispherical shape of crown gives
maximum strength to withstand the
pressure of the steam inside the
boiler
– Coil or oil can be used as fuel
– No grate provided when oil is used
as fuel
Outstanding Features of
Cochran Boiler
1. Very compact and requires
minimum floor area
2. Any type of fuel can be used
3. Well suited for small capacity
requirements
4. Gives about 70 % thermal
efficiency with coal firing and
about 75 % with oil firing
 Fire Tube Contd…

• Lancashire Boiler
– Stationary fire tube, internally fired, horizontal, natural
circulation boiler
– Widely used boiler
– Consists of cylindrical shell and two big furnace tubes
passing right through the shell
– One bottom flue and two side flues are formed by the
brick setting
 Fire Tube Contd…

• Outstanding Features of
Lancashire Boiler
– Heating surface area per unit
volume of the boiler is
considerably large
– Maintenance is easy
– Suitable where large reserve of
hot water is required
– Superheater and economiser
can be easily incorporated into
the system; therefore increasing
the overall efficiency of the
boiler (80 – 85%)
 Fire Tube Contd…
• Cornish Boiler
 Fire Tube Contd..

• Locomotive Boiler
– Horizontal fire tube type mobile boiler
– Consists of cylindrical shell fitted with rectangular fire box
at one end and smoke box at the other end
– All the fire tubes are fitted to the main shell; tubes with
larger diameter are fitted at upper part and that with
smaller diameters are fitted at the lower part of the shell
– Tubes with large diameter accommodate superheater
tubes
– Induced draught is created with the help of exhaust steam
while moving and that with the help of live steam while
stationary
 Fire Tube Contd..

• Outstanding Features of Locomotive Boiler

– Large rate of steam generation per square meter of
heating surface
– Free from brickwork, special foundation and chimney
which reduces the cost of installation
– Compact
– Portable
 Water Tube Boilers

• Babcock and Wilcox Boiler

– Stationary, water tube, external fired, natural circulation
boiler
– Water tubes connected to headers; uptake and downtake
headers
– Boiler shell connected to the headers through tubes
– Water tubes are inclined at 15 degree with the horizontal
 Water Tube Contd…

• Outstanding Features of Babcock and Wilcox Boiler

– Higher evaporative capacity compared to other boilers (20000
to 40000 kg/hr)
– The operating pressure lies between 11.5 to 17.5 bar
– The draught loss is minimum compared with other boilers
– Defective tubes can be replaced easily
 Water Tube Boilers
• Stirling Boiler
– Bent tube boiler
– Consists of two upper drums known as steam drums and a
lower drum known as mud or water drum
– The steam drums are connected to the mud drum by banks of
bent tubes
– The feed water from economizer is delivered to the steam drum
– 1 which is fitted with baffle
– The baffle deflects the water and it flows down to the mud
drum through the rearmost water tubes
– The mud particles and other impurities get deposited in the
mud tank
– The baffle in mud drum deflects water to the both the steam
drums
 Water Tube Boilers Contd…
• The steam produced from both
the drums are collected in drum
1 and passed through
superheater tube where it gets
superheated
• The combustion products move
in upward and downward
directions due to the brickwall
baffles and are finally discharged
through the chimney into the
atmosphere
• It is lighter and more flexible
than the straight tube boilers but
it is comparatively more difficult
to clean and inspect the bent
tube
Water Tube Boilers Contd…
 High Pressure Boilers
• Water tube boilers are generally preferred for high pressure
and high output
• Unique Features of High Pressure Boilers
– Method of Water Circulation (forced Circulation)
– Type of tubing (Parallel system of tubing)
– Improved method of heating
• Evaporation of water above critical pressure of steam
• Mixing superheated steam
• Increasing the water velocity inside the tube and gas velocity
above sonic velocity
 High Pressure Boilers
• LaMont Boiler
 High Pressure Boilers Contd..
• Loeffler Boiler
 High Pressure Boilers Contd..
• Benson Boiler
 High Pressure Boilers
• Velox Boiler
 Fluidized Bed Boiler
• Flexibility in burning a wide range of coal and other fuels
• Without compromising efficiency and with reduced pollution
• At the bottom of the boiler furnace there is a bed of inert material, like
sand, where coal or fuel spreads
• Air nozzles at the bottom of the bed allows pressurized air flow in the
bed
• Pressurized air suspends bed material and coal particles
• Coal combustion takes place in suspended condition
 Combustion Equipment
• Equipment needed to receive the fuel and air, proportioned to
each other and to the boiler steam demand, mix, ignite and
perform any other special combustion duties such as
distillation of volatile from coal prior to ignition
• Fuels used in boilers
– Bituminous coal
– Fuel oil
– Natural gas
 Combustion Equipment Contd..
• Basic requirements of combustion equipment:
– Through mixing of fuel and air
– Optimum fuel – air ratios leading to most complete combustion
– Ready and accurate response of rate of fuel feed to load
demand
– Continuous and reliable ignition of fuel
– Distillation of volatile components
– Adequate control over point of formation and accumulation of
ash, when coal is the fuel
 Combustion Equipment Contd..

• Burning of Coal
– Stoker firing
• Overfeed stokers
– Travelling grate stoker
– Spreader stoker
• Underfeed stokers
– Pulverized fuel firing
 Equivalent Evaporation
• Different boilers generate steam at different pressure and
temperature, using certain grade of fuel
• No. of kg of water evaporated per hour for one boiler vary with
another, cannot compare the performance of boiler on this basis
• To compare evaporative capacity of different boilers working at
different conditions, a common standard condition is taken
• Conditions: Feed water is fed at 100°C 1atm., converted into dry
and saturated steam at 100°C 1atm
• In standard condition, 1 kg of water at 100°C requires 2257 kJ to get
converted to steam at 100°C
𝑚𝑎 (ℎ−ℎ𝑓1 ) 𝑚𝑎 = Mass of steam per kg of fuel
𝑚𝑒 = 2257 h = enthalpy of steam at given temp/pressure
ℎ𝑓1 = enthalpy of feed water at given
temp/pressure
 Factor of Evaporation

• Ratio of heat absorbed by 1 kg of feed water under working

condition to 1kg of water from and at 100 degree Celsius
(standard condition)
(ℎ − ℎ𝑓1 )
𝐹𝑂𝐸 =
ℎ𝑓𝑔
 Boiler Efficiency

• Thermal efficiency of boiler is defined as the percentage of

heat input that is effectively utilized to generate steam
• There are two methods of assessing boiler efficiency:
– Direct Method
• The energy gain of the working fluid (water and steam) is
compared with the energy content of the boiler fuel
– Indirect Method
• The efficiency is determined by calculating the difference
between the losses and the energy input
 Boiler Efficiency Contd
Direct Method
• Also called input output method due to the fact that it needs
only the useful output and the required input
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
𝐵𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = × 100
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
• Parameters to be monitored
– Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q)
– Quantity of fuel used per hour (q)
– The working pressure and superheat temperature, if any
– The temperature of feed water (°C)
– Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel (GCV) of fuel
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…
Indirect Method
• Also called heat loss method
• Efficiency calculated by subtracting the heat loss factions from
100
• Principal losses occurring in boilers:
– Loss of heat due to dry flue gas
– Loss of heat due to moisture in fuel and combustion air
– Loss of heat due to combustion of hydrogen
– Loss of heat due to radiation
– Loss of heat due to unburnt
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…
• Data required for calculation of boiler efficiency using indirect
method:
– Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture content, ash
content)
– Percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
– Flue gas temperature in °C (Tf)
– Ambient temperature in °C (Ta & humidity of air in kg/kg of dry
air)
– GCV of fuel
– Percentage combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
– GCV of ash (in case of solid fuels)
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…
• Actual mass of air supplied (AAS)
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…

i. Percentage heat loss due to dry flue gas

Where,
m = mass of dry flue gas in kg/kg of fuel
Cp = Specific heat of flue gas (0.23 kCal/kg °C)
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…

ii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of water formed due

to H2 in fuel

Where,
H2 = kg of Hydrogen in 1 kg of air
Cp = Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg °C)
Tf = flue gas temperature (0C)
Ta = ambient temperature (0C)
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…

iii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of moisture present

in fuel

Where,
M = kg of moisture in 1kg of fuel
Cp = Specific heat of superheated steam (0.45 kCal/kg)°C
584 is the latent heat corresponding to the partial pressure of
water vapor
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…

iv. Percentage heat loss due to moisture present in air

Where,
AAS = Actual mass of air supplied/ kg of fuel
humidity factor = humidity of air in kg/kg of dry air
 Boiler Efficiency Contd…

v. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in fly ash

vi. Percentage heat loss due to unburnt in bottom ash

vii. Percentage heat loss due to radiation and other unaccounted

loss
Water Conditioning
 Water Conditioning

• Producing quality steam on demand depends on properly

managed water treatment to control steam purity, deposits
and corrosion
• Boiler being the sump of boiler system, receives all of the pre-
boiler contaminants
• Main reasons behind water conditioning are
– Prevention of corrosion in the feed boiler, steam and
condensate systems
– Elimination of scales
– Economic boiler operation without carryover
 Water Conditioning

• Different Impurities in Water

– Undissolved and Suspended Solid materials
– Dissolved Salts and Minerals
• Calcium and Magnesium salts
– Dissolved Gases
• Oxygen and Carbon dioxide
– Other materials (as oil, acid) either in mixed and unmixed
form
 Water Conditioning

• Effects of Impurities in Water

– Scale Formation
– Corrosion
– Priming, Foaming and Carryover
– Caustic Embrittlement
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment

1. Dissolved gases
• Effects
– Two gases (Oxygen and Carbon dioxide) cause corrosion
– Carbon dioxide does so by dissolving in water and forming weak
carbonic acid which attacks the metal in boiler system
– Oxygen causes rusting on mild steel surface immersed in water
• Treatment
• De – aeration
– In de-aeration, dissolved gases, such as oxygen and carbon
dioxide, are expelled by preheating the feed water before it
enters the boiler.
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment

• De – aeration can be of two types

• Mechanical De – aeration
– Based on Charles’ and Henry’s laws of physics
– Removal of the gases accomplished by heating the boiler feed water,
which reduces the concentration of the same in the atmosphere
surrounding the water
– They may be vacuum or pressure type
• Chemical De – aeration
– Uses chemical oxygen scavenger such as sodium sulfite or hydrazine
– Sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) reacts with oxygen to form sodium sulphate
– Hydrazine (N2H4) reacts with oxygen to form nitrogen and water
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment

2. Calcium and Magnesium Salts

• Effects
– Bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium cause Temporary
Hardness which break down to carbonates when the water is
boiled
– Carbonates being insoluble in water precipitate as white powder
– Calcium and magnesium sulfates, chlorides and nitrates cause
Permanent Hardness and these salts cannot be removed by
boiling
– While boiling, solubility of these salts is soon exceeded and they
deposit on the hottest part of the heating surface forming hard
scales on boiler surface
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment
• Treatment
• Hot lime [Ca(OH)2] or Soda [Na2CO3] Process
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment
• Treatment
• Ion- exchange Process (Zeolite Process)
– Zeolite have ability to exchange one ion for other, hold it temporarily
in chemical combination and give it up a strong regenerative solution.
– The hardness is removed by passing water through bed of natural
zeolite or synthetic resin and without the formation of any precipitate
– The simplest type is ‘base exchange’ in which calcium and magnesium
ions are exchanged for sodium ions
– It does not reduce the TDS content, and blowdown quantity
– It also does not reduce the alkalinity
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment
• Treatment
• Demineralization (Catexer – Anexer)
– Complete removal of salts
– The raw water initially passes through a weak acid cation exchanger
(Catexer) to remove the bicarbonates
– The water coming out of catexer passes through anexer
– In anexer, anions such as chlorides, sulphates and nitrates are
removed.
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment

3. Silica
• Effects
– Silica forms scale in a similar way to the permanent hardness salts
– When the scale formed is a mixture of silica, calcium and magnesium
salts, it is very hard and therefore presents a difficult problem at
inspection time
• Treatment
• Sedimentation (Coagulation)
• Evaporation
 Impurities, their Effects and Treatment
4. Suspended and Dissolved Solids
• Effects
– They contribute to carryover
– Carryover is a collective term to describe the entrainment of a relatively
small quantity of boiler water solids with the steam
• Treatment
• Sedimentation
• Evaporation
• Reverse Osmosis
– When solutions of differing concentrations are separated by a semi-permeable
membrane, water from less concentrated solution passes through the
membrane to dilute the liquid of high concentration
– If the solution of high concentration is pressurized, the process is reversed and
the water from the solution of high concentration flows to the weaker solution
and this is known as reverse osmosis