India Operation
Center
Module 5.16 Boiler Controls
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Boiler Controls
Agenda
Boiler Control Parameters
01 Pressure
02 Temperature
03 Fuel/Air Ratio
04 Water Level (Drum Level)
Boiler Controls
Importance of Boiler Controls
Safety
Protects against potential
hazards such as low water
levels, high pressures,
and overheating
Efficiency
Cost Control
Helps to control fuel Importance of Ensures the boiler is
Boiler Controls operating at optimal
costs and improve
levels, preventing fuel
overall operating
waste and maintaining
efficiency
thermal efficiency
Environmental Impact
Helps reduce emissions and
optimize energy consumption
Boiler Controls
Pressure and Temperature Control
Pressure and Temperature Control:
• Steam pressure needs to be maintained within design limits for efficient energy generation
• Temperature must be controlled to ensure the proper superheating of steam, and to protect the boiler from thermal stresses
(Saturated steam generated when water is heated to the boiling point and when further heated above the saturation point,
it becomes super-heated steam)
Pressure Vs Temperature Steam Pressure control Steam Temperature control
Boiler Controls
Fuel and Air Control
• Balancing fuel and air to achieve optimal combustion efficiency
• Proper ratios prevent excess fuel consumption and reduce emissions
Air & Flue Gas Circuit Series Air-Fuel Control Parallel Air-Fuel Control
Boiler Controls
Water Level Control
Sub heading in max 2 lines
Water Level Control: System
Load Change Capabilities Typical Applications
• Ensures the boiler has the correct Classification
amount of water for steam generation
Magnitude Rate
• Too high or too low a water level can cause Institutional and industrial heating plants
dangerous situations, such as flooding or Single-element Moderate Slow
Steady process conditions
dry-out (Surge & Sag)
Industrial plants with essentially
• Addition of elements (flow and transmitter Two-element Moderate Moderate continuous type processes and good
devices) enables the controller to predict the feedwater pressure regulation
amount of water added to the drum to
Combination of batch and continuous
maintain drum level set-point
type operations such that plant steam
Three-element Wide Fast load characteristics varies continuously
and usually unpredictably. Most industrial
power applications fall into this category.
Boiler Controls
Water Level Control
Single element
• Simple kind of drum level control design. It needs single
analog input for its operation and in return provides
single analog output
• There is no relationship between drum level and steam or
feedwater flow, it can be applied only to a single feed pump
on a single boiler supplying a relatively stable load
Two element
• Steam-flow element that provides a density-corrected
mass flow-rate signal to control the feedwater flow
• In this design, presence of double control elements tends to
provide rigid drum level control
Three element
• Three-element drum-level control is suited for handling
variable feedwater pressure or multiple boilers with
multiple feedwater pumps
• In this design, three elements are used, each for
controlling level, steam and feedwater flow respectively
Boiler Controls
Drum level control
Single element Drum level control Two element Drum level control Three element Drum level control
Boiler Controls
Three-element drum level control system
Boiler Controls
Mater Slave Controls
Level Controller (LC):
Master controller or Primary Controller
Flow Controller (FC):
Slave controller or Secondary Controller
