Power Plants Engineering
Ass. Prof. Mostafa A. H.
Abdelmohimen
Chapter 3 | Steam Generators
Topics
1. Introduction
2. Types of boilers
3. Requirements of a good boiler
4. Water and steam circuit
5. Superheaters and Reheaters
6. Economizers
7. Air heaters
1. Introduction
Boiler is an apparatus to produce steam. Thermal energy released by combustion of fuel is
transferred to water, which vaporizes and gets converted into steam at the desired temperature
and pressure
Schematic arrangement of a steam power station
A boiler should fulfill the following requirements
(i) Safety. The boiler should be safe under operating conditions.
(ii) Accessibility. The various parts of the boiler should be accessible for repair and
maintenance.
(iii) Capacity. The boiler should be capable of supplying steam according to the requirements.
(iv) Efficiency. To permit efficient operation, the boiler should be able to absorb a maximum
amount of heat produced due to burning of fuel in the furnace.
(v) It should be simple in construction and its maintenance cost should be low.
(vi) Its initial cost should be low.
(vii) The boiler should have no joints exposed to flames.
(viii) The boiler should be capable of quick starting and loading.
The boiling point of a liquid is defined as the temperature at which its vapor pressure
is equal to the pressure of the gas above it. This temperature is also called saturation
temperature.
Fig.2 Saturated water/steam pressure versus
temperature.
2. Types of boilers
The boilers can be classified according to the following criteria.
According to flow of water and hot gases.
1. Fire tube. 2. Water tube.
According to position of furnace.
(i) Internally fired (ii) Externally fired
According to the position of principle axis.
(i) Vertical (ii) Horizontal (iii) Inclined.
According to application.
(i) Stationary (ii) Mobile, (Marine, Locomotive).
According to the circulating water.
(i) Natural circulation (ii) Forced circulation.
According to steam pressure.
(i) Low pressure (ii) Medium pressure (iii) Higher pressure.
2. Boiling and Circulation
1. Fire tube boiler
• In this type of boiler hot gases pass through
the tubes and water is contained in the
shell.
• In this type of boiler boiling takes place in
the same compartment where water is
stored. As a result, only saturated steam
used to be produced in older designs of this
type of boiler, but today, a fire-tube boiler
may generate superheated steam as well.
2. Boiling and Circulation
1. Fire tube boiler
Fire tube boilers are classified as follows.
l. External furnace:
(i) Horizontal return tubular (ii) Short fire box (iii) Compact.
2. Internal furnace:
(i) Horizontal tubular
(a) Short firebox (b) Locomotive (c) Compact (d) Scotch.
(ii) Vertical tubular.
(a) Straight vertical shell, vertical tube
(b) Cochran (vertical shell) horizontal tube.
Scotch Marine fire tube boiler
Cochran Boiler
2. Boiling and Circulation
2. Water tube boiler
• To generate high evaporation rate accompanied by high
steam pressure, the fire-tube boiler becomes exorbitantly
heavy; therefore, the size and weight become extremely
difficult to manage. In regards to the size of the shell, these
shortcomings are circumvented by passing flue gases
outside the tubes, instead of inside, and water is circulated
through the tubes for evaporation.
• In a water-tube boiler water circulates in tubes heated
externally by the hot flue gas. Fuel is burned inside the
furnace, creating hot gas that heats up the water in the
steam-generating tubes.
2. Boiling and Circulation
2. Water tube boiler
Water tube boilers are classified as follows.
1. Horizontal straight tube boilers
(a) Longitudinal drum (b) Cross-drum.
2. Bent tube boilers
(a) Two drum (b) Three drum
(c) Low head three drum (d) Four drum.
3. Cyclone fired boilers
3. Requirements of a good boiler
4. Water and steam circuit
Water and steam circuit.
4. Water and steam circuit
The process of separation and purification of steam in the boiler drum is accomplished by
drum internals, e.g., cyclones, baffles, etc., chemical and feedwater admission piping, blow-
down lines, etc.
The process includes three steps:
1. Separation,
2. Steam washing, and
3. Scrubbing.
4. Water and steam circuit
Separation is the process of removing the bulk mass of water from steam and is
accomplished by any one of following means:
• Gravity
• Abrupt change in flow direction
• Centrifugal action
• Impact against a plate
• Use of baffles
4. Water and steam circuit
Steam washing, scrubbing, or steam drying
is the process of passing steam between closely fitted corrugated plates or screens on
which mists are deposited in a way similar to that occurs during filtration. To avoid re-
entrainment of water, velocity is kept low. The collected water drips to the boiler water
below by gravity.
4. Water and steam circuit
Drum internals
5. Superheaters and Reheaters
The superheater is one of the most critical elements of a boiler plant. Since it is located in
the high-temperature zone it acquires close to the highest value of steam temperature as
allowed by the metallurgical limit.
• The superheater and reheater heat transfer surfaces absorb heat from the products of
combustion or flue gases either through radiation, i.e., they receive heat through
radiation from the furnace or through convection, which means these surfaces receive
heat from the hot flue gas from the furnace by convection heat transfer.
Types of super heater and reheater
1) Convection superheater/reheater 2) Radiant superheater/reheater
6. Economizers
Economizer is a heat exchanger that is installed on the stack of a boiler. It is designed to
recover heat that would otherwise be wasted.
• Economizers can be installed during a new boiler installation or retrofit on an existing
system.
• For each 5.5 K increase in the feedwater temperature, the boiler efficiency rises by
about 1%. For each 22K drop in flue gas temperature, there is an increase in boiler
efficiency by 1% in a conventional boiler.
6. Economizers
• The economizer, comprised of a bank of tubes over which flue gases pass, is a forced
flow convection heat exchanger through which feedwater is supplied at a pressure
higher than the pressure at the evaporating section.
• The size of the economizer is dictated by a comparative analysis of its costs and savings
of fuel due to improvement in thermal performance.
• Economizer size is also governed by the temperature of the feedwater at the
economizer inlet and the temperature of the exit flue gas from the economizer.
6. Economizers
An economizer may be designed as follows
1) According to geometrical arrangement
• Horizontal Tubes
• Vertical Tubes
Horizontal tube economizer Vertical tube economizer
6. Economizers
An economizer may be designed as follows
2) Based on the direction of flue gases
with respect to tubes in the bank
• Longitudinal Flow
• Cross Flow
3) According to the relative direction of
Cross Flow Economizer
flue-gases flow and feedwater flow
• Parallel Flow
• Counter Flow
6. Economizers
An economizer may be designed as follows
4) With regard to thermal performance
• Steaming • Non-steaming
5) Based on the details of design and form of
heating surface •
• Plain Tube • Finned Tube
• Return-bend Tube • Continuous Tube
6) According to the spacing of tubes and pattern
of tubes Finned Tube Economizer
• Staggered Tube • In-line Arrangement
7. Air Heaters
• The temperature of flue gases downstream of the economizer is still quite high (588 – 698
K). The remaining heat in these flue gases is trapped in another heat absorbing surface
called the air heater.
• The heat recovered is recycled to the furnace by the combustion air and is added to the
energy released from the fuel.
• This higher heat energy is further absorbed in the evaporating and/or the superheating
surfaces, resulting in gain in boiler efficiency and less fuel consumption for the same
output.
7. Air Heaters
Types of Air heaters
1) recuperative air heaters and
2) regenerative air heaters
• The heat transfer efficiency of regenerative air heaters is high compared to the
efficiency of recuperative air heaters.
• However, the disadvantages of regenerative air heaters are leakage of air into the
gas space and transport of fly ash into the combustion air system.
7. Air Heaters
recuperative air heater
• In a recuperative air heater, heat from the
flue gases is transferred continuously to air
through a heating surface.
• Tubular air heaters are normally the
counter-flow shell-and-tube type where hot
flue gases pass through the inside of the
tubes and air flows outside.
• Baffles are provided to ensure maximum air
contact with hot tubes. These heaters,
however, consume much metal and occupy
a large space.
7. Air Heaters
regenerative air heater
• In a regenerative air heater, the heating
surface is swept alternately by the flue gas
and the air undergoes alternate heating and
cooling cycles and transferring of heat by
thermal storage capacity of the heat
transfer surfaces.
• The gas and air counter-current flows move
through the rotor separately and
continuously.
Ljungstrom air heater
