MECH8080 – Fall 2019

High Pressure Boiler Design,

Combustion, Feedwater
Week 2 – Lecture
 • Development of boiler design
Agenda • Boiler terminology
• Boiler systems
Development of
boiler design

BRAINSTORM

• What is a boiler?
• What do they do?
• Why do we need them?
• Who needs them?
 Development of boiler design

• Boiler Classifications (ASME)

• Hot water supply boiler
• Low pressure hot water heating boiler
• Low pressure steam heating boiler (≤15psi)
• Power hot water boiler
• Power steam boiler (>15psi)
• Small power boiler
High and Low Pressure Steam Boilers
• Low Pressure Steam Boiler
• Operates at MAWP of ≤15psi
• Where would these likely be used?
• Heating buildings
• Heating domestic water

• High Pressure Steam Boilers

• What are they also known as?
• Power Boilers
• Operates at a MAWP of ≥15psi
• Where would these likely be used?
• Generating electricity
• Papermills for driers
• Running prime movers such as turbines that drive pumps etc.
• Breweries
• Etc.
 • What are two main things do you need to
make steam?
• Water
• Heat
• How do we utilize the heat?
Development • Through a heat transfer surface

of boiler • Typically via metal tubes with heat on

one side, and water/steam on the
design other
• Three general types of boilers (more
details in coming weeks):
• Watertube
• Firetube
• Electric
What do boilers
look like?
What do boilers
look like?
What do boilers
look like?
 • Enthalpy – Total heat in the steam from a specific reference point
• Deaerator – A vessel that is used to store, heat, and remove gases from water that is
to be fed to a boiler
• Feedwater – The water that is fed to the boiler (typically from a deaerator)
• Treatedwater – The water that has been treated and sent to the deaerator
• Condensate – Condensed steam that is being returned back to the deaerator

Key Boiler • Deaerator – A vessel that is used to store, heat, and remove gases (typically oxygen)
from water that is to be fed to a boiler

Terminology
• Feedwater pump – Takes water from the deaerator and sends it to the boiler drum
(sometimes economizer first)
• Economizer – Heats feedwater through utilizing exhaust gas heat

(take 5 mins to •
•
Boiler drum – Contains the boiler water and steam mixture
Superheater – The saturated steam that leaves the boiler drum enters the

review)
superheater where it receives more heat
• Non-return valve – A ‘check-valve’ that prevents steam from traveling back to the
boiler in reverse direction
• Stop Valve – A positive seal valve that isolates the boiler from the main steam line
• Stop-and-check Valve – Combination of a non-return and stop valve
• Steam header – Multiple boilers typically feed into a common header to feed steam
to end users
• Load – Steam turbine, generator, oil processing etc.
Key Boiler Terminology
continued
Lets sketch out the flow utilizing the terms we just
reviewed
 Boiler Systems and More Terminology

• Steam System
• Feedwater system
• Fuel system
• Draft system
• Instrumentation and control
 • Steam System
• Feedwater flows into the boiler
• Steam (vapour) formed when water
heated to be used in loads to
perform work
Boiler Systems • Steam is an efficient method of
transporting ‘stored’ energy to
perform work
• Is steam a gas?
• YES
 Boiler Systems

• Steam System
 Boiler Systems

• Feedwater system
• How many kgs of water do you need to make a kg of steam?
• Conservation of mass!!!!

• Typically at least one duty and one standby feedwater pump

• Located below deaerator for positive suction pressure on the pumps
• Have their own isolation valves for maintenance so other pump can remain in service
• Control typically through on/off system (small boilers), variable drives or through a discharge control
valve to feed the needed amount of water to the boiler
 Boiler Systems

• Feedwater system
 • Feedwater system continued
• A simple single element feedwater
control uses a float system to
determine when water should be
fed to the boiler.
• More complex systems use three
element control that will look at
Boiler Systems boiler level, steam flow out, and
water flow in.
• This is more common in large
boilers with changing loads to
account for shrink and swell
within the drum.
• Demonstration on board.
 Boiler Systems

• Feedwater system continued

• Why is it so important to have the correct amount of feedwater going to the boiler?
• Protection of boiler so tubes do not overheat
• Boiler explosions
• Tube ruptures
• Control of drum level, chemical levels and steam purity
 • Feedwater system continued
• What is feedwater?
• High purity, chemically treated water
that is fed from the deaerator to the
boiler
• What can happen if a boiler loses its water?
• Damage to boiler tubes
• Loss of drum level (boiler trip……it
Boiler Systems should!!!!!)
• Explosions
• What is the purpose of a float and the feed
valve?
• A float senses the level of the boiler
water
• Signal from float sent to feed valve to
tell it what position it needs to be in
 • Fuel Systems
• We need heat!!!!!

• What are a few examples of fuel

sources to create heat for boilers?
• Natural gas
Boiler Systems • Coal
• Oil
• By-product fuels (from
secondary processes)
• Coke gas, Blast gas, Liquors
• Nuclear
 Boiler Systems

• Fuel Systems Continued

 Boiler Systems

• Fuel Systems Continued

 Boiler Systems

• Fuel Systems Continued

 • Draft Systems (more details in later lecture)
• Draft:
• A pressure differential between two
points that causes flow of air/gas
• Why do we need draft?
• For complete and optimal combustion
Boiler Systems • How do we have draft?
• Mechanical
• Force draft fan
• Induced draft fan
• Natural draft from temperature
differences
 • Instrumentation and Control Systems
• Instrumentation
• Devices/instruments used to measure
conditions for monitoring and control
• Control System
• Devices/instruments in combination with
controllers that are utilized together to
control a system within preset parameters
• Eg/ Our feedwater float and control
Boiler Systems valve
• What are some parameters in a boiler that we
would like to measure and control within limits?
(take 5 mins)
• Boiler drum level
• Steam pressure
• Temperature
• Oxygen level in your flue gases (fuel
combustion/safety/environment)
• Valve positions (feedback)
 • What a boiler does, why we have them,
how they do it
• Common terminology and how pieces
interconnect
• General Boiler systems
• Feedwater
Summary of • Fuel
topics • Draft
• Instrumentation and Control
• Over the coming weeks we will be
getting into more details of all of these
systems solidifying our understanding
 Review

• A ______ steam boiler has hot gases of combustion passing through tubes that are surrounded
by water.
A – Firetube
B – Flex-tube
C – Watertube
D – Electric
A - Firetube
 Review

• A ______ steam boiler has water inside tubes with gases of combustion around the tubes.
A – Firetube
B – Condensing
C – Watertube
D – Electric
C- Watertube
 Review

• The ratio of heat absorbed by the boiler (output) to the heat available in the fuel (input) is known
as the ______.
A – Heat Recovery
B – Heat Efficiency
C – Thermal Efficiency
D – Thermal Rate
C- Thermal Efficiency
 Review

• As steam is being produced, its pressure is controlled and ______ valves protect the boiler if the
pressure control fails.
A – Automatic Nonreturn
B – Main Steam Stop
C – Safety
D – Bypass
C- Safety