As presented in the previous chapter, boilers can be
classified by their combustion method, by their
application or by their type of steam/water circulation. This chapter will describe the different types of steam/water circulation in boilers. Steam boiler types according to steam/water circulation Shell type boilers Shell type boilers are boiler that are built similarly to a shell and tube heat exchanger. In large volume type boilers a burner or a grate is situated inside a big tube, called chamber. The chamber is surrounded by water in a pressure vessel that functions as the outer boiler wall. Thus, the water absorbs the heat and some of the water is converted to saturated steam. Shell type boiler: Höyrytys TTKV-fire tube boiler Fire tube boilers Modern fire tube boilers are used in applications that require moderate pressures and moderate demand. As the name implies, the basic structure of a fire tube boiler consists of tubes, where fuel is burned and flue gas is transported, located in a pressurized vessel containing water. Usually boilers of this type are customized for liquid or gaseous fuels, like oil, natural gas and biogases. Fire tube boilers are used for supplying steam or warm water in small-scale applications. Large volume boilers Schematic of the Höyrytys TTKV-fire tube hot-water boiler Large volume boilers Schematic of the Höyrytys TTK fire tube steam boiler Water tube boilers In contrast to large volume boilers, the steam/water mixture is inside the tubes in water tube boilers, and is heated by external combustion flames and flue gases. The water tube boilers are classified by the way of the water/steam circulation: natural circulation, forced or assisted circulation, once-through and combined circulation type boilers. Natural circulation boilers The natural circulation is one of the oldest principles for steam/water circulation in boilers. Natural circulation principle is usually implemented on small and medium sized boilers. Typically the pressure drop for a natural circulation boiler is about 5-10 % of the steam pressure in the steam drum and the maximum steam temperature varies from 540 to 560 °C Natural circulation boilers Natural circulation principle Assisted or forced circulation boilers
In contrast to natural circulation boilers, forced circulation is
based on pump-assisted internal water/steam circulation. The circulation pump is the main difference between natural and forced circulation boilers. Practically the maximum operation pressure for a forced circulation boiler is 190 bar and the pressure drop in the boiler is about 2-3 bar. Assisted or forced circulation boilers Principle of forced/assisted circulation Once-through boiler types
There are three main types of once through boilers:
1. Benson design 2. Sulzer design 3. Ramzin design. Once-through boiler types Benson design once-through boiler Once-through boiler types Sulzer design once-through boiler. The separation bottle is marked with an arrow Once-through boiler types Ramzin once-through boiler Combined circulation boilers Simplified principle of combined circulation.