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| TWO PASS BOILER |
Boiler systems are classified in a variety of ways. They can be classified according to the end use, such as foe heating, power generation or process requirements. Or they can be classified according to pressure, materials of construction, size tube contents (for example, waterside or fireside), firing, heat source or circulation. Boilers are also distinguished by their method of fabrication. Accordingly, a boiler can be pack aged or field erected. Sometimes boilers are classified by their heat source. For example, they are often referred to as oil-fired, gas-fired, coal-fired, or solid fuel –fired boilers.
Types of boilers:
Fire tube boilers :
Fire tube boilers consist of a series of straight tubes that are housed inside a water-filled outer shell. The tubes are arranged so that hot combustion gases flow through the tubes. As the hot gases flow through the tubes, they heat the water surrounding the tubes. The water is confined by the outer shell of boiler. To avoid the need for a thick outer shell fire tube boilers are used for lower pressure applications. Generally, the heat input capacities for fire tube boilers are limited to 50 mbtu per hour or less, but in recent years the size of firetube boilers has increased.
Most modern fire tube boilers have cylindrical outer shells with a small round combustion chamber located inside the bottom of the shell. Depending on the construction details, these boilers have tubes configured in either one, two, three, or four pass arrangements. Because the design of fire tube boilers is simple, they are easy to construct in a shop and can be shipped fully assembled as a package unit.
These boilers contain long steel tubes through which the hot gases from the furnace pass and around which the hot gases from the furnace pass and around which the water circulates. Fire tube boilers typically have a lower initial cost, are more fuel efficient and are easier to operate, but they are limited generally to capacities of 25 tonnes per hour and pressures of 17.5 kg per cm2.
Water tube boilers:
Water tube boilers are designed to circulate hot combustion gases around the outside of a large number of water filled tubes. The tubes extend between an upper header, called a steam drum, and one or more lower headers or drums. In the older designs, the tubes were either straight or bent into simple shapes. Newer boilers have tubes with complex and diverse bends. Because the pressure is confined inside the tubes, water tube boilers can be fabricated in larger sizes and used for higher-pressure applications.Small water tube boilers, which have one and sometimes two burners, are generally fabricated and supplied as packaged units. Because of their size and weight, large water tube boilers are often fabricated in pieces and assembled in the field.
In water tube or “water in tube” boilers, the conditions are reversed with the water passing through the tubes and the hot gases passing outside the tubes. These boilers can be of a single- or multiple-drum type. They can be built to any steam capacity and pressures, and have higher efficiencies than fire tube boilers.
Almost any solid, liquid or gaseous fuel can be burnt in a water tube boiler. The common fuels are coal, oil, natural gas, biomass and solid fuels such as municipal solid waste (MSW), tire-derived fuel (TDF) and RDF. Designs of water tube boilers that burn these fuels can be significantly different.
Coal-fired water tube boilers are classified into three major categories: stoker fired units, PC fired units and FBC boilers.
Package water tube boilers come in three basic designs: A, D and O type. The names are derived from the general shapes of the tube and drum arrangements. All have steam drums for the separation of the steam from the water, and one or more mud drums for the removal of sludge. Fuel oil-fired and natural gas-fired water tube package boilers are subdivided into three classes based on the geometry of the tubes.
The “A” design has two small lower drums and a larger upper drum for steam-water separation. In the “D” design, which is the most common, the unit has two drums and a large-volume combustion chamber. The orientation of the tubes in a “D” boiler creates either a left or right-handed configuration. For the “O” design, the boiler tube configuration exposes the least amount of tube surface to radiant heat. Rental units are often “O” boilers because their symmetry is a benefit in transportation
“D” Type boilers
“This design has the most flexible design. They have a single steam drum and a single mud drum, vertically aligned. The boiler tubes extend to one side of each drum. “D” type boilers generally have more tube surface exposed to the radiant heat than do other designs. “Package boilers” as opposed to “field-erected” units generally have significantly shorter fireboxes and frequently have very high heat transfer rates (250,000 btu per hour per sq foot). For this reason it is important to ensure high-quality boiler feedwater and to chemically treat the systems properly. Maintenance of burners and diffuser plates to minimize the potential for flame impingement is critical.
“A” type boilers:
“A” type boilers:
This design is more susceptible to tube starvation if bottom blows are not performed properly because “A” type boilers have two mud drums symmetrically below the steam drum. Drums are each smaller than the single mud drums of the “D” or “O” type boilers. Bottom blows should not be undertaken at more than 80 per cent of the rated steam load in these boilers. Bottom blow refers to the required regular blow down from the boiler mud drums to remove sludge and suspended solids.
