Boiler: Definition, Types, Applications, Necessity, and Fuel Used

A steam boiler or steam generator is a closed vessel in which water is heated, vaporized and
converted into steam at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

A Boiler is the biggest and most critical part of a thermal power plant.

Applications of Boiler:
We use a boiler for:

 Operating steam engines.

 Operating steam turbines.
 Operating reciprocating pumps.
 Industrial process work in chemical engineering.
 For producing hot water required to be supplied to room in very cold areas.
 In thermal power stations.
 The heat content of the steam is large and thus it is suitable for process heating in many
industries like sugar mills, textile mills, dairy industry and also in chemical industries.

Definition of some useful terms used in Boiler:

 Boiler shell: The boiler shell consists of a hollow cylindrical body made up of steel plates
riveted or welded together.
 Furnace: Furnace is that part of the boiler in which the fuel is conveniently burned to
produce heat. This heat is utilized in generating steam in the boiler.
 Grate: The grate is a space on which the fuel is burnt. It consist of a combination of several
cast-iron bars so arranged that the fuel may be placed on it. Some space is always provided
in between two consecutive bars so that may flow to the fuel from below the great and ashes
may drop into the ash pit provided beneath the Grate. Grate may be circular or rectangular in
shape.
 Grate area: The area of the great upon which the fuel burns is called great area. Grate area
is always measured in square meters.
 Heating surface: The heating surface is the surface of a boiler which is exposed to hot gases
on one side and water of the other.
 Water space and steam space: Water space is the volume of the boiler which is occupied
by water. The remaining space is called steam space because it is needed for storage of steam
in the boiler until it id s drawn off through the steam pipe.
 Flue gases: Flue gases are hot gases produced due to the combination of fuel in the boiler
furnace. Flue gas usually contains water vapor (H2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon
monoxide (CO), Nitrogen (N2). Flue gas includes complete and incomplete products of
combustion of fuels.
 TYPES OF BOILER:
Different types of boiler used in various industries for different purposes. Types of boiler
depending on boiler capacity, steam pressure, and other parameters. Here types of Boilers can be
classified as:

1. Types of Boiler according to contents in the tube:

 Fire tube boiler
 Water tube boiler
Fire tube boiler: In this type of boilers, flames and hot gasses produced by combustion of fuel
passes through the tubes while water flowing outside the tubes.
Example: Simple Vertical Boiler, Cochran Boiler, Lancashire Boiler, Scotch Marine Boiler,
Velcon Boiler, Cornish Boiler, and Locomotive Boilers are the examples of Fire Tube Boiler.
Water tube boiler: In Water tube boilers, water flowing inside the tubes (water tube) while
flames and hot gasses surrounded outside the tubes.
Example: Stirling Boiler, La-Mont Boiler, Benson Boiler, Yarrow Boiler, Babcock and Wilcox
Boilers are the examples of Water tube boilers
.
2. Types of Boiler according to the position of the furnace:
 Internally fired boiler
 Externally fired boiler
Internally fired boiler: Boilers in which furnace locates inside the boiler shell, are internally
fire boilers. Most of the fire tube boilers are internally fire.
Externally fired boiler: Boilers in which furnace is located outside the boiler shell are called
externally fired boilers. Water tube boilers are always externally fire.

3. Types of Boiler according to the axis of the shell:

 Vertical boilers
 Horizontal boilers
Vertical boilers: Boilers having a vertical axis of the shell are called vertical boilers. Simple
vertical boiler and Cochran boilers are examples of vertical boilers.
Horizontal boilers: In this type of boilers, the axis of the shell is horizontal. Lancashire Boiler,
Locomotive Boiler, and Babcock and Wilcox Boilers are Horizontal Boilers
.
4. Types of Boiler according to the number of tubes:
 Single tube boiler
 Multitubular boiler
Single tube boiler: In Single tube boilers, there is only one water tube or fire tube. Cornish
Boiler and simple vertical boilers are single tube boilers.
Multitubular boiler: Boilers having two or more water tubes or fire tubes are called Mulitubuler
boiler. Lancashire Boiler, Locomotive Boiler, and Babcock and Wilcox Boiler and Cochran
boilers are Mulitubuler Boilers.

5. Types of Boiler according to the method of circulation of water and steam:

 Natural circulation boilers
 Forced circulation boilers
Natural circulation boilers: In natural circulation, the circulation of water is natural convection,
which is produced during the heating of water. Most of the steam boilers are natural circulation.
Forced circulation boilers: In forced circulation, the circulation of water is produced through
the centrifugal pump. Forced circulation used in high-pressure boilers such as Benson Boiler,
Loeffler boiler, and Velcon boiler.

6. Types of Boiler according to the Pressure of steam:

Boilers can also be classified as:

 Low-Pressure Boilers
 High-Pressure Boilers
Low-pressure boilers operating steam pressure not exceeded 1.021 atm (103.427KN/m2) and
operating pressures of hot gases bot exceeding 10.893 atm (1.10MN/m2) and temperature 394k
degree.

7. Types of Boiler according to Mode of firing:

 Fired Boilers
 Non-Fired Boilers
Fired Boilers: In this type of boiler, supplied heat comes from the combustion of fuels.
Non-Fired Boilers: Non-Fired Boiler receives heat other than that produced by the burning of
fuel.

8. Types of Boiler according to the type of fuel:

On the basis of fuel, a boiler is designed by the nature of fuel used.

 Coal Fired
 Gas Fired
 Oil Fired
 Wood Fired
 Bagasse or Rice husk straw-fired

9. Types of Boiler according to the use:

 Stationary boilers
 Mobile boilers
Stationary boilers: These Boilers do not move from one place to another place. Boilers used in
power plants and other industrial process work are stationary boilers.
Mobile boilers: Boilers move from one place to another place, called Mobile Boilers.
Locomotive and Marine boilers are the best examples of Mobile boilers.

10. Types of Boiler according to the source of heat:

Boilers can also be classified according to the source of heat supplied for producing steam. These
sources are:
Source of combustion (solid, liquid or gaseous fuels)

Electrical energy / nuclear energy / Geothermal Energy

Advantage, Disadvantage And Application Of Fire Tube Boiler

Fire-tube boiler:

 This is a boiler in which the fire or hot gas is present inside the tubes and water surrounds
these fire tubes.
 Since fire is inside the tubes and hence it is named as fire tube boiler. The heat from the hot
gases is conducted through the walls of the tube to the water.
 The examples of this boiler are the simple vertical boiler, Cochran boiler, Lancashire
boiler, Cornish boiler, Locomotive boiler, Scotch marine boiler and Velcon boiler.

Advantage:
1. Fire tube boiler is in simple design and has a low maintenance cost.

2. Less skilled operation are sufficient for efficient operation.

3. Fire tube boiler can be used in small industry.

4. Treatment of feed water is not very essential in fire tube boiler.

No pure feed water is required in FTB, So cost can be minimized because pure feed water is
5.
costly.

For the same power output, the cost of a fire tube boiler is less as compared to a water tube
6.
boiler.

Disadvantage:
1. The maximum working pressure of fire tube boiler is up to 20 bar.

2. Overall efficiency is up to 75%

 3. It requires more floor area for a given output.

4. Load fluctuation cannot be easily handled.

The rate of steam generation and quality of steam for suitable power generation are not much
5.
better than the water tube boiler.

6. This is used in small power plants.

Application:
1. Fire Tube Boilers are mostly used in railways,

2. marines,

3. and industrial sectors.

Cochran Boiler is a multi-tubular vertical fire tube boiler having a number of horizontal fire
tubes. It is the modification of a simple vertical boiler where the heating surface has been
increased by means of a number of fire tubes. The efficiency of this boiler is much better than
the simple vertical boiler.

Parts of Cochran Boiler:

A Cochran Boiler is consisted of following parts:

1. Shell
2. Grate
3. Combustion Chamber
4. Fire tubes
5. Fire hole
6. Firebox (Furnace)
7. Chimney
8. Man Hole
9. Flue pipe
 10. Fire Brick Lining
11. Feed Check Valve
12. Blow Off Valve
13. Ash Pit
14. Smoke Box Door
15. Anti Priming Pipe
16. Crown
17. Pressure Gauge
18. Safety Valve
19. Water Level Indicator
20. Water Level Gauge
21. Fusible Plug
22. Stop Valve

#1 Shell:

The main body of the boiler is known as a shell. It is hemispherical on the top, where space is
provided for steam.

This hemispherical top gives a higher volume to area ratio which increases the steam capacity.

#2 Grate:

In the grate section, solid fuel is stored, it is designed so well that air can easily flow through it,
and also the ashes fall from the grate quite easily. In this section, the fire is placed.

#3 Combustion Chamber:

It is lined with fire bricks on the side of the shell to prevent overheating of the boiler. Hot gases
enter the fire tubes from the flue pipe through the combustion chamber. The combustion
chamber is connected to the furnace.

#4 Fire Tubes:

There are various fire tubes whose one end is connected to the furnace and other to the chimney.
Sevaral horizontal fire tubes are provided to increased the heating surface.

#5 Fire Hole:

The small hole is provided at the bottom of the combustion chamber to place fuel is known as a
fire hole.

#6 Fire Box (Furnace):

It works as a mediator of fire tubes and combustion chamber.

It is also dome-shaped like the shell so that the gases can be deflected back till they are passed
out through the flue pipe to the combustion chamber.

#7 Chimney:

It is provided for the exit of flue gases to the atmosphere from the smokebox.

#8 Man Hole:

It is provided for the inspection and repair of the interior of the boiler shell.

#9 Flue Pipe:

It is a short passage connecting the firebox with the combustion chamber.

#10 Fire Brick Lining:

It is a special type of brick ling use in Cochran Boiler to reduce the convection of heat from the
outer surface of the boiler. Fire Brick is generally made of fire clay.

#11 Feed Check Valve:

It is used to control the flow of water inside the boiler, it also helps to restrict the backflow of
water.

#12 Blow Off Valve:

It is used to blow off the settle down impurities, mud, and sediments present in the boiler water.

#13 Ash Pit:

It is a chamber inside a boiler where ashes are stored.

#14 Smoke Box Door:

It is used to clean the smoke box deposits materials.

#15 Anti Priming Pipe:

Sometimes water droplets come out with the steam, so to prevent the droplets from carried out
by the steam the Anti Priming Pipe is used.
#16 Crown:

It is hemispherical dome-shaped section of a boiler, where burning of fuel happens.

#17 Pressure Gauge:

It measures the pressure of steam inside the boiler.

#18 Safety Valve:

It blows off the extra steam when the steam pressure inside the boiler reaches above safety level.

#19 Water Level Indicator:

The position of the water level in the Cochran boiler is indicated by the water level indicator.

#20 Water Level Gauge:

It glass tube fitted out side of the boiler to check the water level inside the boiler.

#21 Fusible Plug:

It is one type of safety measure. If the inside temperature of the boiler cross the limit, then for
safety purpose this Fusible Plug melts and the water comes into the boiler furnace and extinguish
the fire.

#22 Stop Valve:

Stop valve is used to transfer steam to the desired location when it is required. Otherwise, it stops
the steam in the boiler.
 Diagram of Cochran Boiler

Working Principle of Cochran Boiler:

The Cochran boiler works as same as other fire tube boiler.

First, The coal is placed at the grate through the fire hole.

Then the air is entering into the combustion chamber through the atmosphere and fuel
is sparked through fire hole.

Then flue gases start flowing into the hemispherical dome-shaped combustion chamber. This
flue gases further moves into the fire pipes.

Heat is exchanged from flue gases to the water into the fire tubes.
The steam produce collected into the upper side of the shell and taken out by when the required
pressure generated.

The flue gases now send to the chimney through a firebox where it leaves into the atmosphere.

Now, this process repeats and runs continuously. The steam generates used into the small
industrial processed.

Applications of Cochran Boiler:

The application of Cochran boiler are:

 Variety of process applications industries.

 Chemical processing divisions.
 Pulp and Paper manufacturing plants.
 Refining units.

Besides, they are frequently employed in power generation plants where large quantities of steam
(ranging up to 500 kg/s) having high pressures i.e. approximately 16 megapascals (160 bar) and
high temperatures reaching up to 550 °C are generally required.

Features of Cochran boiler:

These are some features of Cochran Boiler:

 In the Cochran boiler, any type of fuel can be used.

 It is best suitable for small capacity requirements.
 It gives about 70% thermal efficiency with coal firing and about 75% thermal efficiency
with oil firing.
 The ratio of the grate area to the heating surface area varies from 10: 1 to 25:1.

Advantages of Cochran Boiler:

The advantages of Cochran Boiler are following:

 Low floor area required.

 Low initialization cost.
 It is easy to operate.
 Transport from one place to another is very easy.
 It has a higher volume to area ratio.

Disadvantages of Cochran Boiler:

There are some disadvantages of Cochran Boiler and those are:

  Low steam generation rate.
 Limited pressure handles capacity.
 It is difficult to inspect and maintain.

Locomotive Boiler: Parts, Working, Advantages, Disadvantages, and Application

Locomotive Boiler:
The Locomotive Boiler is a fire tube boiler (I also wrote an article on the Water tube boiler VS
Fire-tube boiler you may check that too).

It is a device that is used to create steam from water by using heat energy.

It is a horizontal drum axis multi-tube boiler.

The main function of it is to generate high steam rate because of that we see the grate area of
this type of boiler is quite big also it has a number of fire tubes for improving the steam
producing rate.

Also, you can see an artificial steam jet draught is present in this type of boiler for increasing
the heat transfer rate.

In this type of boiler, the stack is used instead of a chimney and burnt gas or flue gasses are
removed by this stack.

As the name suggests it is a locomotive boiler means it is movable so that we don’t need to fit
chimney in it, the flow of air over the stack removed the flue gases due to the pressure
difference between the grate and the outside.

This type of boiler is capable of producing a high steam rate and hence it is used for railway
locomotive engines and in marines.

Related articles on Boiler:

Lancashire boiler
Cochran Boiler
Babcock and Wilcox boiler
Benson Boiler
Lamont Boiler
Locomotive Boiler of DRB Class 50 locomotive (Image source: By Rabensteiner – Own work,
CC BY 3.0, [Link]

Construction of Locomotive Boiler

A locomotive boiler is consists of the following parts:

 Ashpan
 Blow off Valve
 Water level Indicator
 Pressure Gauge
 main Hole
 Regulator
 Boiler Tubes
 Smoke Box

Let me discuss these things briefly.

Ashpan:
Ashpan is a tray fitted beneath a grate in which ashes can be collected and removed.

Blow off Valve:

The function of blow-off valve is to discharge mud and other sediments. It can also be used to
the drain-off boiler water.
Water level indicator:
This is an instrument which is used in the boiler to indicate the level of water.

Pressure gauge:
This is also an instrument that shows the reading of the Boiler pressure.

Man Hole:
The manhole is like an entrance where people enter the boiler and changed the parts if necessary
and or if it is damaged.

Regulator:
The regulator is a valve that regulates the steam through the main steam pipe for superheating.

Boiler Tubes:
Here the tubes you are seeing in the diagram are the fire tubes through which the hot flue gases
pass and exchange the heat with the surrounding water.

Smoke Box:
Smoke Box is a box in which the smoke of the burnt fuel after passing through the fire tubes gets
collected and From there it is exhausted in the environment by the chimney.

I also had written a dedicated article on Boiler mountings and accessories, you may take a look at
that too.

Schematic Diagram of Locomotive Boiler:

Working Principle of Locomotive Boiler:

Using grate we insert the fuel into the boiler and then providing the fire to ignite the fuel.

When fuel starts burning the hot flue gases are produced. And these hot flue gases are passed
through the pipe continuously until the surrounding water gets heated.
So the water changes there phase into saturated steam.

This saturated steam can also be used or else further heated for superheating.

Advantages of Locomotive Boiler:

These are the following advantages of Locomotive Boiler:

 This is portable which means Locomotive Boiler can displace whenever required.
 It is capable of meeting sudden and fluctuating demands of steam.
 This is a cost-effective boiler.
 This Boiler has a high steam generation rate.
 It is compact in size.

Disadvantages of Locomotive Boiler:

Here are some disadvantages of Locomotive Boiler:

 It faces the problems of corrosion and scale formation.

 Unable to work under heavy load conditions because of overheating problems.

Applications of Locomotive Boiler:

Locomotive Boilers are used in a different section like:

 Locomotive boilers are mostly used in railways and marines.

 The efficiency of this locomotive boiler is very less.
 The locomotive boiler cannot work in heavy-load conditions because this leads to the
overheating of the boiler and finally gets damage.
 This boiler is also used in traction engines, steam rollers, portable engines, and some other
steam road vehicles.

Lancashire Boiler: Definition, Parts, Working, Applications, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Lancashire Boiler is a horizontal type and stationary fire tube boiler. This boiler was invented in
the year 1844, by William Fairbairn.

This is an internally fired boiler because the furnace uses to present inside the boiler. This boiler
generates low-pressure steam and it is a natural circulation boiler.

It has high thermal efficiency of about 80 to 90 percent.

The size is approximately 7-9 meters in length and 2-3 meters in diameter.

It is mostly used in locomotive engines and marines etc.

Parts of a Lancashire Boiler:
A Lancashire Boiler consist of following parts:

 Safety valve
 Pressure Gauge
 Feed check valve
 Water Level Indicator
 Blow off valve
 Steam stop valve
 Manhole
 Fire door
 Fusible Plug
 Ash pit
 Economizer
 Air preheater
 Superheater

Lancashire Boiler

Safety valve:
The safety valve is used to blow off the steam when the pressure of the steam inside the boiler
exceeds the working pressure.

Pressure gauge:
The function of the pressure gauge is to indicate the pressure of the steam inside the boiler.

Feed check valve:

It stops and allows the flow of water inside the boiler.
Water level indicator:
It indicates the level of water in the boiler. It is placed in front of the boiler. Two water level
indicators are used in the boiler.

Blow off Valve:

Its function is to remove the sediments or mud periodically that is collected at the bottom of the
boiler.

Steam stop valve:

The function of a steam stop valve is to stop and allows the flow of steam from the boiler to the
steam pipe.

Manhole:
The hole is provided on the boiler so that a man can easily enter inside the boiler for the cleaning
and repairing purpose.

Fire door:
This is used to ignite the present fuel inside or outside the boiler.

Fusible plug:
It is used to extinguish the fire inside the boiler when the water level inside the boiler falls to an
unsafe level and prevent an explosion.

It also prevents the damage that may happen due to the explosion.

Ash pit:
The Ash-pit used to collect the ash of the burnt fuel.

The other various accessories that are also used in Lancashire boiler are:

Economizer:
An economizer is a mechanical device that is used as a heat exchanger in the steam power plant.

It is used to pre-heat the fluid or water by taking the residual heat from the combustion
products( flue gases).

It is installed to increase the efficiency of the boiler.

Air pre-heater:
Air preheater is also a mechanical device that abstracts the heat from the flue gases and transfers
it to the air(atmosphere).
Superheater:
The main purpose of the superheater is to increase the temperature of the saturated steam without
any change in the pressure.

Working Principle of Lancashire Boiler:

This Lancashire boiler works on the basic principle of the heat exchanger.

It is basically a shell and tube type heat exchanger in which the flue gases flow through the tubes
and the water flows through a shell.

The heat is transfer from flue gases to the water through convection.

It is a natural circulation boiler that uses the natural current to flow the water inside the boiler.

Applications of Lancashire Boiler:

Lancashire Boiler can be used in several filed like:

 The Lancashire boiler is used to drive steam turbines, locomotives, marines, etc.
 It is used in industries like paper industries, textile industries, sugar industries, tire
industries, etc.

Advantages of Lancashire Boiler:

These are some advantages of Lancashire boiler:

 This has high thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency is about 80 to 90%.

 This is easy to operate.
 It can easily meet the load requirement.
 Easy to maintain.
 Low consumption of electricity due to natural circulation.

Disadvantages of Lancashire boiler:

Although a Lancashire boiler has some disadvantages and those are:

 This is a low-pressure type boiler, so high-pressure steam is not produced.

 It has a limited grate area due to the small diameter of the flue tubes.
 The steam production rate is low. It is about 9000 kg/hr.
 Corrosion occurs in the water legs.
 This boiler requires more floor space.

Cornish Boiler: Definition, Parts, Working, Advantages, Applications

Cornish Boiler is a fire tube boiler.
After Cochran, Locomotive, Scotch marine boiler, a Cornish boiler is another type of fire tube
boiler.

This type of boiler works on very limited pressure which is up to 20 bar only.

It has a long horizontal cylinder with a single large flue containing the fire.

Today we will study Definition, Parts or Construction, Working, Application, Advantages, and
Disadvantages of Cornish Boiler.

Let’s start

Definition Cornish Boiler:

Cornish boiler is a fire tube boiler that works is to produce steam by the burning of fuel(coal) and
further used in the steam turbine, textile or sugar mill industry and so on.

Construction or Parts of Cornish Boiler:

A Cornish Boiler consists of several parts those are:

 Shell
 Grate
 Furnace
 Combustion chamber
 Chimney
 Smokebox
 Water level indicator
 Safety Valve
 Man Hole
 Stop Valve
 Blow off valve

Let’s study one by one,

Shell:
A shell contains water inside it as well as a tube. The transfer of heat between water takes place
in the shell.

And also the shell is like it covers all the components of the boiler and it is also called the main
body.

Grate:
It is a door form which the fuel is provided for burning and generating heat.
The grate is located at the bottom of the furnace.

Furnace:
A furnace works like a mediator you know why? because it is connected between the fire tube
and the combustion chamber.

Here fuel burns and produces Heat.

Combustion chamber:
Here in the combustion chamber the fuel burns and produces heat which is then supplied to the
tube here water is surrounded.

The combustion chamber is connected to the furnace.

Ash pit:
Here ash of fuel which is completely burned and no use inside the boiler.

Chimney:
The chimney is here for releasing the exhaust gases to the atmosphere.

Smokebox:
The smokebox is provided here to collect the smoke and further sends it to the chimney.

Water level indicator:

This is an instrument which gives the detail of the water level of the boiler. This also works
when water exceeds the limit or water down the limit.

Safety Valve:
The safety valve is another type instrument which is used for safety purpose and This also works
when no other indicators work.

Man Hole:
It is the main hole from which when any components inside the boiler get damage then an
engineer will enter and replace it from here.

Stop Valve:
The stop valve is also used for regulating the control of things.
Blow off valve:
A blow of valve is used to clean the boiler by discharging the water and sediments from the
bottom of the boiler

Working Principle of Cornish Boiler:

The working substance here is COAL.

Lets study working,

At the grate, the fuel which is coal is provided and it sends to the furnace.

Here we burn the fuel by providing some amount of fire to it. So as we know this is a single large
tube boiler.

Burning of coal produces the heat which is then sent to the tube and here water is surrounded.

Why water is surrounded automatically? Because we supply water here and with the use of an
instrument, water level indicator we measure the level of water.

So now tube has as much heat that water gets start heated which means water first converts into
saturated steam and then it further heated and converts into superheated steam which is now
working steam.

The steam can be further used for different purposes.

Meanwhile here the burning coal ash comes to the ash pit and from here it comes to the
smokebox and the gas will release to the chimney to the environment.

And we extract the ash from the system and clean this.

Advantages of Cornish Boiler:

The advantages of a Cornish boiler are:

 The designs are simple and easy.

 The construction is easy and its compactness.
 It is a portable types boiler.
 The maintenance cost is low.
 It can handle load fluctuation to some extent.

Disadvantages of Cornish Boiler:

These are some disadvantages of Cornish Boiler:
 It is a type of low production steam rate which is around 1350 kg/hour.
 The pressure is low comparatively other boilers which are 12-13 bar.

Applications of Cornish Boiler:

Application of the Cornish boiler are:

 It is used in several industries like sugar, mill, chemical, and other more industry.
 It is also used to run the steam turbine.
 Cornish Boiler used in marines.

Scotch Marine Boiler: Definition, Parts, Working, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages,

Application
Scotch marine boiler is a fire tube boiler. It is used for marine works. Why this boiler works only
marine? Because as per need the several parameter Scotch marine boiler full fills all the
parameters. Like,

 The efficiency is great.

 The size of this boiler is small and
 It can generate or produce steam from any type of water which is great advantages.

This is another most important type of boiler.

Today we will study the definition, Parts, Working, Types, Advantages, Disadvantages, and
other applications.

Note: You can easily download the PDF below.

Scotch Marine Boiler Definition:

Scotch marine boiler is a fire tube boiler that works is to produce steam from water and it is
mainly used at marine.

Parts or Construction of Scotch Marine Boiler:

Scotch Marine Boiler consists of several parts and other accessories which are:

1. Soot Blower
2. Pressure gauge
3. Main Hole
4. Safety Valve
5. Whistle valve
6. Boiler tubes
7. Furnace
8. Combustion chamber
9. Chimney
10. Smokebox
11. Boiler shell

Scotch marine boiler

Let us know each one by one,

Soot Blower:
Soot means kind of dust.

It is used here for removing soot that is deposited at the internal surface of the boiler. If we do
not remove it then boiler efficiency will decrease.

Pressure gauge:
This is an instrument. The main function of is pressure gauge is to measure the pressure of the
boiler.

Main Hole or Manhole:

It is also called a manhole. why? Because from this hole a man(boiler specialist) enters when
boiler parts get damaged so to change it for working properly.
Safety valve:
It gives information about boilers like pressure, water, heat and other substance used.

It is used when the main assigned instrument not works.

Whistle valves:
This is an instrument and used for producing a whistle when it reaches the limit as per set.

Boiler tubes:
Boiler tube is used for two purposes:

 Water
 Heat

Here in the boiler tubes, there is heat inside and water is surrounded them.

Furnace:
A furnace is provided here for the burning of fuel substance to generate heat and further use of
that heat. In this type of boiler, each furnace has its own combustion chamber.

Combustion chamber:
Here the combustion of fuel takes place.

Here a number of the smoke tube is placed which is connected to directly chimney from the
combustion chamber.

Smoke Box:
The smokebox is placed because here the smoke will come and collect it and sends to the
chimney.

Chimney:
The chimney is mainly known for exhausting the smokes.

The exhaust gas or smoke is released here into the environment through this chimney.

Boiler shell:
Boiler shell is an important part of the boiler, It is made up of steel and has much strength and to
protect internal parts of the boiler.
Now let’s study how it works:

Working of Scotch Marine boiler:

The fuel is supplied through the fire hole and here the fire is provided to start burning of fuel to
generate heat.

The burning fuel comes into the furnace and here remaining parts will burn completely.

The heat generated by burning of fuel now sends to the boiler tube which is under the boiler.
Water is surrounded by the tube.

The heat generated is much high and due to that, even the tube gets hot.

Due to the heated tubes, the water starts getting heated and its phase is 1st water to saturated
steam and saturated steam to superheated steam.

Which is now completely is the steam phase.

The steam now can be used for propelling the turbine and more.

The burned or exhaust gas further sends to the smokebox and from the smokebox further, it
sends to the chimney and here it releases to the atmosphere.

Here several valves are used for several purposes.

Types of scotch marine boiler:

1. Single-ended and
2. Double-ended marine boiler.

Let us know one by one.

Single-ended scotch marine boiler:

The boiler length is up to 3.5 meters only.

It contains one to four furnaces and it enters from the front door of the boiler.

Double-ended scotch marine boiler:

The boiler length is up to 6 to 7 meters.

It contains 1 to 4 furnace each side which means both side front and back end we can set furnace.
Advantages of Scotch marine boiler:

 The size of the boiler is not so big comparatively another boiler.

 The boiler efficiency is great.
 A cost-effective boiler.
 It can generate steam with the use of any type of water which is a major advantage.

Disadvantages of Scotch Marine Boiler:

 It cannot be used for large plants. Used for limited or small plants
 This is a fire tube boiler so the steam formation or generation quality is not much good
comparatively water tube boiler.
 For output, more floor area is required.
 Load variation can not be controlled easily.

Application of scotch marine boiler:

 It is used at marine works.

 Or we can say it is used on ships.