STEAM GENERATORS

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 General
❖ The term steam generator has come into ❖ Energy input to the power-plant cycle is from
acceptance to replace the rather loose term the combustion of a fuel in the steam generator.
boiler and indicates the furnace, boiler, Some of the energy derived from the
waterwalls, water floor, water screen, combustion is transferred to the water in the
superheater, reheater, economizer, air furnace through the heating surfaces provided.
preheater, and fuel burning equipment. ❖ If there are superheaters, economizers, or air
❖ The definition of a steam generator, according preheaters in the installation, they will also
to the ASME codes, is a “combination of receive energy from the gases.
apparatus for producing, furnishing, or
recovering heat, together with apparatus for
transferring to a working fluid the heat thus
made available.”
❖ However, the term boiler has been used for
such a long period of time that the two terms
are used interchangeably.

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 Firetube Boiler

❖ In fire tube boiler, hot gases pass through the

tubes and boiler feed water in the shell side is
converted into steam. Fire tube boilers are
generally used for relatively small steam
capacities and low to medium steam pressures.
As a guideline, fire tube boilers are competitive
for steam rates up to 12,000 kg/hour and
pressures up to 18 kg/cm2. Fire tube boilers are
available for operation with oil, gas or solid
fuels. For economic reasons, most fire tube
boilers are nowadays of “packaged”
construction (i.e. manufacturers shop erected)
for all fuels

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 Watertube Boiler
❖ In water tube boiler, boiler feed water flows
through the tubes and enters the boiler drum. The
circulated water is heated by the combustion gases
and converted into steam at the vapour space in
the drum. These boilers are selected when the
steam demand as well as steam pressure
requirements are high as in the case of process
cum power boiler / power boilers.
❖ Most modern water boiler tube designs are within
the capacity range 4,500 – 120,000 kg/hour of
steam, at very high pressures. Many water tube
boilers nowadays are of “packaged” construction if
oil and /or gas are to be used as fuel. Solid fuel
fired water tube designs are available but
packaged designs are less common.
❖ The features of water tube boilers are:
❖ Forced, induced and balanced draft provisions help
to improve combustion efficiency.
❖ Less tolerance for water quality calls for water
treatment plant.
❖ Higher thermal efficiency levels are possible

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 Packaged Boiler
❖ The packaged boiler is so called because it comes
as a complete package. Once delivered to site, it
requires only the steam, water pipe work, fuel
supply and electrical connections to be made for
it to become operational. Package boilers are
generally of shell type with fire tube design so as
to achieve high heat transfer rates by both
radiation and convection.
❖ The features of package boilers are:
❖ Small combustion space and high heat release
rate resulting in faster evaporation.
❖ Large number of small diameter tubes leading to
good convective heat transfer.
❖ Forced or induced draft systems resulting in good
combustion efficiency. ❖ These boilers are classified based on the number
❖ Number of passes resulting in better overall heat of passes - the number of times the hot
transfer. combustion gases pass through the boiler. The
combustion chamber is taken, as the first pass
❖ Higher thermal efficiency levels compared with after which there may be one, two or three sets
other boilers. of fire-tubes. The most common boiler of this
class is a three-pass unit with two sets of fire-
tubes and with the exhaust gases exiting through
the rear of the boiler.

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 Boiler Rating and Performance
❖ There is no generally accepted method of rating
the large, modern high-pressure boilers except
by giving the pounds of steam per hour
together with the steam and water conditions
for which the unit is designed.
❖ A term used for many years, and still used to
some extent for small boilers, is boiler
horsepower. Originally, this term was intended
to relate the output of the steam generator to
the steam requirements of a prime mover.
❖ Improvements in the design of both the prime
mover and the boilers have made this
misnomer obsolete.
❖ One boiler horsepower is equivalent to the
generation of 34.5 lb of steam per hr from
water at 212 F to saturated steam also at 212 F,
i.e., from and at 212 F.
❖ The energy of evaporation for steam at 212 F
was taken at 970.3 Btu/lb making the product
equal to 34.5 x 970.3 = 33,475 Btu/hr. Usually,
this figure is approximated at 33,500 Btu/hr.
Thus
W (h2 − h1 )
Boiler hp =
33,500
❖ In which
❖ W = steam generated by boiler tubes,
economizers, and superheater, lb/hr
❖ h1 = enthalpy of water entering economizer,
Btu/lb
❖ h2 = enthalpy of steam leaving boiler or
superheater, Btu/lb

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 Boiler Rating and Performance
❖ Because power boilers do not generate steam at
212 F, the actual energy change of the water in
passing through the boiler compared with the
latent energy of evaporation at 212 F is the
factor of evaporation. Thus,
h2 − h1
Factor of evaporation = f =
970.3
❖ and
Equivalent evaporation = f W
❖ and
f W equivalent evaporation
Boiler hp = =
34.5 34.5
❖ At the time these terms were standardized,
boilers could develop 1 boiler hp with 10 sq ft of
boiler heating surface. Therefore, the
manufacturers’ boiler horsepower is defined as
10 sqft of boiler heating surface.
❖ It is common for even small, modern boilers to
generate more than 1 boiler hp with 10 sq ft of
heating surface. Most boilers can develop 150%
of rating – 200% is common and some units have
exceeded 400% - when percentage of boiler
rating is defined as:
boiler horsepower 10
Boiler rating =
boiler heating surface
❖ Note:
❖ Water tube boilers develop 1 boiler hp with 10
sq ft of boiler heating surface.
❖ Fire tube boilers develop 1 boiler hp with 12 sq ft
of boiler heating surface. Packaged fire tube
boilers develop 1 boiler hp with 5 sq ft of boiler
heating surface.
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 Sample Problem 1
Determine the factor of evaporation, equivalent Solution: steam quality , x = 1 – y = 1 – 0.01 = 0.99
evaporation, boiler horsepower, and the boiler At 135 psia
rating (percentage) for the following: hfg = 870.4 Btu per lb
Steam output, lb per hr ----------------------------- 8000 hf = 322 Btu per lb
Steam: pressure, psia ------------------------------- 135 h2 = hf + xhfg = 322 + 0.99(870.4) = 1183.7 Btu lb
Moisture, % -------------------------------------------- 1 At 120 F
Feedwater temperature, F ------------------------- 120 h1 = h f = 87.97 Btu lb
Surface (boiler and waterwall, if any) sq ft ----- 1330 a. Factor of evaporation
Given: f = h2 − h1 = 1183.7 − 87.97 = 1.1293
Steam output = W = 8000 lb/hr 970.3 970.3
Pressure, p = 135 psia b. Equivalent evaporation
Moisture, y = 0.01
f W = 1.1293 8000 = 9034.4 lb hr
Feedwater temperature, tf = 120 F c. Boiler horsepower
Surface area = 1330 sqft f W 9034.4
Required: = = 261.87
34.5 34.5
a. Factor of evaporation d. Boiler rating
b. Equivalent evaporation
boiler horsepower 10 261.87 10
c. Boiler horsepower = = 1.969
boiler heating surface 1330
d. Boiler rating or 196.9%.

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 Sample Problem 2
A boiler has an effective heating surface of 1,650 sq a. Manufacturer’s rated horsepower
ft. It has a capacity of 15,000 lb per hr on 280 F Boiler heating surface
=
feedwater and 250 psia steam at 480 F. 10
1650 (answer)
Calculate: = = 165 Bo hp
10
a. Manufacturer’s rated horsepower b. Operating boiler horsepower
b. Operating boiler horsepower W (h2 − h1 )
c. Percentage rating =
33,475
d. Equivalent evaporation 15,000(1251.64 − 249.17)
=
Given: 33,475
Heating surface = 1650 sq ft = 449.2 Bo hp (answer)
W = 15,000 lb/hr c. Percentage rating
Feedwater at 280 F Boiler hp  10
=  100%
Steam at 250 psia and 480 F Boiler heating surface
Required: 449.2  10
=  100%
a. Manufacturer’s rated horsepower 1650
= 272.24%
(answer)
b. Operating boiler horsepower d. Equivalent Evaporation
c. Percentage rating
d. Equivalent evaporation W (h2 − h1 )
=
Solution: 970.3
Boiler heating surface = 1650 sq ft 15,000(1251.64 − 249.17)
W = 15,000 lb per hr =
970.3
h1 at 280 F = 249.17 Btu/lb = 15,497 lb hr (answer)
h2 at 250 psia and 480 F = 1251.64 Btu/lb

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 Sample Problem 3
The following data were obtained from a boiler test: Required:
Heating surface, 15,200 sq ft a. Rated boiler horsepower
Steam pressure, 200 psig b. Operating boiler horsepower
Steam temperature, 500 F c. Percentage rating
Feedwater temperature, 230 F d. Equivalent Evaporation
Total feedwater, 850,000 lb Solution:
Time of test, 12 hr Heating surface = 15,200 sq ft
Calculate: W = 850,000/12 lb per hr
a. Rated boiler horsepower h1 at 230 F = 198.33 Btu/lb
b. Operating boiler horsepower h2 at 200 psig and 500 F = 1267.4 Btu/lb
c. Percentage rating a. Manufacturer’s rated horsepower
d. Equivalent Evaporation Boiler heating surface
=
Given: 10
15,200
Heating surface, 15,200 sq ft = = 1520 Bo hp (answer)
Steam pressure, 200 psig 10
Steam temperature, 500 F b. Operating boiler horsepower
Feedwater temperature, 230 F W (h2 − h1 )
=
Total feedwater, 850,000 lb 33,475
Time of test, 12 hr =
(850,000 12)(1267.4 − 198.33)
33,475
= 2262 Bo hp (answer)
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 Sample Problem 3
c. Percentage rating
Boiler hp  10
=  100%
Boiler heating surface
2262  10
=  100%
15,200
= 148.82% (answer)

d. Equivalent Evaporation
W (h2 − h1 )
=
970.3
=
(850,000 12)(1267.4 − 198.33)
970.3
= 78,044 lb hr (answer)

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 Sample Problem 4
A gas-fired boiler delivers 300 lb of steam per hour Required:
of 95 per cent quality. Calculate the boiler boiler horsepower and over-all efficiency
horsepower and over-all efficiency for the following Solution:
conditions: h1 at 60 F = 28.06 Btu/lb
Feedwater temperature, 60 F At 50 psia
Steam pressure, 50 psia hf = 250.21 Btu/lb
Barometric pressure, 30.2 in. Hg hg = 1174.1 Btu/lb
Gas pressure, 4 in. H2O h2 = hf + x (hg − hf )
Gas temperature, 90 F h2 = 250.21 + 0.95(1174.1 − 250.21) = 1127.91 Btu lb
Gas consumption, 950 cu ft per hr Boiler hp
W (h2 − h1 )
Heating value of gas, 540 Btu per cu ft at 60 F and Boiler hp =
30.0 in. Hg 33,475
300(1127.91 − 28.06)
Given: Boiler hp =
33,475
W = 300 lb/hr
x = 95% Boiler hp = 9.8568 Bo hp
Feedwater temperature, 60 F For overall efficiency
Steam pressure, 50 psia 4
p1 = + 30.2 = 30.4941 in. Hg
Barometric pressure, 30.2 in. Hg 13.6
Gas pressure, 4 in. H2O T1 = 90 + 460 = 550 F
Gas temperature, 90 F V1 = 950 cu ft hr
Gas consumption, 950 cu ft per hr p0 = 30 in. Hg
Heating value of gas, 540 Btu per cu ft
T0 = 60 + 460 = 520 F
at 60 F and 30.0 in. Hg

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 Sample Problem 4
 p  T 
V0 = V1  1  0 
 p0  T1 

 30.4941  520 
V0 = 950  
 30  550 

V0 = 912.97 cu ft

QA = HV V0

QA = 540 912.97

QA = 493,003.8 Btu hr

W (h2 − h1 )
=
QA
300(1127.91 − 28.06 )
=
493,003.8

 = 0.6693 = 66.93% (answer)

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