 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.