Introduction to Thermal

Power Plant
Thermal energy to Electrical energy

Prepared by : Hardik B. Joshi

1
Energy
• Energy: Ability to produce dynamic and virtual effects.
Form of Mechanical, Thermal, Electrical, Chemical etc.

Mechanical energy
• Kick the football, giving mechanical force

Thermal energy
• Heat transfer from burner to vassal

Electrical energy
• Electrical energy convert in to light energy.

Chemical energy
• Inside battery energy stored in chemical form 2
 Power Plants
• Power: Rate of flow of energy.
• Power plant: it is built for production & delivery of a flow of mechanical and electrical energy.

Convert Convert Convert Convert Convert

thermal hydro solar solar tidel
energy in (Water energy ) in energy in energy in
to stored to to to
electrical energy) in electrical electrical electrical
energy to energy energy energy
electrical
energy
Source of Energy
Fuels (Solid, Liquid, Gases),
Energy stored in water, wind energy, solar energy, tidal energy,
geothermal energy.
Classification of Fuels
1) Natural Fuels are called Primary Fuel,
2) Prepared Fuel are called Secondary Fuel.

Natural Fuels Prepared Fuel

Types Of Fuels
(Primary Fuel) (Secondary Fuel)
Solid Wood Cock
Peat Charcoal
Lignite Coal Bituminous
Liquid Petroleum Gasoline
Kerosene
Fuel Oil
Alcohol

Gases Natural Gas Petroleum Gas

Coal Gas
Blast Furnace Gas
Carbureted Gas
Chinese coal miners in an illustration of Coal miner in Britain, 1942
the Tiangong Kaiwu encyclopedia,
published in 1637
Solid Fuel
1. Coal: Constituents C, H, N2, O2, Sulphr, Moisture etc.
2. Peat: First stage in formation of coal from wood. Contain huge amount of moisture.
3. Lignite: Intermediate stage between coal & peat. Contain high moisture, high ash &
low CV. Smoky flame.
4. Bituminous coal: Yellow & smoky flame. High % of volatile matter. CV- 31350 kj/Kg.
5. Semi- Bituminous coal: Softer then anthracite coal, Very small amount of smoke.
6. Anthracite: Hard & shining black luster. Ignite slowly unless furnace temp is high. Blue
flames. CV- 33500 kj/Kg.
Ranking of Coal:
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) & ASME (American Society of
Mechanical Engineers) give specification based on fixed carbon & heating value.
e.g. (62-500) rank: 62% C & CV- 5000 kj/Kg.
Grading of Coal: Grading is done on following bases:
1. Size, 2. Heating value, 3. Ash contain, 4. Ash softening temp., 5. Sulphur content.
eg. 5-10cm, 500-A8-F24-S16.
2. A Size of 5-10cm,
3. Heating value of 5000 Kcal/Kg,
4. 8-10 % Ash,
5. Ash softening temp. 2400-2590 F,
6. Sulphur content of 1.4-1.6 %.
Liquids Fuels
Liquids Fuels: obtained from under the earth’s crust.
Petroleum: Produced from organic matter like fish & plant life by bacterial action or by
distillation under pressure & heat. Consist of gases, liquid & solid
hydrocarbons.
Properties:
1. Specific gravity: Ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference
substance.
2. Flash point: The flash point of a flammable liquid is the lowest temperature at which
there will be enough flammable vapor to ignite when an ignition source is applied.
3. Fire point: lowest temperature at which the vapor of that fuel will continue to burn for
atleast 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame.
4. Viscosity: honey has a much higher viscosity than water.
5. Carbon residue: commonly known as "Concarbon" or "CCR" is a laboratory test used to
provide an indication of the coke-forming tendencies of an oil. Quantitatively, the test
measures the amount of carbonaceous residue remaining after the oil's evaporation
and pyrolysis.
6. Octane number: The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can
withstand before detonating (igniting). Reduce knocking.
7. Cetane number: CN is an inverse function of a fuel's ignition delay, and the time period
between the start of injection and the first identifiable pressure increase during
combustion of the fuel. In a particular diesel engine, higher cetane fuels will have
shorter ignition delay periods than lower Cetane fuels.
8. Corrosive property
9. Heating value
Gaseous Fuels

Gaseous Fuels: Main constituents are methane & Ethan. CV-21000 Kj/kg.
1. Coal gas: Main constituents are H2, CO, HC.
2. Cock-oven gas: Obtained during the production of cock by heating of
bituminous coal.
3. Blas Furnace gas: Produced during smelting operation, in which air is force on
layer of cock & iron ore.
4. Producer gas: It is result from the partial oxidation of coal, cock & peat when
burn with less quantity of air.
5. Sewer gas: Obtained from sewer deposal west.
 Types of Power Plant
Full power hrs Capacity Characteristics Power Plant
per years Factor
Base Load 5000 hrs > 57 % have high rated output, high Coal Fuel, Nuclear,
Power Plant capital & operating cost. Hydro electric.

Intermediate > 2000 hrs 23-57 % Older, law efficient plant. Oil fuel units and new
Load Power but combined cycle.
Plant < 5000 hrs
Peak Load 2000 hrs < 23 % Capital cost Low but Operating Diesel,
Power Plant cost high. Gas turbine, Pump
storage hydroelectric.

Central Power --- --- generates electricity for selling state electricity board,
Plants or purpose. Central or state govt.,
Utilities Capital cost High but Operating NTPCL, PHPCL, Nuclear
cost low Power Cop.

Captive Power setup and operate by Need of CPP, Huge gap between demand and supply
Plant manufacturing and from central power station, frequently long and seasonal
production companies for power cuts affecting production, frequent increase in the
their own use. power tariffs.
13
Boilers
Introduction
 Steam boiler is a closed vessel in which heat produced by the combustion of
fuel is utilized to produce steam from water, at desired temperature and
pressure.
 According to Indian Boiler Regulation (I.B.R.) a boiler is a closed pressure
vessel with capacity exceeding 22.75 liters for generating steam under
pressure. It includes all the mounting fitted to such vessels which remain
wholly or partly under pressure.
 The boiler used for power generation has considerably large capacity and
steam is produced at high pressure to get high efficiency of turbine. The boiler
used for process heating generate steam at a lower pressure. It is generally
smaller in size and simpler in design.
Classification of Boilers

(1) According to geometric orientation of boiler:

a) If the axis of the boiler is horizontal, the boiler is known as horizontal
boiler,

Example : Lancashire Boiler, Locomotive Boiler

b) If the axis of the boiler is vertical, it is known as vertical boiler,

Example :Cochran Boiler

c) If the axis of the boiler is inclined it is known as inclined boiler.

Classification of Boilers

(2) According to relative position of water and hot gases :

(a) Fire Tube boilers : If the hot gases of combustion from the furnace pass
through the tubes and water is surrounding the tubes is called water tube boilers.
Classification of Boilers
(b) Water tube boiler :
If the water passes through the tubes and hot gases surrounding the tubes is
called water tube boiler.
Classification of Boilers
(3) According to location of furnace

(a) Externally Fired boilers: Furnace is placed outside the boiler shell. Water
tube boilers are always externally fired.

(b) Internally fired boiler: Furnace is placed inside the boiler shell. Most of
fire tube boilers are internally fired boiler.
Classification of Boilers
(4) According to method of water circulation :
(a) Natural circulation boilers: In this boiler, water flow take place naturally,
by temperature difference of water. The low capacity boilers use natural
circulation.
Example : Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox boiler.
Classification of Boilers
(b) Forced circulation boilers :
In this boiler, water flow (circulation) is take place by a pump. High pressure
boilers are forced circulation boilers.
Example : Benson boiler,
La-mount boiler, Velox boiler.
Classification of Boilers
(5) According to working pressure :
(a)High pressure boiler: The working pressure of this boiler is higher than 25
bar. Example : Babcock and Wilcox boiler.

(b)Medium pressure boiler : The range of working pressure of this boiler is

between 10 bar to 25 bar.
Example : Lancashire boiler, Locomotive boiler.

(c) Low pressure boiler :The range of working pressure is between 3.5 to 10 bar.
Example : Cochran and Cornish boiler.
Classification of Boilers
(6) According to mobility of boiler :
(a)Stationary boiler : This boiler cannot be transported easily from one place
to another place. The stationary boilers are used for power generation or process
heating in industries.
Example : Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox boiler.

(b)Mobile boiler : It is portable boiler and can be easily transported (moved)

from one place to another place. This boiler is used in marine and locomotive.
Example: Locomotive boiler.

(7) According to numbers of tubes in the boiler :

(c)Single tube boiler: This boiler having only one fire or water tube for
circulation of hot gases or water.
Example: Cornish boiler.

(b) Multi-tube boiler : This boiler having two or more fire or water tubes for
the circulation of hot gases or water.
Example : Locomotive, Cochran, Lancashire, Babcock & Wilcox
Water Tube Boiler Over The Fire Tube
Boiler
Advantages and disadvantages :
(1) The heating surface of the boiler is greater.
(2) Required a smaller floor area compared to fire tube boiler.
(3) The fuel is completely burnt due to the large heating area.
(4) A good and fast circulation of water can be possible, and the temperature is

maintained uniform throughout the different parts of the boiler.

(5) Steam can be raised more quickly therefore it can be used for variable load.
(6) The different parts of the boiler can be separated, therefore easier to
transport.

Disadvantages of water tube boiler :

(1) Scale deposition will cause overheating and bursting of tubes.
(2) Proper control system is required to maintain constant level of water as
there is small reserve of water.
(3) The maintenance cost is higher than that of the fire tube boiler.
Comparison :Water Tube Boiler and Fire
Tube Boiler
Basic parts of boiler (boiler details)

(1) Cylindrical shell: It is shell in which different parts of the boiler are
enclosed and on which the different mountings are fitted.

(2) Grate : It is platform in the furnace on which fuel is burnt.

(3) Furnace (fire box): It is a chamber formed by the space above the boiler
shell in which combustion take place. It is also called a fire box. This
chamber contains hot gases produced by combustion of fuel.

(4) Fire hole : It is the hole through which coal is added to the furnace.

(5) Ash pit (ash pan): It is the area in which the ash of burnt coal is collected.

(6) Smoke chamber (smoke box): The waste gases are collected here and then
releases to the chimney and then to atmosphere.
(7) Man hole : It is a hole provided on the boiler shell so that a workman can
go inside the boiler for inspection, cleaning and maintenance.

(8) Hand holes : It is a hole provided on the shell to give easy access for the
purpose of cleaning the water tubes or some other internal parts of boiler.
They are also fitted with covers.

(9) Mud box: It collects all impurities present in the water. It is at the bottom
of barrel or shell. This impurities are removed time to time by help of
blow off cock.

(10) Steam collecting pipe (Antipriming pipe): When the steam leaving the
boiler, it contains certain amount of water. Antipriming pipe is used to
separate water particles from the steam and to collect dry steam from
boiler.
Cochran boiler (Vertical multi-tabular
boiler)

⮚Characteristics of boiler: A
vertical, multi fire-tube, internally fired,
natural circulated boiler.

⮚Construction : The boiler consists of

a cylindrical shell, hemispherical fire box,
fire tubes and chimney. The hemispherical
crown of boiler gives good strength to
withstand against the pressure.
⮚The hemispherical shape of furnace can withstand high heat and is also useful to
increase radiant heat transfer from the furnace to hemispherical furnace wall. The
grate is placed at the bottom of furnace and ash pit is located below the grate.

⮚Working :
⮚The water is supplied to the boiler through feed check valve and the Coal is
introduced to the grate through the fire door.

⮚The hot gases produced from furnace enters combustion chamber and passes
through horizontal fire tubes.

⮚Heat transfer take place from flue gases to water surrounded the tubes by
convection.

⮚The flue gases coming from of fire tubes enter into smoke box. Finally they
discharge to atmosphere through a chimney.

⮚The ash formed is collected in ash pit.

⮚Advantages :
(1) It is compact and portable boiler therefore minimum floor
area is required
(2) Initial cost of boiler is less.
(3) It can be moved and set up readily in different locations.
(4) Quick and easy installation.
(5) Any type of fuel can be used (coal or oil)

⮚Disadvantages :
(1) Steam raising capacity is less due to vertical design.
(2) Water along with steam may enter the steam pipe under
heavy loads due to small steam space.
(3) Efficiency is poor in smaller sizes.
Babcock Wilcox Boiler
Construction
⮚It consists of inclined water tubes, a steam and water drum, a mud box and super
heater as shown in figure. The drum is connected to up take and down take header
by tubes.

⮚The water tube inclined to the horizontal about 15° or above to bring natural
circulation of water.

⮚The hand hole is provided in header for cleaning and inspection of tubes.

⮚The baffles plates are provided in order to make the circulation of hot gases in
sine wave form.

⮚ Soot doors (cleanout door) is provided to clean the outside of the water tubes
and to remove the soot. Soot doors also help to access to the interior of the boiler.
Working
⮚The water is fed into the drum through the fed check valve. Initially one half of
drum is filled up with water. Due to gravity water passes through the short riser
tubes, header and fills up the inclined water tubes.

⮚The coal is introduced to furnace grate by help of stroker and the damper control
the flow of air into the furnace.

⮚Due to heating the density of water decreases. Low density water moves upward
in water tubes. The water tubes just above furnace is heated comparatively at a
higher temperature than the rest of it. Therefore low density water gradually
converted to steam in their path and rises into the drum through the uptake header.

⮚Thus a continuous circulation of water from drum to water tubes and water tubes
to drum is maintained due to density difference of water and gravity, without any
pump.

⮚The steam then enters through the antipriming pipe and flows in the super heater
tubes where it is further heated and is finally taken.
Advantages :
(1)The steam generation capacity of the boiler is very high,
about 2000 to 40,000 kg/ hr.
(2) Replacement of defective tubes is easy.
(3) The draught losses as compared to other boilers is minimum.
(4) It is used in power station for generating large quantity of
steam.
(5)Boiler is required less space area compared to fire tube boilers,
and offers greater operational safety.
Lancashire Boiler
Construction
⮚ It consists of a cylindrical shell and two fire tubes. The cylindrical shell is
placed over the brick structure.

⮚The boiler have three passes for flow of flue gases.

- One flue passes from inside of boiler,
- second from below and
- third from the side of boiler shell.
These three passes are formed by brick work, one bottom flue and two
side flue.

⮚The grates are provided at the front end and inside of two main fire tubes.

⮚Super heater is provided at the end of the main flue tubes in passage of flue
gases. While an economizer is at the end of the side flues, before exhausting
the gases to chimney.
Working
The coal is introduced to the grate through fire holes. The combustion of coal
takes place in presence of air which is regulated by damper. The combustion
will produce hot gases.

⮚ Path of flue gases :

Grate Flue tube Bottom flue

Chimney Atmosphere

The hot gases from the grate pass to back end of the tubes and then in the
downward direction (FT to BF). They move by the bottom flue to the front of
the boiler where they are divided into two streams and pass into the side flues
(BF to SF). They move along two side flues and enter the chimney and
discharged to atmosphere.
⮚Advantages:
(1) Due to three passes of flue gases, the heating surface area per unit volume of
boiler is large.
(2) The fluctuations in load can be easily met by this boiler due to large
reservoir.
(3) Easy operation, low maintenance costs, easy to clean and inspect.
(4) By use of economiser and super heater, maximum heat of flue gases is
utilized, so efficiency of boiler can be increased.

⮚Disadvantages :
(1) Maximum working pressure is limited to 16 bars.
(2) Due to brick work, more floor area is required.
(3) Response of pressure build up is less.
(4)The furnace is inside the tubes therefore the grate area is restricted.
Locomotive Boiler
Construction
The Locomotive boiler consists of a cylindrical barrel with a rectangular fire box at one
end of barrel and a smoke box at the other end of barrel as shown in figure.
⮚Firebox entirely surrounded by water except for the fire hole and the ash pit which is
situated below the fire box.
⮚The dampers control the flow of air to the grate. The fire box is connected with smoke
box by series of fire tubes.
⮚The fire tubes are placed inside the barrel. Some of these tube are of larger diameter, in
which super heater tubes are placed.
Locomotive Boiler
Working
⮚The coal is introduced through the fire hole into the fire box. The hot gases which
are generated due to burning of the coal are deflected by an arch of fire bricks, so that
walls of the fire box may be heated properly.

⮚The hot gases pass from the fire box to the smoke box through a series of fire tubes
and then they are discharged into the atmosphere through the chimney.

⮚The heat of the hot gases is transferred into the water through the heating surface of
the fire tubes. The steam generated is collected in a dome shaped chamber above the
water surface.
Advantages :
(1) High steam capacity
(2) Low cost of construction
(3) Compact and portable
(4) Good response against fluctuating demands
Disadvantages :
(1) There are chances of corrosion and scale formation in the water space due to the
accumulation of sediments and the mud particles.
(2) It is difficult to clean some water spaces.
(3) It may be damaged by overheating during overloads.
BOILER MOUNTINGS AND
ACCESSORIES
BOILER MOUNTINGS AND
ACCESSORIES
MOUNTINGS

Boiler Mountings are the components generally mounted on the

surface of the boiler for its safe and secured operation. These are the
essential parts of the boiler, without which the boiler operation is not
possible.

ACCESSORIES

These are the devices which are installed with a boiler

and its neighboring area to increase the efficiency of the boiler.
These are not the essential part of the boiler and thus without
installing these devices, the boiler operation can be
accomplished though at a lower efficiency.
4
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BOILER MOUNTINGS
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Indian boiler regulation recommends the following mountings to be fitted with
the boiler –

 Two safety valves

 Two water level indicators
 A pressure gauge
 A steam stop valve
 A feed check valve
 A blow-off cock
 An attachment for inspector’s test gauge
 A man hole
 Mud holes or sight holes.

Note: Apart from the above all land boilers should have fusible plug in each
furnace
4
9
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Blow-off cock

FUNCTION
• The function of blow-off cock is to
discharge mud and other sediments
deposited in the bottom most part of
the water space in the boiler, while
boiler is in operation.
• It can also be used to drain-off boiler
water for cleaning and maintenance
purpose. Hence it is mounted at the
lowest part of the boiler. When it is
opened, water under the pressure
rushes out along with the sediments
and mud.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Blow-off cock

CONSTRUCTION
• It is fitted on the boiler shell directly or
through the short branch of pipe at lowest
part of the water space.
• It consists of gun metal conical plug
having a rectangular hole, spindle with
yoke.
• The plug meshes accurately into
similar
the casing.
• The plug spindle is generally rotated by
means of spanner on the top of the yoke.
• Two vertical slots are provided for fixing
spanner.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Blow-off cock

WORKING
• When rectangular hole of plug is brought
in line with casing hole by
spindle,
rotating the water flow out.
• When the solid portion of the plug is in
front of casing hole the water cannot
flow out of boiler.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Fusible plug
FUNCTION
• It is used to protect the boiler from damage due to overheating caused
by low water level in the boiler.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Fusible plug

CONSTRUCTION
• It is fitted on the fire box crown
plate that separates the boiler shell
and combustion chamber.
• The fusible plug consist of two
hollow gun metal body and
one conical plug as shown in the
figure.
• First hollow gun metal body is screwed to the fire box crown plate of boiler.
Second hollow gun metal is screwed on the first body. Third plug is normally
made from copper is locked with second plug by pouring low melting
point metal into the grooves provided on both of the plugs.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Fusible plug
WORKING
• In normal working condition, the upper surface of
fusible plug is covered with water which keeps the
temperature of the plug below its melting point while
other end of plug is exposed to fire or hot gases.
• The low melting point metal joining the second and
third plug does not melt till the upper surface of plug
is submerged in water.
• But in case of water level in boiler falls below the
danger levels, the fusible plug become uncovered by
the water and get exposed to steam. This overheats the
plug and the fusible metal having low melting point
melts quickly. Thus the third plug drops down and
second hollow gun became open, the steam rushes into
the furnace and puts out the fire.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Feed check valve
FUNCTION
• It controls the supply of water to the boiler
and to prevent escaping of water from the
boiler when the feed pump pressure is less
than boiler pressure or pump is stopped.

CONSTRUCTION
• The feed check valve is fitted in water
space of the boiler just below the normal
level of the water.
• It consists of non-return valve, water inlet
pipe, outlet pipe, spindle, gland and wheel.
• The inlet of the valve is connected with the
feed pump where as the outlet is
connected with the boiler.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Feed check

valve
WORKING
• Inlet and outlet pipe of the valve are exposed to
different pressure when pump is in operation.
At inlet of valve the feed pump pressure acts
where as at outlet pipe of the valve the boiler
pressure acts.
• When the feed pump is in operation the
pressure on the feed pump side (inlet) is more
than pressure on the boiler side (outlet). This
pressure difference lifts the non return valve,
and allows water flow into boiler.
• When the pump stops working, the pressure on
the pump side is less than the boiler pressure
 BOILER MOUNTINGS
Water Level Indicator

FUNCTION
• The function of the water level
indicator is to indicate the level of
water in the boiler constantly.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Water Level Indicator

CONSTRUCTION
• Normally two water level indicator are fitted in the front of every boiler.
• Water level indicator consists of three cock - steam cock, water cock,
drain cock and glass tube.
• The steam cock connect or disconnects the glass tube with steam space.
while water cock connect or disconnect the glass tube with water in the
boiler.
• The drain cock is used to drain out the water from glass tube at intervals
to prevent the accumulation of sediments.
• The glass tube protected by means of a guard glass. It is tough and does
not give splinters on breaking.
BOILER MOUNTINGS

Water Level Indicator

WORKING
• When steam cock and water cock opened, steam rushes from upper
passage and water rushed from lower from passage to the glass tube.
This will indicate the level of water in the boiler.
• Two ball are places at the junction of metal tube. Under normal
operating condition the ball are kept as it is.
• In case the glass tube is broken, steam will rushes from upper passage
and water from lower passage due to pressure difference between boiler
pressure at atmospheric pressure. the ball are carrier along the passage
up to the ends of glass tube and then close the passages. This position of
ball sown in fig by dotted circle. Thus flow of water and steam out of
boiler is prevented.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Steam Stop Valve

FUNCTION
• The function of the Steam Stop
Valve to regulate the flow of steam
from boiler to the steam pipe or
from one steam pipe to the other
steam pipe.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Steam Stop Valve
CONSTRUCTION
• Commonly the flange of valve body is
bolted to the boiler at the highest part of
steam space.
• It consist of valve and valve seat. The
main body of valve is made of cast iron
and valve seat made from gun metal.
• When steam stop valve is placed directly
over the boiler and connected to the
steam pipe line is called the junction
valve. If it is placed near to prime mover
than normally called steam stop valve.
• The lower ends of spindle is connected to the valve and pass through
gland and yoke, and connected with hand wheel. The gland is used to
prevent the leakage of steam.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Steam Stop Valve
WORKING
• When the spindle is rotated by help of hand
wheel the valve can be moved up or down.
• When the valve sits over the valve seat, the
passage of steam is completely closed.
• The steam passage may be partially or fully
opened by rotating the hand wheel.
• The clearance between valve and valve seat
regulates the flow of steam out of boilers.
• In locomotive boilers, the supply of the
steam is regulated by means of a regulator
which is placed inside boiler cell and
operated by a handle from driver’s cabin.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Pressure Gauge
FUNCTION
• Pressure gauge is used to measure the pressure of steam inside the
boiler vessel.
 BOILER MOUNTINGS
Pressure Gauge
CONSTRUCTION
• The gauge is usually mounted on the front
top of the shell.
• It is having dial which graduated to read
gauge pressure in bar.
• The circular bent bourdon tube of oval- cross
section is close at one end and connected at
the other end to steam space of boiler through
siphon (U-tube).
• The siphon is filled with water which
prevents hot steam from entering the pressure
gauge and keeps the gauge cool.

• Closed end of bourdon tube is attached to a toothed rack with help of link and pin.
This quadrant meshes with a small pinion on the central spindle.

• A needle is attached to the spindle which can rotate along with the pinion.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Pressure Gauge
WORKING
When pressure is applied to inside of
oval bourdon tube. It cross section
tends to becomes circular, and free end
of bourdon tube try to becomes
straight, so turning the spindle by the
links and gearing. This causes the
needle to move and indicate pressure
on graduated dial.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Safety Valve
FUNCTION
• Safety valves are located on the top of the boiler.
• They guard the boiler against the excessive high pressure of steam
inside the drum.
• If the steam pressure inside the boiler drum exceeds the working
pressure limit then the safety valve allows to blow-off the excess
quantity of steam to atmosphere thereby decreasing the pressure.
• The escape of steam makes a audio noise to warm the boiler
attendant.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Safety Valve

Types of safety valve:

1. Dead weight safety valve

2. Spring loaded safety valve
3. Lever loaded safety valve
4. High steam and low water safety valve
 BOILER MOUNTINGS
Dead weight safety valve
CONSTRUCTION
• It consists of valve V is placed upon a valve
seat VS which is fix upon a long vertical cast
iron pipe A having a flange B at the bottom
for fixing at the top of the boiler.
• The weight carrier WC suspended from the
top of the valve which carries cast iron
weights W.
• The cover plate C covers the weight.
• The pressure
applied by the total weight
(weights+valve+weight carrier+cover plate)
on the valve must be slightly less than or
equal to the maximum allowable pressure in
the boiler.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Dead weight safety valve
WORKING
• When the steam pressure exceeds the
normal limits, this high pressure stream
creates upward force on valve, thus valve
V lift with its weights and the excess
steam escapes through the pipe to the
outside.
• The construction of this valve is simple
and gives satisfactory operation for low
pressure and stationary boilers.
• It is not suitable for moving boilers as the
force of the weights should always work
vertically downward.
• It is also not suitable for high pressure
boiler as the weight becomes to large.
 BOILER MOUNTINGS
Lever safety valve
CONSTRUCTION
• It consist of a lever and weight W.
• The valve (made of gun metal) rests on the valve seat (made of gun metal) which is
screwed into the valve body.
• The valve body is fitted on the boiler shell. One end of the lever is hinged while at
the other end a weight W is suspended.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Lever safety valve
WORKING
• The steam presses against the valve on the valve seat.
• The slotted lever guide allows vertical movement to the lever.
• When the steam pressure becomes greater than the normal working pressure, the
valve is lifted with the lever and the weight. Consequently, the steam escapes through
the passages between the valve and seat and the steam pressure decreases.
• The disadvantages of this valve is that it can easily be tampered with and the effect
of a small addition to the weight is magnified considerably in its action on the valve.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Spring loaded safety valve
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING
• For locomotives and marine engines
both the lever and dead weight type
valves are unsuitable for obvious
reasons and the valve must be spring
loaded, as such valve is unaffected by
vibration or deviations from the
vertical.
• The figure shows a
Ramsbottom
spring loaded safety valve.
• It consist of two separate va1ves and
valve seats having one lever, bearing
on the two valves, and loaded by a
spring, the spring being
placed between the valves.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Spring loaded safety valve
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING …
• By pulling or raising the lever the
operator/driver can relieve the pressure
from either valve separately and
ascertain it is not sticking on the
seating.
• One disadvantage of the spring loaded
safety valve is that the load on the
valve increases as the valve lifts due to
increased spring stiffness, so that
pressure required just to lift the valve is
less than that required to open it fully.
• From this reason in some cases it is
arranged that the area acted on by the
steam is greater when the valve is open
than that when the valve is closed.
BOILER MOUNTINGS

High steam and low

water safety valve

Function : This valve serves the

following purposes.

(1)The steam automatically

escapes out when the level of
water falls below a normal level.

(2)It automatically discharges the

excess steam when the pressure
of steam rises above a normal
pressure.

This valve is generally used at

the Cornish or Lancashire boiler.
BOILER MOUNTINGS
Construction :
⮚This is a device which combination of two valve and serve two purposes. It
consists of valve V resting on the valve seat and the valve U (hemispherical
valve) loaded with the weights, resting on the valve V as shown in fig.

⮚ Inside the boiler, a lever L1 is hinged at the fulcrum. One end of lever L2
attached to a float E and other end carries weight W.

Working:
⮚When steam pressure rises above the
normal pressure of the boiler, the valve V
lifted along with valve U (hemispherical
valve) and excess steam escapes out.

⮚When the water level is fall below the

predetermined value, float moves
downwards and valve U is move up.
⮚This will provide special passage to the
steam for the whistling.
BOILER ACCESSORIES
Boiler Accessories

Commonly used boiler accessories are -

1. Feed pump
2. Injector
3. Economiser
4. Air preheater
5. Superheater
6. Steam separator
7. Steam trap
Economiser
FUNCTION
Economiser increases the temperature of feed water using waste of heat to flue gases that
leaves the boiler
Economiser
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING
• The figure shows an independent type vertical tube Economiser (called Green’s
Economiser).
• It is employed for boiler of medium pressure range of up to about 25 bar.
• It consists of a large number of vertical cast iron pipes P through which feed
water is made to pass with the help of top and bottom main pipes A and B.
• The flue gases move around the pipes resulting in heat transfer to the feed water
through the surfaces of the pipes.
• The soot of the flue gases which gets deposited on the pipes over time reduces
the efficiency of the Economiser.
• To prevent the soot deposit, the scrapers S can be moved up and down to keep
the external surfaces of the pipes clean.
Economiser
ADVANTAGES
• The temperature range between various part of the boiler is reduced which
results in reduction of stresses due to unequal expansion
• If the boiler is fed with cold water it may result in chilling the boiler metal.
• Hot feed water reduces the thermal stresses that may be otherwise be caused
due
to feeding of cold water.
• Evaporative capacity of the boiler is increased.
• Overall efficiency of the plant is increased.
Superheater
FUNCTION
• The function of a Superheater is to increase the temperature of the steam above its
saturation point.
• The superheater is very important accessory of a boiler and can be used both on
fire tube and water-tube boilers.
• Superheaters are located in the path of the furnace gases so that heat is recovered
by the superheater from the hot gases.
• Superheaters are not of much use for the small boilers.

ADVANTAGES
(1) Steam consumption of the engine or turbine is reduced.
(2) Losses due to condensation in the cylinders and the steam pipes are reduced.
(3) Erosion of turbine blade is eliminated.
(4) Efficiency of the steam plant is increased.
 Superheater
CONSTRUCTION & WORKING
• Above figure shows Sugden’s superheater for Lancashire boiler.
• It consists of two steel headers to which around forty steel ‘U’ tubes are attached.
• The steam from the boiler enters and leaves the headers via large number of small
diameter steel U tubes exposed to hot flue gases.
 Air Preheater
FUNCTION
• The function of the air preheater is to
increase the temperature of air before it
is supplied to the furnace.
• Objective is to assist the combustion
and increase the thermal efficiency of
the process.
Air Preheater
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING
• Air Preheater is generally placed after
the Economiser in the path of the flue
gasses.
• It consists of large number of tubes
through which the flue gases are made
to pass.
• The inlet air at room temperature is
admitted into the shell and passes
around the tubes before leaving the
shell as heated air.
High pressure boiler
⮚ In applications where steam is needed @ 30 bar and @ generating capacity less
than 30,000 kg/hr, the fire tube boilers are considerably cheaper than the water
tube boilers.

⮚But the steam requirement is above 30 bar pressure and higher rate, the fire tube
boilers will be very bulky and difficult to transport to the site.

⮚The water tube boiler are not facing this problem.

⮚ Therefore, water tube boiler are generally preferred for high pressure and high
steam generating capacity whereas fire tube boiler for low pressure and low
capacity.

⮚In the power plant, it is necessary to generate steam at a higher rate, high
pressure and with higher efficiency. This requirement is fulfill by high pressure
boilers.
Advantages of High pressure boiler
1. Due to forced circulation of water, evaporative capacity of boiler is increased and
size of drum is reduced.
2. The tendency of scale formation is eliminated due to high velocity of water through
the tubes.
3. Smaller diameter tubes are used, which increases heat transfer rate and reduces fuel
consumption.
4. The cost of foundation, the time of erection and cost are reduced due to less weight
of the tubes used.
5. Pressurized combustion is used which increases rate of firing of fuel thus increasing
the rate of heat release.
6. These boilers are compact and hence less floor space is required.
7. Due to uniform heating of all parts, there is less chances of overheating.
8. The efficiency of plant is increased up to 40 to 42% by using high pressure and high
temperature steam.
9. The steam can be raised quickly to meet the variable load.
10. A very rapid start from cold is possible.
La-Mont Boiler

88
Construction and Working
 The feed water from the hot well is supplied to a storage and separating drum
through economizer. The most of the sensible heat is supplied to feed water
through economizer. Water from the storage drum is circulated through the
radiant evaporator and convective evaporator with the help of circulating pump.
Circulation of water through evaporator is 8 to 10 times the weight of steam
evaporated. Such large quantity of water circulation through evaporator tubes
prevents the tube from overheating. Part of the water evaporated, as it pass
through evaporator, is separated in the separating drum. Dry and saturated steam
from the separating drum is passed through the super-heater before supply to
prime mover. Distributing headers are used to distribute the water into radiant
evaporator through nozzles.
 Note: - In the radiant evaporator, heat is transferred by radiation so it is called
radiant evaporator, whereas in convective evaporator, heat is transferred by
convection. In modern high pressure boiler, furnace wall is covered with the
water tube, so heat transfer in furnace is by radiation. This water tubes also
protect the furnace wall from overheating.

89
Main Problem with La Mont Boiler

 The deposition of salt and sediments on the inner surface of the water tube.
Reduce heat transfer and increase the danger of overheating.

 Formation and attachment of bubbles on the inner surfaces of the heating tubes.
Attached bubbles reduced the heat transfer and generation of steam.

90
What is the solution

Increasing the pressure up to critical pressure

At critical pressure water and steam have same density
Bubble formation can easily be eliminated by using critical
pressure boiler i.e. BENSON BOILER.

91
Benson Boiler

92
Construction and Working

Water from the hot well is passed through the economizer where
sensible heat is supplied to the water. Part of the water is
evaporated when it passes through the radiant evaporator and
remaining water is evaporated as it passes through the convective
evaporator. Then dry and saturated steam from the convective
evaporator is passed through the super-heater before supply to
prime mover.
Starting of the Benson Boiler
First circulating pumps are started then burners are started. During
starting water from super heater is supplied back to economizer
with the help of valve A. During starting valve B is closed. Once
generation of superheated steam starts, valve A is closed and valve
B is opened.
93
Problem with Benson Boiler

Deposition of salt in the transformation zone where all the water is

evaporated.
Deposited salt offers the resistance to heat transfer.
Which may cause the over heating of the tube.
It also reduce the steam generation

94
Solution of Problem

The boiler is flashed out after every 4000 working hours to remove
the salt.

95
Advantages

No drum so light weight

Transportation of boiler is easy
Erection is easy and can be carried out at plant site
Furnace wall can be protected by small diameter tubes
Quick start because of the welded joint

96
Fluidized Bed Combustion System

97
Principle of FBC System

98
Classical FBC System

99
Working

100
Advantages of FBC System

101
Disadvantages of FBC System

• Problem in Distribution of coal and dolomite

• Direct mechanical contact causes erosion of tubes
• High pressure steam is required

102
Draught system
Draught system
 Draught is mechanism of creation of small pressure difference
that is required maintain the constant flow of air for
combustion of fuel and to discharge the gases through the
chimney to atmosphere. Draught can be produced by using
chimney, fans, steam or air jet or combination of these.
 The purpose of draught is to,
1) Helps in allowing desired volume of air flow in to the furnace.
2) Helps in overcoming the resistances offered to the flow of air
through the furnace.
3) Discharge gases at sufficient height to avoid pollution to
atmosphere.
Forced Draught
Forced Draught
 The forced draught system fans are installed at the base of the
boiler. This draught system is known as the positive draught
system.

 The fans or blowers installed at the base of the boiler forces the
air through the fuel bed, Economiser, air preheater and to the
chimney.

 The furnace has to be gas tight to prevent the leakage of gases in

the boiler house. Since the FD fans handle cold air, so they
consume less power and less maintenance problems.
Induced Draught
Induced Draught
 In this type of draught system a fan or blower is located at the
base of the chimney.

 The ID fan sucks the burned gases from furnace and the pressure
inside the furnace is reduced below atmosphere and induces the
atmospheric air to flow through the furnace.

 The draught produced is independent of the temperature of the

gases. This draught is similar to the natural draught system in
action but the total draught produced is the sum of draught
produced by the fans and chimney.
 Advantages of Forced draught over induced draught:
1) Forced draught fans does not require water cooled bearing.
2) The tendency of air leak in to the furnace reduced.
3) The life of the FD fan blades is high.
4) The power required for FD fans is less compared to Induced
draught fans.
Balanced draught
 It is the combination of the both forced draught and induced
draught system.

 In this system FD fan over comes the resistance of fuel bed and
air pre heater.

 The induced draught fan removes the gases from the furnace
maintaining the pressure in the furnace just below atmosphere.