STEAM BOILERS

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 different parts
 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.
 Working of Fusible plug

• 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 water-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 Hot gases inside the tubes Water inside the tubes
gases and water outside the and hot gases outside the
tubes 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 Suitable for large power
power plants plants
Risk on bursting Involves lesser risk of More risk on bursting due
explosion due to lower to high pressure
pressure
Floor area For a given power it For a given power it
occupies more floor area 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 Various parts not so easily More accessible
parts accessible for cleaning,
repair and inspection
Requirement of skill Require less skill for Require more skill and
efficient and economic 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

tube
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 tubes
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
 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
 Combustion equipment
• 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
Classification of boilers based on
combustion equipment
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

 Selection considerations of
combustion equipment for solid fuel
• 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
 Advantages of stoker firing
• 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
 Disadvantages of stoker firing
• 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
 Overfeed stokers

• 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 O2 will 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
Travelling grate 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
Advantages of chain grate stoker
• 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
 Disadvantages
• 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
Spreader stoker
• 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
 Advantages
• 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
 Disadvantages
• 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
Hand fired
Underfeed stokers
• 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
 Advantages
• 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
 Disadvantages
• High initial cost
• Require large building space
• The clinker troubles are usually present
• Low grade fuels with high ash content cannot
be burnt economically
Pulverized fuel firing
Contd..
 Pulverized fuel firing
• 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
 Advantages of pulverized firing
• 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
 Disadvantages
• 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