Tepe3 906

Calculation for design of a HRSG
at Aalborg Engineering
By
Federico Lo Brutto
Thermal Energy and Process Engineering
Department of Energy Technology

Aalborg University
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Title: Internship at Aalborg Engineering Project Report
Semester: 9th
Semester theme: Internship
Project period: 01.09.2016 to 06.01.2017
ECTS: 30
Supervisor: Thomas Condra
Project group: TEPE3-906
Synopsis: The purpose of this

report is to describe the experience
and the work done during the
____________________________________ internship carried out at Aalborg
Federico Lo Brutto Engineering A/S, in the period from
September to December 2016.
Aalborg Engineering is an
international company specialized
in customized boilers for power
plants and energy-intensive
process industries. In the report
Pages, total: 66
are presented the tasks carried out
Appendix: 12
Supplements: - during the period at the company
and their relative solutions.
By accepting the request from the fellow student who uploads the study groups project
report in Digital Exam System, you confirm that all group members have participated in the
project work, and thereby all members are collectively liable for the contents of the report.
Furthermore, all group members confirm that the report does not include plagiarism.
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Acknowledgements
I want to thank my supervisor for his guidance during this semester and his precious suggestions
that helped me very much during the work.
A special thanks goes to Anders Hjarn Jrgensen from Aalborg Engineering, who offered me the
possibility to do this traineeship. I also want to thank Rasmus Engelbrecht Christensen, Jan
Schmidt and Preben Vilhelmsen from Aalborg Engineering, for their constant support and valuable
insights in the hrsg and heat recovery field.
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Nomenclature
A: area, m^2
D: diameter, m
h: convective heat transfer coefficient, W/m^2 K
k: thermal conductivity, W/m K
L: pipe length, m
Nr.width: numbers of tubes in the width, -
Nr.lenght: numbers of tubes in the length, -
P: pressure, bar
Q: heat power, MW
q: heat flux, W/m2
R: thermal resistance, K/W
T: temperature, K
t: pipe thickness, m
U: overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m^2 K
: Critical pressure coefficient (Mostinski), -
: efficiency, -
F(p): Function of reduced pressure, -
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List of Contents
1. Introduction 9
2. Problem formulation 11
3. Reflexive Section 12
3.1. Description of the company: Aalborg Engineering 12

3.2. Work process 13
3.3. Personal expectation regarding the internship 15
3.4. Description of the work performed 16
3.4.1. Task 1: software documentation 16
3.4.1.1. Problem analysis
3.4.1.2. Problem issues
3.4.1.3. Solution
3.4.2. Task 2: design of a HRSG 19
3.4.2.2. Problem issues
3.4.2.3. Solution
3.4.3. Task 3: Calculation of overall heat transfer coefficient 21
3.4.3.2. Solution
3.5. Outcome from the Traineeship: Evaluation 21
4. Theory Section 22
4.1. Introduction to the theory section 22

4.2. HRSG Heat Recovery Steam Generator 23
4.2.1. HRSG without supplementary firing 23
4.2.1 Finned Tubing 26
4.3 Combined Cycles Water/Steam 28
4.3.1 Single pressure cycle 28
4.3.1.1 Main design parameters single pressure cycle
4.3.2 Dual pressure cycle 32
4.3.2.1 Main design parameters dual pressure cycle
4.3.3 Cycles with supplementary firing 36
4.3.4 Future Trends 37
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4.4 Overall Heat transfer Coefficient 38
4.4.1 Calculation of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient 39
4.4.2 Superheater 40
4.4.3 Economizer 42
4.4.4 Evaporator 44
4.5 Aalborg Engineering Boiler Solutions 46

4.5.1 STG4 HRSG 47
4.5.2 STG6 HRSG 48
4.5.3 STG8 HRSG 49
5. Discussion 50
5.1. Task 1 & 2: Documentation and Improvements to the Program 50
5.2. Task 3: Comparison of the Heat Transfer Coefficient 50
6. Conclusion 52
7. Literature 53
8. List of Figures 54
Appendix 55
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1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to describe the experience and the work done during the internship
carried out at Aalborg Engineering A/S, in the period from September to December 2016. Aalborg
Engineering is an international company specialized in customized boilers for power plants and
energy-intensive process industries.
The company needed to produce documentation about their calculation routines for the design of
a new boiler, for which they use a program in Microsoft Visual Basic/Excel. They offered me the
possibility of working at the company for four months to produce the necessary documentation.
An additional task from the company revealed to be significant during the work: the improvement
of the control program (Styreblade) for the calculation according to my suggestions.
I participated to several meetings with colleagues and external consultants to experience the
working life at the company and to learn how to exchange information efficiently between
colleagues. In the last part of the internship period I decided to investigate one calculation routine
largely used by the company, the estimation of the overall heat transfer coefficient in each
components of the boiler, an important parameter in order to define the final heating surface of
the unit. I therefore studied some necessary methods and applied the formulas to get the results,
which I finally compared with the available company data.
This report is organized in chapters and subchapters. The first chapter is considered this
introduction, so actually the report starts from chapter 2, with the problem formulation.
The third chapter is the reflexive section, in which the company is described as well as the work
performed. For each task, it is presented the problem analysis, the principal issues constituted by
the task, and finally the solution I came up with. The section ends with an evaluation of the
outcome received from the internship.
The fourth chapter is the theory section, in which I describe all the theoretical background needed
in order to complete the different tasks. It starts with the presentation of the HRSGs in general
with their characteristics, and continues with the combined-cycles gas-water, the core technology
behind the waste heat recovery systems. The section goes on with the overall heat transfer
coefficient calculation and methods used and ends with the presentation of the principal boilers
produced by AE.
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The sixth chapter contains the discussion relative to the different tasks performed, with the focus
this time on the results achieved, globally and personally. From this point of view it was natural to
insert here the brief comparison and comments about the calculation of the heat transfer
coefficient.
The next chapter is the conclusion of the report (6), and in the following ones there are the
literature (7) consulted for the report, the lists of figures (8), and finally the appendix.
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2. Problem Formulation
During the period at Aalborg Engineering my main task was to document the calculation program
used for the design of a HRSG and do the reverse engineering of some of their calculation
routines. The program used by the company is implemented in Microsoft Visual Basic and
Microsoft Excel. The work done can be organized in three different tasks.
The first task consists into producing documentation for the company of all the functions and
procedures involved into the main routine of the calculation software for the design of a new
boiler.
The second task consists into the re-implementation of the data setup of the program for the
boiler calculations, and at the same time the improvement of the interface of the Excel control
program (Styreblade), with the purpose of making it more user-friendly for the users who will
perform the calculations in the future.
The purpose of the third task is completely academic orientated: there is not any practical use of
the work done, beside the personal learning outcome. At the end of the second task I decided to
investigate the estimation procedure of one of the crucial parameters during the design process of
a heat exchanger: the overall heat transfer coefficient.
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3. Reflexive Section
3.1. Description of the company: Aalborg Engineering
Aalborg Engineering A/S (AE) is an international company specializing in energy-efficient,

customized boilers for power plants and energy-intensive process industries. The core
competencies of the company is engineering and design, production and construction as well as
commissioning and maintenance of boiler plants for steam production and flue gas heat recovery.
Aalborg Engineering is headquartered in Aalborg and subsidiaries in Slovakia and Turkey.
The main office in Denmark is located in Sofiendalsvej 93, Aalborg.
The company employs over 100 employees, performing an annual turnover DKK 300-450 million.
The main markets are Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
They claim to be able to deeply understand energy, and from this perspective they sell their
competences in the field of design and construction of boilers to other firms, those companies act
like middlemen and sell the turn-key solution to the end-user.
Aalborg Engineering is owned partly by the Danish industrial group Intrade Holding and partly by
Steam Team 04, which is an investment company fully owned by a large group of employees from
Aalborg Engineering itself.
From the beginning, the mission for the company has been to deliver customized industrial boiler
plants to customers in Europe and the Middle East.
Aalborg Engineering is a leading supplier of industrial boiler systems with a focus on Heat Recovery
Steam Generators (HRSG), operating in a very competitive industry with activities spanning from
Europe to The Middle East. Born as a spin-off from Aalborg Industries in 2000, the company has
set the goal of being the lifetime partner for customized boiler plants for each customer, focusing
on close partnerships.
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Figure 1. A team of engineers from AE on the installation site
3.2 Work Process

This is the work procedure followed when a new order enters the company. AE is organized in
departments and teams following the ideal concept of this procedure. The supervision I received
was from Basic Design Engineering Team.
Sales
An all-round engineer analyzes the customers needs and specifications and a framework for the
total project is made. The sales engineer continues to be an important part of the project to
secure a high level of proactive consultancy and efficient internal communication.
Project planning
The project management develops a project plan including a description of the necessary human
resources, a time schedule with milestones, a risk analysis and an economical calculation of the
total project. An internal expert team is picked and the conceptual design begins.
Conceptual design
The engineers in the design phase understand the whole supply chain and take into account what
the following phases/steps need. Within three weeks the majority of the basic diagrams,
calculations and drawings are made and the heart of the project is ready for further refinement.
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Engineering
The designed boiler solution is optimized in order to adapt to the customers specific
requirements.
Procurement
When the engineering process is done the procurement takes care of purchasing and negotiation
and ensures the manufacturing is outsourced to selected partners. Procurement also ensures that
the right materials are bought and can be shipped to the manufacturers in time.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing of the products is outsourced to a few selected partners according to the
strategic outsourcing program. Aalborg Engineering is participating in certain inspections to ensure
the right quality, and is reevaluating the manufactures from time to time.
Logistics
The key assignment is to make sure that the needed materials are delivered at the specified
locations at the agreed time. One person is responsible for the transportation of raw materials and
another person takes care of the logistics regarding the manufactured goods.
Site work
Aalborg Engineering offers to supervise the site work during the construction of the boiler plant.
Warranty
Aalborg Engineering is committed to offer after sales service and expertise after delivery and there
is an extended warranty on their boiler solutions.
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Figure 2. Aalborg Engineering organization chart
3.3 Personal expectation regarding the internship

My very first expectation when I received the opportunity to do an internship in a Danish
engineering company was to discover if I can see myself in this typology of work, and in particular I
was curious to see how the Danish way of life influences the daily work. I also wanted to put
myself in a completely new challenge, considering the difference from the normal semester at the
university, which was become my routine for the previous 5 years. Regarding the work, I strongly
desired to carry on something useful for the company, in order to get a taste of the true work and
cooperation in an engineering company.
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3.4 Description of the work
During the period at Aalborg Engineering my main task was to document the calculation
program used for the design of a HRSG and do the reverse engineering of some of their
calculation routines. The program used by the company is implemented in Microsoft Visual
Basic and Microsoft Excel. I was completely new at Visual Basic, while I was familiar with the
second one. This required a brief introduction to the software before starting to work on the
task, so I spent some time reading a manual and some online guides to gather all the necessary
basic knowledge about the program.
3.4.1 Task 1: Documentation of the functions & procedures
3.4.1.1 Problem analysis
The task consists into producing documentation for the company of all the functions and
boiler.
3.4.1.2 Problem issues
First of all, the whole program consists in more than 100 different functions and procedures
and works with several iteration loops that makes the program quite difficult to read.
Moreover it was immediate to notice that most of the procedures were completely not
commented, making necessary an accurate and deep analysis in order to understand.
Depending on which typology of boiler has been selected for the design process, not all the
procedures may be involved directly in the calculation. The use of them is regulated by an
external control program in one Excel sheet (Styreblad).
The second main difficulty was introduced by the time-factor: indeed the most experienced
engineer in the use of the program, who had implemented many of the functions within the
program itself, was leaving the company at the end of November, making it very important the
ability to extract as much as possible from his knowledge in the short time available.
Last but not least, most of the variables, names of the functions and procedures, were written
in Danish, thus it was necessary a continuous translation back and forward from Danish to
English.
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3.4.1.3 Solution
The first strategy I decided to follow to deal with the large amount of functions was to start
creating a vocabulary of all the words, variables, components present in the code. That helped
me in the understanding and allowed me to save time in the future work.
Then, following a chronological order, I started to analyse the code step by step, trying to
figure out at the same time the job of all the functions and the overall view of the program.
This idea turned out soon to be quite a failure, since it was not possible to carry on further
more due to the fact that the number of iteration loops made impossible to understand the
overall working without knowing the precise job of each procedure before. I decided then to
use another approach.
The new strategy consisted into dividing the whole program into a lot of small blocks, basically
one of them for each component of the system (i.e. block A=economizer calculations, block B=
heat balances, etc...). By solving each block separately, it was possible to build the solution
from each block and to get the whole idea out of it. A consistent help, especially at the
beginning, was provided by the sketching of a block-chart, which opened the way to draw the
main routine diagram later on in the process. [Figure KDP all procedures, Appendix A]
Once that all the procedures were solved it was time to get a clear overview of the whole
process. An idea of the procedures and components involved it is shown in the figures below.
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Figure 3 KDP Main Procedures
Beside the charts I produced also a documentation of all the procedures involved, taking
inspiration from the existing documentation of the software Matlab on the website Mathworks.
[Ref:https://se.mathworks.com/help/matlab/]
This document lists for each function or procedure the syntax, the inputs and the outputs, the
variables description, the explanation of the job of the function and my personal comments for
improvement. An example of this document can be found in the appendix [Appendix A].
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Figure 4- KDP Main Routine
3.4.2 Task 2: Software setup for HRSG and Improvements
The second task consists into the re-implementation of the setup of the program for the boiler
calculations, and at the same time the improving of the interface of the Excel setup worksheet,
with the purpose of making it more user-friendly for new users who will perform the
calculations in the future.
3.4.2.2 Problem issues
The understanding of the requirements needed for the setup did not represent any particular
difficulty, once it is clear how the program works; on the contrary it gave me the chance to go
deeper into the handling of the different inputs/outputs for each function.
Instead, the improvement of the control worksheet showed to be a task of not simple and
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immediate solution, due to the high amount of information needed to be balanced with the
necessity of making the worksheet appearing not too messy.
3.4.2.3 Solution
To fulfil the first part of the task I took advantage of the frequent meetings I had with the
design engineers from the company, who explained me how the calculation process works,
especially the importance of many parameters which are sometimes provided by the
customers, some others they need to be guessed or estimated by the engineer himself. I also
made large use of the work and material produced previously.
For the second part, in addition of the translation of all the variables and the existent notes in
English (required from the company), my choice was to create several option-solutions to be
analyzed from the employers involved the most into the use of the program. Once that I
received their feedbacks I built the final solution, as a combination of different ones previously
tried. In particular this work has been used by the company to instruct new employees on the
handling of the calculation software.
The final product consists in the new worksheets (one for each typical boiler solution),
together with a more detailed description in words on the use of the program, and one other
that gives all the ranges and selection criteria on the required parameters (i.e. pipes material,
fins thickness, feed water temperature, etc...) to allow the program to run all the calculations.
It is not possible, in agreement with the company, to show the worksheets on the case-based
report, nevertheless some samples of the written documentation are available in the appendix
[Appendix B].
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3.4.3 Task 3: Calculation of the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
This task was carried out during the last period of the internship, and it was discussed between
me and the supervisor. The purpose of the task is completely academic-orientated: there is not
any practical use of the work done, beside the personal learning outcome. At the end of the
second task I decided to investigate the calculation of one of the crucial parameters during the
design process of a heat exchanger, the overall heat transfer coefficient, which, together with
other parameters, defines the performance of the component.
3.4.3.2 Solution
The detailed calculation steps are shown and explained in the theory section, chapter 5.4.
3.5 Evaluation from the Traineeship: Outcome

I consider my global experience at Aalborg Engineering extremely positive. Beside some initial
difficulties such as not understanding the Danish language, the code complexity and especially the
lack of time for completing the task, since the Project Engineer in charge of the handling of the
calculation code was leaving AE before the end of the internship, I was able to carry out the tasks
proposed with the full satisfaction of the company.
My very first expectation, to discover if I could see myself in this type of work, was absolutely
fulfilled. I found the work environment extremely positive and motivating. My other expectation
was to do something really useful for the company, and I am very happy about that they
substituted with my version of the control program the old one they used for long time for the
calculations.
I also had the chance to find out more about the Danish culture, being in close contact with many
local traditions, or simple daily habits so different from mine.
Regarding the subject I dealt with, the working of industrial boilers and HRSG, I learned a lot either
from the explanations and tips from the colleagues, either from my personal study.
Finally I got the possibility to carry on with the work at Aalborg Engineering, by receiving the offer
of a project for my master thesis and the possibility of a job after the end of my studies.
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4. Theory Section
4.1. Introduction to the theory section
This section is divided into different chapters, trying to cover the theoretical background relative
to the work performed during the internship period. This introduction is considered as the first
chapter.
The second one starts introducing the HRSG (Heat Recovery Steam Generator) in general and
presents all the technologies analyzed during the work time, with particular attention to the
combined cycles and their main design parameters, which have been discussed more in detail in
the third chapter.
The fourth chapter analyzes some expect of the heat exchange occurring typically within the
boilers. The chapter continues with the calculation of the overall heat transfer coefficient for three
main components of the STG8-HRSG without firing studied during the internship.
The last chapter of the section shows some of the most widespread HRSG produced by Aalborg
Engineering: STG4, STG6 and STG8 with no additional firing, that it was the one analyzed in
particular during the internship.
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4.2. HRSG- Heat Recovery Steam Generator
The HRSG is the connection between the gas turbine and the steam turbine process. There are
three different common arrangements:
HRSG without supplementary firing

HRSG with supplementary firing
HRSG with maximum supplementary firing (steam generators)
The most used configuration today is generally the first type, HRSG without supplementary firing.
The function of an HRSG is the conversion of the thermal energy of the exhaust gases from a gas
turbine into steam.
First the water is heated up into the economizer until almost saturation condition, then enters the
drum. From the drum it is forwarded to the evaporator and come back to the drum as a mixture of
water and steam, where they can be separated. Saturated steam goes away from the drum and it
is sent to the superheater, where it finds the hottest temperature from the exhaust gases and can
be super heated until the desired temperature.
The heat exchange in an HRSG occurs up to a maximum of three pressure levels, depending on the
quality of heat to be recovered and the application. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
4.2.1. HRSG without Supplementary Firing
An HRSG of this type is essentially a pure convective heat exchanger. The temperatures are
relatively low if compared with the case with additional firing and therefore radiation effects are
considered not that important, if not entirely negligible [Condra, 2016]. HRSGs can be designed in
two main configurations, based on the direction of the flow through the boiler: vertical HRSG or
horizontal HRSG.
In the past vertical HRSGs were usually installing circulation pumps in order to provide positive
circulation through the evaporator tubes, and this is why they are also known as forced-circulation
HRSGs. Today anyway vertical boilers can work with natural circulation as well, with only some
specific design requirements for the start-up condition. The water flow tubes are horizontal, to
facilitate the heat exchange whit the exhaust gases, whose path is vertical, following the height of
the HRSG.
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Figure 5. Forced circulation vertical HRSG
The horizontal HRSG is generally known instead as a natural-circulation HRSG, since circulation
occurs entirely by gravity, because of the difference of density between water and boiling mixture,
through the evaporator section. In this typology of boiler the water circuit tubes are vertical.
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Figure 6. Horizontal natural circulation HRSG
Both the typologies, vertical and horizontal, can be used in a combined cycle plant. Typical
advantages of the vertical HRSGs are:
Small footprint requirement, due to the vertical arrangement

Smaller volume of the boiler, due to the use of smaller diameter tubes
Less sensitivity to steam blockage during startup in the economizer.
The main advantage of the horizontal arrangement is constituted by the fact that no pumps are
required to assure a positive circulation. In applications where a pressure above 100 bar is
required, where the pumps have to be designed carefully, this is an important factor [Kehlhofer,
2009]. A second advantage is that heat exchange tubes in the evaporator have to be preferably
vertical, to avoid dry-out issues in the tubes.
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Currently innovations in design techniques for horizontal boilers have solved most of the
disadvantages relative to vertical boilers. The requirements regarding space and startup time are
nowadays similar, the diameter of the pipes has been reduced, and the steam blockage can be
handled more easily, thanks to the modern technologies. The pinch point obtainable in the high
and intermediate pressure evaporators are now the same, the only substantial difference remain
into the low pressure evaporator for large HRSGs. These factors justify the overcome of the
horizontal HRSGs with natural circulation today. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
4.2.2 Finned Tubing
Convection is the governing factor in heat transfer in the HRSG. Since the heat transfer is much
better on the water side, finned tubes are used on the exhaust gases side in order to increase the
heating surface. A typical fin density for an HRSG of a bottoming cycle for a gas turbine is 200 to
280 fins per meter [Kehlhofer, 2009]. The use of small diameter finned tubes provides an
important increase in the heating surface, with a relative growth of the cost.
Hereafter are presented some of the most common finned tubes used into boiler applications with
pros and cons. The plain tube characteristics are also shown as a comparison term.
Plain Tubes: The main advantages of this typology are the high heat transfer coefficient (W/m^2
*K), the low surface temperature and its simplicity, that makes it easy to clean. The principal
disadvantage is constitute by the low effective heating surface (m^2 / m tube).
Spiral Finned Tubes: This type of tubes are the

most used in the plant having clean exhaust
gases, which it is the case of natural gas used as
a fuel, while they present some difficulties in
presence of dirty fuels. The pros are the
compact heating surface and the excellent
supporting possibilities, but they are difficult to
clean and have a low heat transfer coefficient
and in general a bad reputation with dirty
streams. They fins typology can be solid fins or Figure 7. serrated and solid fins
serrated fins, like shown in the figure. [Condra,
1984] [AE, 2016]
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Parallel Finned Tubes: Pros are the compact heating surface like in the spiral case, a better
exploitation of the volume occupied, and especially in the case of double tubes a better vibration
resistance and a minor cost. The main disadvantages are the relatively low heat transfer
coefficient and the cost for tube supporting. Also this type of tubes is sensitive to the soot fires.
[Condra, 1984] [AE, 2016]
Figure 8. Double parallel finned tube
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4.3 Combined Cycles Gas-Water/Steam
In this chapter are presented the most common concepts regarding a combined cycle with a gas
turbine connected with a bottoming cycle based on water/steam. An analysis of each concept is
done to explain how the different parameters affect the performance of the cycle. The thermal
energy source supplied to the steam process is given by the exhaust gases of the gas turbine, and
the efficiency of this process is proportional to the output of the steam turbine. Considering the
total combined-cycle power output, the steam turbine is able to provide approximately 30-40% of
the amount. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
4.3.1 Single-pressure cycle
The simplest type of combined water/steam cycle is a single-pressure cycle, which means that the
HRSG produces steam, whatever the future use, at one pressure level.
In this case the HRSG consists of only three heat exchanger sections:
Economizer
Evaporator
Superheater
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Figure 9. Q-T diagram of a single pressure HRSG
The figure above shows the T-Q diagram for a single-pressure HRSG. In the economizer takes place
the heating up of the feed water to a temperature close to the saturation point. The difference
between the water temperature at the economizer outlet and the saturation temperature itself is
called approach temperature. After the economizer, the feed water enters the evaporator where
it is evaporated at constant temperature and pressure. Steam, separated from water previously
into the drum, is fed to the superheater where it is heated up to the required live-steam
conditions.
It is easy to recognize the three different sections of heat exchange. The area between the exhaust
gases and the water/steam line represent the total exergy loss in the HRSG. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
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4.3.1.1 Main Design Parameters of the Single-Pressure Cycle
It is possible to identify two important parameters defining an HRSG in this diagram. The approach
temperature, introduced above, is typically around 5 to 12 K [Kehlhofer, 2009], and it is necessary
in order to avoid evaporation to occur already within the economizer, at off-design condition.
The pinch point temperature instead is the minimum difference between the evaporation and the
exhaust gases temperature. This parameter is crucial when defining the heating surface of the
HRSG. The lower the pinch point, the larger heating surface is required, with an increase of the
steam production, and vice-versa. On the other hand, with a lower pinch point the steam turbine
output can be increased, due to a better utilization of the heat in HRSG. The value is typically
between 8 and 15 K [Kehlhofer, 2009], but in its design also the economical parameters of the
plant must be taken into account. The figure below shows the relation between pinch point,
heating surface, boiler price and steam production. The steam production can be increased by
lowering the pinch point, but that would necessarily lead to an increase in the heating surface,
which is directly related to the price of the HRSG. The optimization of the pinch point is typically
not an easy task, because it requires taking into account a lot of different factors, such as the fuel
price and the rate of variation of the price itself. [Condra, 1984]
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Figure 10. Pinch point variation
Expanding the steam at a higher live-steam pressure gives a higher steam turbine outcome due to
the larger enthalpy drop in the turbine section. However, a high live-steam pressure, the highest
pressure reached in the bottoming cycle, does not mean automatically a high efficiency of the
cycle. The evaporation temperature in the HRSG will raise together with the pressure, thus less
steam will be produced, and the exhaust gases will end up at higher temperature, which means a
lower overall HRSG efficiency. The design engineers usually have to find an optimum between
these two aspects. The limiting factor for the selection of the live-steam pressure is the moisture
content in the steam at the turbine output, higher with high pressure, that leads to several
problems in the last stages of the turbine. A typical value of pressure for a single-pressure cycle is
around 40 bar [Kehlhofer, 2009].
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A raise in the live-steam temperature, keeping the live-steam pressure constant, will cause a small
decrease in turbine outcome. The enthalpy drop in the turbine is larger, but on the other hand
additional superheating removes energy, which could be used for steam generation otherwise.
This means that the steam flow is lower and consequentially the stack temperature has to be
higher. However, the live-steam temperature cannot be reduced too much because of the
resulting increase in the moisture content in the turbine last stages. In order to use a lower
temperature, the pressure has to be reduced as well, resulting in a more negative effect on the
turbine outcome compared to what it is obtained by raising the live-steam temperature. A typical
good value of temperature is close to the upper limit for the materials involved in the construction
of the plant (above 840 K) [Kehlhofer, 2009]. [Kehlhofer, 2009], [Condra, 1984]
4.3.2 Dual-pressure cycle
In case of fuel with low sulfur content, such as natural gas, additional economizers can replace the
preheaters in HRSG, due to the lower temperature of the feedwater. This enables to use more
energy from the exhaust gases in order to lower the stack temperature.
Figure 11. Flow diagram of a dual pressure cycle
As it is possible to see from the figure, the first HRSG section is a dual pressure economizer, or mixed
economizer, divided into an LP part and an HP part. Large amount of the steam produced in the LP side
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(economizers, evaporator, superheaters) goes directly to the steam turbine, but usually an extraction is
made before the LP evaporator for feedwater preheating and dearation [AE, 2016].
Figure 12- Heat balance dual pressure cycle with low sulfur fuel
Making a comparison with the single-pressure cycle, the dual-pressure takes better advantages of
the exhaust gases in the HRSG, resulting in a higher overall output from the steam turbine. The
economizers at the end of the HRSG allow to push further down the exhaust gases temperature at
the output of the HRSG, compared to the single-pressure cycle. The HP steam production is not
affected by the presence of the LP section, resulting in an increase in the total steam production,
due to the LP flow. Also the gross efficiency of the cycle is considerably greater, due to the fact
that in the dual-pressure cycle there is a better use of the heat from the exhaust gases and a larger
outcome from the steam turbine. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
33
Figure 13. Q-T diagram for a dual pressure HRSG
4.3.2.1 Main Design Parameters of the Dual-Pressure Cycle
The live-steam pressure is an important parameter in the design of a dual-pressure cycle. The HP
steam pressure has to be relatively high in order to obtain a high exergetic utilization of the heat
from the exhaust gases. The LP on the other hand has to be kept low to obtain good energetic as
well with exergetic utilization of the heat from exhaust gases and, therefore, to get a better steam
turbine outcome.
The figure below shows for a bottoming dual-pressure cycle the steam turbine output as a
function of HP pressure, with different curves for different LP steam pressures (other parameters
are kept constants). When the pressure raises, the power produced by the steam turbine
increases as well, due to the larger enthalpy drop in the turbine section. On the other hand, at
higher pressures less steam is produced in the turbine, and there is therefore a tradeoff between
the lower mass flow and the higher enthalpy drop.
34
Figure 14. Effect of the HP and LP pressure on steam turbine output (MW) for a dual pressure cycle
The pressure of evaporation in the LP section should not go below 3 bar [Kehlhofer, 2009],
because such a low pressure would lead to a very small enthalpy drop available in the steam
turbine, a very large volume flow of steam, and therefore an expensive hardware. For the HP
evaporation pressure instead, the main limiting factor is the moisture content, which raises
actually with the HP pressure. The limit value is defined also by the LP pressure: for example with
a LP evaporation pressure of 5 bar, the HP pressure should not increase beyond 105 bar
[Kehlhofer, 2009]. [Kehlhofer, 2009].
Unlike the single-pressure case, the increase of the live-steam temperatures leads to a significant
improvement in the outcome of the plant. For the HP section, it is possible to make the same
considerations done about the single-pressure cycle, where an increase in temperature
corresponds to a slight decrease in the outcome from the turbine. On the other hand, if the
temperature in HP increases, more energy can be extracted in the LP section. This aspect more
than compensates the small decrease in the HP section output, and therefore the total output
from the turbine is improved. An increase in the LP temperature is also very important because it
reduces the moisture content in the low pressure stages of the turbine.
In the dual-pressure case, the pinch point in the HP evaporator is less relevant than in the single-
pressure case, due to the fact that the energy lost in the HP evaporator can be retrieved in the LP
evaporator. However, transferring energy from HP to LP section by the increase of the HP pinch
35
point brings exergetic losses, because of the high quality heat present in the HP section, which
means a larger enthalpy drop in the turbine. There is an interrelation between the HP and the LP
pinch point. A decrease of the HP pinch point would increase both the HP evaporator and
economizer surfaces, but also reduces the LP section surfaces. This is because the amount of heat
available for the LP section, and hence the LP steam flow, is less, since the temperature of the
exhaust gases after the HP section drops down. Generally, the pinch point has less influence on
the turbine output in the dual-pressure case than in the single-pressure case. [Lozza, 2016]
[Kehlhofer, 2009]
4.3.3 Cycles with Supplementary Firing
Supplementary firing is provided to the WHR system in order to increase the output of the plant.
By the installation of duct burners into the HRSG is possible to add energy to the cycle by the
increase of the exhaust gases temperature, usually implying an efficiency drop.
This technology is particularly appropriate for HRSG, since the exhaust gases contain normally
enough oxygen to act as combustion air. Typically in a gas turbine cycle 30 to 50% of the oxygen
contained in the air is burnt during the combustion [Kehlhofer, 2009]. The exhaust gases can
usually substitute, completely or partly, the air as comburent for the combustion within the boiler,
due to their high oxygen content [Lozza, 2006]. Since the exhaust gases are at considerably high
temperature for being used as a comburent, their enthalpic contribution to the process is
significant, and this therefore leads to a considerable saving in the fuel consumption. However, in
order to not compromise the working of the plant in case of unavailability of the gas turbine, it is
often convenient to keep the possibility to work only with air as a comburent also.
In the past years it was really common for combined cycle installations to have supplementary
firing. Nowadays instead the development in the gas turbine field has made their use apparently
less interesting, substantially because of two reasons. The main benefit of supplementary firing is
diminished since the reachable temperature of the exhaust gases today is much higher than
before, so the temperature window between the exhaust gases and the duct burner exhaust is
decreased. Also, optimum values for the parameters of the steam cycle are obtainable with the
gas turbine alone. This is generally giving to the supplementary firing combined cycles lower
efficiencies, compared to the other solutions.
Nevertheless, in some specific applications, the flexibility of this type of plants constitutes still a
valuable option, especially in installations used for cogeneration, since this particular arrangement
makes it possible to control the different outputs quite freely. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
36
4.3.4 Future Trends
In this report is not mentioned the triple-pressure cycle, which represents in some cases the best
thermodynamic solution for a recovery cycle, even if the benefits do not always justify the
additional costs of the installations, especially if compared to the dual-pressure cycle with
reheating [Lozza, 2006]. The choice of not mentioning it is due to the fact that Aalborg Engineering
does not have any system installing a triple-pressure cycle, and the company does not develop any
in the next future.
The concepts of combined cycles and the main design parameters discussed above (steam
pressure, steam temperature, pinch point, etc.) can be further optimized together with the
continuous development of the technologies and changes in fuel gas price.
The figure below shows how the most advanced parameters can influence the total output and
the efficiency of a combined cycle power plant. [Kehlhofer, 2009]
Figure 15. Influence of important parameters on combined cycle output and efficiency
37
4.4 Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
A heat exchanger involves two fluids flowing separated by a solid wall. First is transferred the heat
from the hot fluid to the wall by convection, then by conduction through the wall, and by
convection again from the wall to the cold fluid.
In this process of heat transfer the thermal resistances related are one conductive and two
convective.
For a double-pipe heat exchanger the thermal resistance of the pipe wall in this case is:
where k is the thermal conductivity of the wall material and t is the thickness of the tube.
is the mean surface area of the tube wall, so defined [Condra, 2010]:
Then the total thermal resistance becomes [VDI Heat Atlas]:
is the inner surface of the wall dividing the two fluids, and is the external surface of the
wall.
During the analyzes of an heat exchangers, it is opportune to combine all the thermal resistances
in the way of the heat flow from the hot fluid to the cold one into a single resistance R, and then
the rate of heat transfer between the two fluids becomes:
U is the overall heat transfer coefficient, whose unit is W/m2 K. Note that the overall heat
transfer coefficient U of a heat exchanger does not give a real indication unless the area on which
it is calculated is known. It is important to keep this in mind especially when one side of the tube is
finned and the other side is not. In case the tube is finned on one side to increase heat transfer,
the total heat transfer surface area on the finned side becomes:
where is the area of the unfinned portion of the tube surface, while is the surface
area of the fins only. [Cengel, 2006]
38
K
Figure 16. Typical values of U for different heat exchangers
4.4.1 Calculation of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
In order to design optimally the different components of an HRSG, the overall heat transfer
coefficient is an essential parameter, since it is strongly related to the heating surface and the heat
flux in particular. In the following paragraphs, there will be taken into analysis for the calculation 3
of the most common components of an HRSG: economizer, evaporator and superheater. All the
data used for this calculation are acquired from Aalborg Engineering calculation software used
during the internship period. The VDI Heat Atlas method is used for the economizer and the
superheater, while for the calculation of the heat transfer coefficient of the evaporator, since
there occurs a change of phase in the fluid, it has been decided to use the Mostinski correlation
[Condra, 2016].
39
4.4.2 Superheater
The following data and the calculation are about the second superheater in the SGT8-HRSG, the
first component following the exhaust gases path.
Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Power transferred through the heating 3200,93 kW
surface
Heating surface A 1403, 02 m^2
Conduction coefficient for the material k 35,30 W/m K
Internal heat transfer coefficient 1740,00 W/ m^2 K
External heat transfer coefficient 44,3 W/ m^2 K
Tube thickness t 0,0032 m
Tube diameter D 0,038 m
# tubes width - 48 -
# tubes length - 2 -
Tube length L 12,8 m
Overall heat transfer coefficient 33,2 W/ m^2 K
First of all, the internal and external surfaces are required. With the diameter of the tube and
the pipes arrangement parameters it is possible to get both using the formulas:
Combining the total resistance equation with the heat transfer equation, it is possible to get
the overall heat transfer coefficient U knowing the difference of temperature of the fluid:
When the difference of temperature of the two fluids involved into the heat exchanger is not the
same, and this is the case when the fluids have different properties, or the flow rates are
significantly different, the fundamental heat transfer equation becomes:
40
which results more accurate. The mean logarithmic temperature difference for a countercurrent
heat exchanger is given by the equation:
The two difference of temperature are calculated:
In the table are reported the temperatures in the superheater.

Ex. Gas temperature 831,35 K
input
output
Steam temperature input 684,18 K
Steam temperature 784,25 K
output
With all the necessary parameters is therefore possible to proceed with the overall heat transfer
coefficient calculation.

Mean log. temperature 80,39 K
difference
41
4.4.3 Economizer
The following data and the calculation are about the second high pressure economizer in the
SGT8-HRSG, the 5th component following the exhaust gases path.

surface
Heating surface A 8628,7 m^2
Internal heat transfer coefficient 7423,9 W/ m^2 K
External heat transfer coefficient 51,5 W/ m^2 K
First of all, the internal and external surfaces are required. With the diameter of the tube and
the pipes arrangement parameters it is possible to get both using the formulas:
Combining the total resistance equation with the heat transfer equation, it is possible to get
the overall heat transfer coefficient U knowing the difference of temperature of the fluid:
When the difference of temperature of the two fluids involved into the heat exchanger is not the
same, and this is the case when the fluids have different properties, or the flow rates are
significantly different, the fundamental heat transfer equation becomes:
42
which results more accurate. The mean logarithmic temperature difference for a countercurrent
heat exchanger is given by the equation:
The two difference of temperature are calculated:
In the table are reported the temperatures in the superheater.

input
output
Water temperature input 434,72 K
Water temperature 564,17 K
output
With all the necessary parameters is therefore possible to proceed with the overall heat transfer
coefficient calculation.

Mean log. temperature 30,14 K
difference
43
4.4.4 Evaporator
The following data and the calculation are about the high pressure evaporator in the SGT8-HRSG,
the 3rd component following the exhaust gases path.

surface
Heating surface A 12080,2 m^2
Pressure evaporator P 87,85 bar
For the calculation of the boiling heat transfer coefficient in the evaporator it is used the Mostinski
correlation (1963):
Where is a coefficient that depends on the critical pressure , is the heat flux expressed as
[W/m^2], is a function of the reduced pressure , the ratio of the system pressure to
the critical pressure of the boiling liquid during the process. [Condra, 2010] [Cengel, 2006]
For water bar. [Condra, 2010]
44
The Mostinski equation is based on the Buckingham Theorem for its derivation. It is simple to use
and reliable to predict the boiling heat transfer coefficient in condition of nucleate boiling, the
regime where the temperature difference between the evaporating fluid and the surface is
relatively low ( ). [Condra, 2010] [Tarrad, 2011]

Boiling heat transfer 2391,7 W/m^2 K
coefficient
Figure 16
45
4.5 Aalborg Engineering Boiler Solutions
Figure 17. STG8 HRSG. Delimara site in Malta
46
4.5.1 Steam_Gen_4
The best turn down ratio on the market, 10 100 % load in 3 minutes. Low furnace load low
emissions.
A SteamGen 4 solution applies

where there is a demand for
steam, power, or a combination
of the two. Many industrial
companies world-wide would
benefit from this type of
solution. SteamGen 4 is a
horizontal single drum package
boiler. For applications within
the high-pressure industrial
package boilers, we are proud
to say that this is the best
available technology on the
market.
Before the single drum design

was available, the industry
standard was a technology,
which had some obvious
disadvantages. As the industry
became more and more
dependent on a reliable steam
supply with higher efficiency,
lower emissions, faster load
change rates, decreased
assembly time, and lesser
maintenance, it was necessary
to find a new approach to the
overall basic design. The
Aalborg Engineering
SteamGen 4 combines all
these requirements and adds to
this several other features,
which make the boiler even
Figure 18. View from the top of a SGT4 boiler more superior.
47
Our design has several unique features: It is of a modular construction and fully-welded (no
expanded tube to shell connections). It has water-cooled membrane walls and low furnace load
and low emissions. There is a highly efficient and fast start-up and load change rate. The boiler is
also fully drainable. Furthermore, it is easy to clean the heating surfaces and remove soot. [AE,
2016]
4.5.2 Steam_Gen 6
No internal insulation, water cooled combustion chamber Purification of steam to highest

standards.
SteamGen 6 is a HRSG variation of our SteamGen 4, which takes the best design a step further.
In general the basic design offers the same unique benefits as our SteamGen 4, but the
possibility of having a combined HRSG and auxiliary boiler is also a very import feature of the
SteamGen 6.
Many industrial companies world-wide would benefit from this type of solution. For applications
where there is a need for a limited power production, but with a large demand for steam, the
SteamGen 6 is the optimal solution. With an ability to increase the steam production more than
five times compared to an unfired HRSG, this design offers a performance, which is impossible for
other types of HRSGs.
In the gas turbine size range 5 - 50 MWe, the SteamGen 6 has the ability for connecting an
engine or gas turbine, thereby allowing it to have power producing capability. If steam is a lifeline
on your plant, the SteamGen 6 is prepared for flying change over. If required the HRSG can be
designed to automatically switch from GT to fresh air operation. This situation will in case of a GT
trip secure your process plant steam and continued operation. [AE, 2016]
48
4.5.3 Steam-Gen-8
In projects where power production is the primary requirement, it is necessary to optimize on

criteria other than investment cost. In this product category, Aalborg Engineering can provide the
SteamGen 8, which offers the best and most readily available HRSG technology on the market.
SteamGen 8 is the vertical HRSG for medium-sized gas turbines, and is available both with no
supplementary firing, and with limited supplementary firing. The boiler is designed to meet the
highest possible reliability combined with the most cost-efficient solution.
The vertical SteamGen 8 is as standard designed for 100% natural circulation. There is no need
for startup or booster pumps in any load cases. Load change rates are superior with StemGen 8
compared to others, due to the built in contingency, high circulation ratio and low steam space
rating in the steam drum. Our references include multiple units with decades of cyclic service.
These plants have daily start up and shut down according to power prices or consumption. This
feature is a built in possibility which might become important in the future power market.
Due to the vertical arrangement the required space can be optimized. This flexibility includes
locating the GT below the HRSG with exhaust vertical upwards. The limited space requirement is
also an important criteria for offshore and city centre locations.
SteamGen 8 is provided with complete external insulation, and it is designed for cyclic service,
daily starts and stops. [AE, 2016]
Figure 19. SGT8 HSG Installation in Malta
49
5. Discussion
5.1. Task 1 & 2: Documentation and Improvements to the Program
At the beginning of the work, when I started to deal with the production of the documentation for
the program my first sensation was that the task was huge and complex. Moreover, the
supervision from the company initially was not really helpful, since every advice I received was
general about the whole process, while instead I was more struggling into understanding some
unclear parts of the code and the data. When I saw that the strategy I picked up was unsuccessful,
I started to fear the possibility of not achieving the goal. Later, when I decided to make a step
behind and change strategy I started to see the positive results and I really understood the
importance of visualization and of the subdivision of a big duty into smaller ones, which is a very
important tool for an engineer.
With the documentation and the acquired knowledge of the code, together with an almost daily
constructive cooperation with Jan Schmidt and Preben Vilhelmsen, solving the second task was
easier than my expectation, and it resulted more interesting and motivating. I attended to several
meetings with colleagues and external consultants engineers, gradually participating more
actively, until the final presentation of my version of the calculation program which I made
together with Jan Schmidt right before he left the company.
5.2 Task 3: Comparison of the Heat Transfer Coefficient
Here it is shown a comparison between the values achieved from my individual calculation and the
data obtained from the company for the superheater and the economizer.
Superheater
Overall heat transfer coefficient Amount Unit
Calculation 28,38 W/ m^2 K
Aalborg Engineering 33,20 W/ m^2 K
Difference -4,82 W/ m^2 K
50
Economizer
Overall heat transfer coefficient Amount Unit
Calculation 41,35 W/ m^2 K
Aalborg Engineering 45,60 W/ m^2 K
Difference -4,25 W/ m^2 K
The difference found, approximately 4 W/ m^2 K in both cases, is explainable first of all by the
different methods used for the calculation. The result is considered acceptable anyway, since the
difference is negative in both the components, and especially since the surface considered for the
calculation was slightly larger compared to the final heating surface measured by AE. This is due to
the approximation made regarding the calculation of the internal area (see 4.4.2), which result
larger in my calculations.
51
6. Conclusions
In these conclusions I summarize the results achieved while I was working on the tasks as well as
the personal outcome obtained globally from this experience.
My main task at AE was to produce the documentation relative to the calculation program used
for the design of a boiler and eventually to do the reverse engineering of some of their calculation
routines. The work done can be divided in three different tasks:
The first task consisted into producing documentation for the company of all the functions and
boiler.
The second task consisted into the re-implementation of the data setup of the program for the
boiler calculations, and at the same time the improvement of the interface of the Excel control
program (Styreblade), with the purpose of making it more user-friendly for the users who will
perform the calculations in the future.
The third task consisted into the analytical calculation of the overall heat transfer coefficient and
the investigation about the necessary methods.
All the tasks performed for the company went out successfully.
The most satisfying aspect in the work done was to be able to contribute effectively improving the
initial task itself with my personal suggestions and ideas, which eventually turned out to be good,
and to receive from the boss and the colleagues very positive feedbacks on the final product and
generally on the way I approached the working experience.
I consider my global experience at Aalborg Engineering extremely positive. I faced some

difficulties, which required efforts to be overcome, but that left me a greater satisfaction once
that I managed to complete the task. My expectations regarding the internship are absolutely
fulfilled, since I can say now, without any hesitation, that I can see myself in this type of work and
that I made an incredibly rich experience, having also the chance to find out a lot about the Danish
culture.
Finally I got the possibility to carry on with the work at Aalborg Engineering, by receiving the offer
of a project for my master thesis for the next semester and the possibility of a job in Denmark
after the end of my studies.
52
7. Literature
Cengel et al. 2006. Yunus A. Cengel. Heat and Mass Transfer: A Practical Approach 3rd
Edition, McGraw-Hill, Chapters 10-13, 2006.
Lozza. 2016. Giovanni Lozza. Turbine a Gas e Cicli Combinati 3rd edizione , Esculapio,
Chapter 4, 2016.
Kehlhofer et al. 2009. Rolf Kehlhofer. Combined-Cycle Gas & Steam Turbine Power Plants
3rd edition, Pennwell, Chapter 5-7, 2009
Condra et al. 1984. Thomas J. Condra. Diesel Engine Waste Heat Recovery, Aalborg Boilers,
1984.
Condra. 2010. Thomas J. Condra. Heat Transfer 2, slides, lecture 4-5. 2010.
Condra. 2016. Thomas J. Condra. Personal communications to the student, November

2016.
VDI Heat Atlas. 2010. VDI Heat Atlas, 2nd international edition, Springer, 2010
AE, 2016. Aalborg Enginering personal communications to the student, December 2016.
Tarrad, 2011. Ali H. Tarrad et al. A Correlation for the Prediction of Nucleate Pool Boiling
Performance of Pure Liquids from Enhanced Tubes,Jordan Journal of Mechanical and
Industrial Engineering, paper, Baghdad, November 2011
[Ref: https://se.mathworks.com/help/matlab/]
53
8. List of Figures
Figure 1. A team of engineers from AE on the installation site. [http://www.aalborg-
engineering.com/en/news.html]
Figure 2. Aalborg Engineering organization chart. [http://www.aalborg-

Figure 3. KDP Main Procedures
Figure 4. KDP Main Routine
Figure 5. Forced circulation vertical HRSG. [Kehlhofer, pag 184, 7-6]
Figure 6. Horizontal natural circulation HRSG. [Kehlhofer, pag 185, 7-7]
Figure 7. Serrated and solid fins . [http://www.delfintubes.com/lang/en/42-finned-tubes]
Figure 8. Double parallel finned tube. [http://www.delfintubes.com/lang/en/42-finned-tubes]
Figure 9. Q-T diagram of a single pressure HRSG. [Kehlhofer, pag 75, 5-17]
Figure 200. Pinch point variation. [Condra, 1984, 7.1]
Figure 11. Flow diagram of a dual-pressure cycle. [Kehlhofer, pag 95, 5-32]
Figure 121. Heat balance dual pressure cycle with low sulfur fuel. [Kehlhofer, pag 96, 5-33]
Figure 122. Q-T diagram for a dual pressure HRSG. [Kehlhofer, pag 98, 5-35]
Figure 123. Effect of the HP and LP pressure on steam turbine output (MW) for a dual pressure
cycle. [Kehlhofer, pag 101, 5-36]
Figure 124. Influence of important parameters on combined cycle output and efficiency.
[Kehlhofer, pag 133, 5-61]
Figure 16. Typical values of U for different heat exchangers [Cengel, 2006, pag. 673]
Figure 17. STG8 HRSG. Delimara site in Malta. [http://www.aalborg-

Figure 18. View from the top of a SGT4 boiler. [http://www.aalborg-

Figure 19. SGT8 HSG Installation in Malta. [http://www.aalborg-engineering.com/en/news.html]
Figure 20. KDP all procedures
Figure 25. Heat balance diagram for SGT800 HRSG. [http://www.aalborg-

54
Appendix
55
Appendix A - Block Chart (Task 1)
Figure 26. KDP all procedures
56
Appendix A Functions documentation examples (Task 1)
------------------------------------------OVERHEDER----------------------------
OH
Procedure for calculation of the superheater component.
Syntax:
Sub OH(hedefladetype As String, fordamperandel As Double, pover As Double, gasflow
As Double, tgind As Double, dampflow As Double, tdind As Double, pdamp As Double,
pdamp_w As Double, givet As Integer, stral As Double, tgasud As Double, tdud As
Double, k_ror As Double, k_wall As Double, q_ovf As Double, q_ror As Double, q_oh As
Double, q_wall As Double, alfauk As Double, alfaus As Double, Alfai As Double, alfav As
Double, akon_ror As Double, akon_wall As Double, aq1 As Double, dp As Double, wgi As
Double, wgu As Double, wgn As Double, vi As Double, vu As Double, vn As Double, mflux
As Double, hind As Double, hud As Double, tlog_ror As Double, wdamp As Double, dpd As
Double, lamror As Double, qstral As Double, pdampud As Double, tw1 As Double, tw2 As
Double, ttipindlb As Double, ttipudlb As Double)
Input: hedefladetype: heating surface type

Fordamperandel: evaporator plant
Pover: gas pressure above atmospheric (Pa)
gasflow,dampflow: gas/water flow rate (kg/s)
tgind, tdind: gas/water inlet temperature (C)
pdamp: water pressure (Pa)
givet : (1 to 4) type of input/output chosen
stral: radiation coefficient (-)
Output: , tgasud, tdud: gas/water temperature output (C)

k_ror ,k_wall: conduction coefficient (W/m *K)
q_ror, q_ovf, q_oh, q_wall qstral: heat tr ansferred pipe/sum/wall/total/radiation(W)
alfauk, alfaus, Alfai, alfav: heat convective transfer coeff. (W/m^2*K)
akon_ror, akon_wall: equivalent surface for heat transfer pipe/wall (m^2)
aq1: area (m^2)
dp: pressure drop (Pa)
wgi, wgu, wgn, wdamp: velocity gas input/gas out/gas reference/ steam (m/s)
vi, vu, vn: volumetric flow rate input/ out/ reference (m^3/s)
mflux: mass flow in the pipe (kg/s)
hind, hud: enthalpy input/output (kJ/kg)
tlog_ror: logaritmic temperature pipe (C)
dpd : pressure drop (Pa)
lamror: thermal conductivity of the pipe (W/mK)
pdampud: water pressure output (Pa)
tw1 , tw2 : wall temperature (C)
ttipindlb , ttipudlb: fin temperature input/output (C)
57
Description: The procedure calculates the heat transferred into the super heater , divided
into its different components . It can deal with different type of pipes (i.e. bare tubes, solid
fins, serrated fins..etc), and with both the fluid arrangement cocurrent or countercurrent. It
takes into account several check based on energy bal ance equation.
The procedure starts calling areal_rev2 to calculate the thermal surface needed, then it
calculate the steam flow. After this, the procedure begins an iteration loop, until the
temperature condition check is satisfied. First choose the typ e of pipe used(type 4:
serrated fins), calculating the parameters specific for the fins, then continues selecting the
fluid arrangements (countercurrent in all the sections except for the low pressure super
heating, where it is cocurrent) and calculates in particular the logarithmic temperature in
the pipe. It calls Tryktab to estimate the pressure drops. The loop ends here. Finally, it
calculates the heat exchanged in the pipes and in the wall and executes the heat balance
to check those values (eventually iterates).
Comments:
Description of the variables involved and Input/Output are missing, It can be improved with
comments (its not very self-explanatory) along the lines.
------------------------------------------EVAPORATOR--------------------------
Fordamper
Procedure for calculation of the evaporator heating surface.
Syntax:
Sub Fordamper(flowretning As Integer, pover As Double, gasflow As Double, tgind As
Double, dampflow As Double, pdamp As Double, pdamp_wall As Double, stral As Double,
tgasud As Double, k_ror As Double, k_wall As Double, q_ovf Double, q_ror As Double,
q_wall As Double, alfauk As Double, alfaus As Double, alfav As Double, Alfai As Double,
akon_ror As Double, akon_wall As Double, aq1 As Double, dp As Double, wgi As Double,
wgu As Double, wgn As Double, vi As Double, vu As Double, vn As Double, tlog As
Double, lamror As Double, qstral As Double, tw1 As Double, tw2 As Double, ttipindlb As
Double, ttipudlb As Double)
Input: flowretning:
Output: , tgasud, tdud: gas/water temperature out put (C)

k_ror ,k_wall: conduction coefficient (W /m *K)
q_ror, q_ovf, q_oh, q_wall qstral: heat transferred pipe/sum/all/total/wall/radiation(W)
aq1: area (m^2)
dp: pressure drop (Pa)
wgi, wgu, wgn, wdamp: velocity gas input/gas out/gas average/ steam (m/s)
58
dpd : pressure drop (Pa)
pdampud: steam pressure output (Pa)
Description:The procedure takes into account the same inputs parameters as

OH(Overheder). It uses those parameters to calculate iteratively the wall temperature
depending on the level of pressure, then the area needed for the heat tr ansfer, and after
that calculates the geometry and the heat exchange coefficient depending on which type
of pipes are used (serrated fins, bare tubes). The uses the new parameters to calculate
the heat transferred in each part of the evaporator (wall, pipe s, fins..). The iterations stop
when the calculated heat matches with the ones from the heat balance. After that the
pressure losses of the flue gas are calculated. Finally it calculates the pinch point (no
matter if high pressure or low pressure).
Comments:
Description of the variables involved and Input/Output is missing, It can be improved with
comments (its not self-explanatory) along the lines.
------------------------------------------ECONOMICER--------------------------
ECO
Procedure for calculation of the economizer heating surface.
Syntax:
Sub eco(pover As Double, gasflow As Double, tgind As Double, dampflow As Double,
tdind As Double, pdamp As Double, pdamp_w As Double, givet As Integer, stral As
Double, tgasud As Double, tdud As Double, k_r or As Double, k_wall As Double, q_ovf As
Double, q_ror As Double, q_oh As Double, q_wall As Double, alfauk As Double, alfaus As
Double, Alfai As Double, alfav As Double, akon_ror As Double, akon_wall As Double, aq1
As Double, dp As Double, wgi As Double, wgu As Double, wgn As Double, vi As Double,
vu As Double, vn As Double, mflux As Double, hind As Double, hud As Double, tlog_ror As
Double, wdamp As Double, dpd As Double, lamror As Double, qstral As Double, qgas As
Double, pvandud As Double, xdamp As D ouble, tw1 As Double, tw2 As Double, ttipindlb
As Double, ttipudlb As Double)
Input: flowretning:
pdamp_w: water pressure (Pa)
59
Output: , tgasud, tdud: gas/water temperature output (C)
k_ror ,k_wall: conduction coefficient (W /m *K)
q_ror, q_ovf, q_oh, q_wall qstr al: heat transferred pipe/sum/all/total/wall/radiation (W)
aq1: Cross-sectional area of the pipe without tube (m^2)
dp,dpd: pressure drop water/steam (Pa)
wgi, wgu, wgn, wdamp: velocity gas input/gas out/gas average/ steam (m/s)
qgas: heat transferred flue gas (W)
pvandud: water pressure output (Pa)
xdamp: quality of the steam (kg/kg)
Description:The procedure takes into account almost the same inputs parameters as
Fordamper(Evaporator). It uses those parameters to calculate iteratively the wall
temperature(depending on the pressure level) and ent halpy in and out of the economizer,
then the theoretical area needed for the heat transfer, and after that calculates the
geometry and the heat exchange coefficient depending on which type of pipes are
used(serrated fins, bare tubes). The uses the new para meters to calculate the heat
transferred in each part of the economizer (wall, pipes, fins..). The iterations stop when
the calculated heat matches with the ones from the heat balance. After that the pressure
losses of the flue gas are calculated. The rout ine also calculates the temperature of the
pipe and of the fins.
Comments:
Description of the variables involved and Input/Output is missing, It can be improved with
comments (its not self-explanatory) along the lines.
60
Appendix B Explanatory documentation (Task 2)
61
Description of KDP main routine - Styreprogram
In Styreprogram are defined all the variables types used in the code. It defines KDP main procedure, that
runs all the necessary procedures and sub-procedure in order to calculate all the parameters required.
KDP follows the path of the flue gas leaving the gas turbine. At first it calls Kobl and io_1 to get the
input data, and continues obtaining the fuel composition running fuel mix procedure. Then KDP calls
tilfyr procedure, to consider the extra firing before entering the boiler to get all the flue gases parameters.
Now the program begins an iteration loop, until the transferred heat (qcalc) calculated reaches the
obtainable heat according to thermodynamic laws (qnytte), calling several sub-procedures in Koblinger in
order to calculate all the parameters, respectively, of primary and secondary steam circuit (dampkobling,
sdampkobling), primary and secondary water circuit(vandkobling, svandkobling),and heat transferred
(nyttelastkobling). Finally it uses the calculated parameters to get the flow and heat transferred from the
fuel by calling Varmebalance. If the massflow, mfuel, differs from the previous one, the program runs back
to tilfyr, and starts the iteration loop again.
Once that the heat transferred is correct, the program continues with the iteration loop, this time calling all
the components relatives procedures, according to how the boiler is designed (Select-Case: component
number). In this case, with 9 sections, it calls sequentially OH (super heater), Fordamper (evaporator),
and Eco (economizer), following the order given by the path of the flue gas: HP (high pressure) second
super heater, HP first super heater, HP evaporator, LP (low pressure) second super heater, HP economizer,
LP first super heater, LP evaporator, LP mixed economizer and HP mixed economizer. The iterations end
when: is satisfied.
Finally the program fills up the relative worksheets, by calling again the IO sub-procedures, in this case
io_2hrsg,io_3,vandamp_out,Bona_fide and geo.
62
KDP Parameters Setup Guide: SGT800 HRSG
The total number of components for the exhaust gases is 9 and they are arranged in this order:
1. Super heater HP 2
2. Super heater HP 1
3. Evaporator HP
4. Super heater LP 2
5. Economizer HP
6. Super heater LP 1
7. Evaporator LP
8. Mixed Economizer LP
9. Mixed Economizer HP
In the following pages are described the geometric parameters and the tubes and fins characteristics
required from each component, divided into tables (SH, EVA, Eco, MIX ECO). Note that the given data are
just an example for a specific boiler case, SGT800 HRSG. Note also that in many parameters a range is
acceptable, rather than just a single number (i.e. Tube diameter can be a multiple of 3.2)
Super Heater
Heating surface type: SH Component n. 1,2,4,6
Tube diameter [m] 0,038 Thickness [m] 0,0045
Material [-] 10CrMo910 Exchanger Type [-] Alm
Tube length [m] 12,800 Flow paths [-] 48

n. tubes width [-] 48 Distance in width [m] 0,08
n. tubes length [-] 2 Distance in length [m] 0,07
Tube arrangement [-] Continuous Exchanger coupling [-] Counter current

Efficiency walls [%] 0% Efficiency heating surface [%] 100 %
Tube type (1=bare tube;4=serrated fins) 4 Channel type(1=Panel;2=Casir) 2

Fin height [mm] 15 Pipe diameter panel wall 3-sides [m] 0,057
Fin thickness [mm] 1 Pipe diameter panel wall 1-side [m] 0,038
n. fins per meter [-] 225 Membrane thickness [m] 0,006
Fin material [mm] Aisi409 Panel wall distance [m] 0,09
63
Styreblad Guide
Generic:
Each component has a code number ( SH=31, EVA=23,..etc) which establish the order that the program will
follow in the calculation.
On the left side of the sheet are listed all the components-procedures with the relative code number and
the number of time that they occur, depending on the chosen boiler-setup. In orange there are the
components not used in this specific boiler-setup.
Blue and green colors refer respectively to high pressure and low pressure (HP=blue, LP=green).
On the line related to are specified the references, where relevant, among the components of different
fluid sections or the energy balance (i.e. Damp_4 related to Vand_5, Damp_9 related to NytteLast_1, etc..).
Exhaust gases:
The exhaust gases section has 9 components procedures in this specific case. The boiler-setup doesnt have
any extra firing, so all the furnace procedures are not used (its possible to see it on the left side). Note that
only the internal components of the boiler are taken into account for calculations here (i.e. district heater is
not included). The section starts with HP second super heater, then another HP super heater is following,
before entering the HP evaporator. The flue gases path continues through the LP super heater, then it finds
the HP Economizer. After that, in sequence there are another LP super heater, the LP evaporator, and the
Mixed Economizer, divided into LP and HP in the calculations. Note that the last two components (10,11)
are not used in this boiler, and the calculations stop at 9.
High Pressure Steam (Dampkobling, main steam):
The HP steam section has 9 components procedures in this specific case. Note that this section is relevant
only for high pressure. The section starts with the steam drum output calculation, then after a pressure
drop evaluation it goes through the first super heater(related to exhaust gas 2nd component). After that
there is a spray attemperator calculation(related with the HP water 5th component) followed by the second
super heater (related to exhaust gas 1st component). Then there are 2 pressure drop calculations, followed
by another spray attemperator (related this time with the HP water 6th component). Finally there is the
Output of HP steam calculation(related with Nyttelast 1st).
Low Pressure Steam (Sdampkobling, secondary steam):
The LP steam section has only 6 components procedures in this specific case. Note that this section is
relevant only for low pressure. The section starts with the steam drum output calculation, then after a
pressure drop evaluation it goes through the first super heater(related to exhaust gas 6th component).
After that there is another pressure drop calculation followed by the second super heater (related to
exhaust gas 4th component). Finally there is the Output of LP steam calculation(related with Nyttelast 4th).
64
High Pressure Water (Vandkobling, main water):
The HP water section has 9 components procedures in this specific case. Note that this section is relevant
only for high pressure. The section starts with the feed water calculation(related to Nyttelast 3rd), then it
goes through the first Economizer (related to exhaust gases 9th component), and a pressure drop
evaluation. After that there is the second Economizer (related with the exhaust gases 5th component)
followed by two spray attemperators (related, respectively, to HP steam 4th and 8th components). Then
there is the drum calculation, followed by the eventual blowdown separated flow calculation. Finally there
is the Output of HP water calculation. Note that components 11, 14, 15 are not used in this boiler.
Low Pressure Steam (Svandkobling, secondary water):
The LP water section has 9 components procedures in this specific case. Note that this section is relevant
only for low pressure. The section starts with the LP feed water calculation (related to Nyttelast 6th), then
after two pressure drop evaluation it goes through the first Economizer (related to exhaust gases 8th
component). After that there is a second pressure drop calculation. At 6 and 7 there are the calculations of
the separated flow that go to the dearator and to the fuel preheater (related to Nyttelast 5th and 7th).
followed by two spray attemperators (related, respectively, to HP steam 4th and 8th components). Then
there is the drum calculation, followed by the the Output of LP water calculation. Note that the calculation
regarding the dearator, such as heat and mass balance, are not taking place here but are carried out
independently in another Excels sheet (in this case Bona fide).
Energy Balance (Nyttelastkobling):
Nyttelastkobling section has 7 components procedures in this specific case. There is one diagram on the
right side showing the energy balance. The section is thus divided into export and import data, how is
clear looking at the left side. Note that the code numbers with 3 digits refer always to high pressure, while
code numbers with 4 digits always refer to low pressure. The section starts carrying on the calculations
about the high pressure first, than the low pressure ones are following. The high pressure section starts
with the main steam calculation (export), than continues with the blowdown flow (if it is present, export)
and after that goes through the feed water calculation(import). The low pressure section starts with the LP
main steam calculation (export), followed by the dearator flow (export), then takes place the LP feed water
calculation(import). The section ends with the flow going to the preheater calculation (export). All the
references between the different sections have been mentioned before, so they have been not repeated
here.
Export Import
HP main steam HP feed water
HP blowdown LP feed water
LP main steam
LP dearator flow
LP fuel heater flow
65
Appendix C- Heat balance diagram for SGT800 HRSG
Figure 27. Heat balance diagram for SGT800 HRSG
66

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Calculation for design of a HRSG

Thermal Energy and Process Engineering

Department of Energy Technology

Synopsis: The purpose of this

h: convective heat transfer coefficient, W/m^2 K

k: thermal conductivity, W/m K

Nr.width: numbers of tubes in the width, -

Nr.lenght: numbers of tubes in the length, -

q: heat flux, W/m2

R: thermal resistance, K/W

U: overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m^2 K

: Critical pressure coefficient (Mostinski), -

F(p): Function of reduced pressure, -

3.1. Description of the company: Aalborg Engineering 12

4.1. Introduction to the theory section 22

4.5 Aalborg Engineering Boiler Solutions 46

3.1. Description of the company: Aalborg Engineering

Aalborg Engineering A/S (AE) is an international company specializing in energy-efficient,

3.2 Work Process

3.3 Personal expectation regarding the internship

3.4.1 Task 1: Documentation of the functions & procedures

3.4.1.1 Problem analysis

3.4.1.2 Problem issues

3.4.2 Task 2: Software setup for HRSG and Improvements

3.4.2.1 Problem analysis

3.4.2.2 Problem issues

3.4.3.1 Problem analysis

3.5 Evaluation from the Traineeship: Outcome

4.1. Introduction to the theory section

HRSG without supplementary firing

4.2.1. HRSG without Supplementary Firing

Small footprint requirement, due to the vertical arrangement

4.2.2 Finned Tubing

Spiral Finned Tubes: This type of tubes are the

Figure 8. Double parallel finned tube

4.3.1 Single-pressure cycle

4.3.2 Dual-pressure cycle

Figure 11. Flow diagram of a dual pressure cycle

4.3.2.1 Main Design Parameters of the Dual-Pressure Cycle

4.3.3 Cycles with Supplementary Firing

Then the total thermal resistance becomes [VDI Heat Atlas]:

Figure 16. Typical values of U for different heat exchangers

4.4.1 Calculation of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

The two difference of temperature are calculated:

In the table are reported the temperatures in the superheater.

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

The two difference of temperature are calculated:

In the table are reported the temperatures in the superheater.

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

For water bar. [Condra, 2010]

Parameter Symbol Amount Unit

Figure 17. STG8 HRSG. Delimara site in Malta

A SteamGen 4 solution applies

Before the single drum design

No internal insulation, water cooled combustion chamber Purification of steam to highest

In projects where power production is the primary requirement, it is necessary to optimize on

Figure 19. SGT8 HSG Installation in Malta

5.1. Task 1 & 2: Documentation and Improvements to the Program