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) steam gen-
erator (Fig. 22), located at Ohio Power Companys Philo
plant, delivered 675,000 lb/h (85 kg/s) steam at 4550 psi
(31.4 MPa); the steam was superheated to 1150F (621C)
with two reheats to 1050 and 1000F (566 and 538C).
B&W built and tested its first once-through steam gen-
erator for 600 psi (4.1 MPa) in 1916, and built an experi-
mental 5000 psi (34.5 MPa) unit in the late 1920s.
The UP boiler, so named because it can be designed
for subcritical or supercritical operation, is capable of
rapid load pickup. Increases in load rates up to 5% per
minute can be attained.
Fig. 23 shows a typical 1300 MW UP boiler rated
at 9,775,000 lb/h (1232 kg/s) steam at 3845 psi (26.5
MPa) and 1010F (543C) with reheat to 1000F (538C).
In 1987, one of these B&W units, located in West Vir-
ginia, achieved 607 days of continuous operation.
Most recently, UP boilers with spiral wound fur-
naces (SWUP steam generators) have gained wider
acceptance for their on/off cycling capabilities and
their ability to operate at variable pressure with
higher low load power cycle efficiency (see Fig. 24).
Subcritical units, however, remain the dominant
design in the existing worldwide boiler fleet. Coal has
remained the dominant fuel because of its abundant
supply in many countries.
Other fuels and systems
B&W has continued to develop steam generators
that can produce power from an ever widening array
of fuels in an increasingly clean and environmentally
acceptable manner. Landmark developments by B&W
include atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion instal-
Air Heater
Catalyst
Economizer
SCR
Primary
Superheater
Final Reheat
Superheater
Furnace
Steam
Drum
Platen Secondary
Superheater
Secondary
Superheater
Pulverizer
Forced Draft
Fan
Primary Air
Fan
Primary
Reheater
Fig. 20 Typical B&W
boiler design.
The Babcock & Wilcox Company
Intro-12 Steam 41 / Introduction to Steam
remains the most economical. The increasing use of
high steam pressures and temperatures, reheat super-
heaters, economizers, and air heaters has led to im-
proved efficiency in the modern steam power cycle.
Nuclear power
Since 1942, when Enrico Fermi demonstrated a con-
trolled self-sustaining reaction, nuclear fission has
been recognized as an important source of heat for
producing steam for power generation. The first sig-
nificant application of this new source was the land-
based prototype reactor for the U.S.S. Nautilus sub-
marine (Fig. 25), operated at the National Reactor
Testing Station in Idaho in the early 1950s. This pro-
totype reactor, designed by B&W, was also the basis
for land-based pressurized water reactors now being
used for electric power generation worldwide. B&W
and its affiliates have continued their active involve-
ment in both naval and land-based programs.
The first nuclear electric utility installation was the
90 MW unit at the Shippingport atomic power station
in Pennsylvania. This plant, built partly by Duquesne
Light Company and partly by the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission, began operations in 1957.
Spurred by the trend toward larger unit capacity,
developments in the use of nuclear energy for electric
power reached a milestone in 1967 when, in the U.S.,
nuclear units constituted almost 50% of the 54,000
MW of new capacity ordered that year. Single unit ca-
pacity designs have reached 1300 MW. Activity re-
garding nuclear power was also strong outside the
Fig. 22 125 MW B&W
) boiler, 1957.
Fig. 23 1300 MW B&W