ED 2017/ REV.

MEM 1-3

Design of Marine Machinery

Marine Steam Boilers

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 1 of 21

 ED 2017/ REV. 0

Learning objectives

Marine Steam Boilers:

Types of Boilers
• Smoke tube boilers & Water tube boilers
• Composite Boilers

Superheaters & Attemperators

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 2 of 21

 Smoke tube Boilers ED 2017/ REV. 0

• The hot gases

pass though the
tubes that are
surrounded by
water, which is
Fig 1 heated up and
converted into
• It is usually chosen for low- steam.
pressure steam production on • Examples:
vessels requiring steam for Cochran boiler,
auxiliary purposes. Thimble tube
• Operation is simple and feed boiler, Spanner
water of medium quality is used. boiler.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 3 of 21
 Smoke tube Boilers
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• It’s a tank boiler of Cochran boiler

vertical type suitable Steam Stop Valve

for producing small Pressure gauge

amounts of low
pressure steam for
aux. purposes.
• Combustion products
pass from furnace into
combustion chamber
Fusible plug

Combustion chamber
lined with refractory Smoke

material, and then Box

through smoke tubes

into the smoke box at Fig 2
the front of the boiler. Slide No. 4 of 21
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery
 Water tube boilers
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• The basic design

consists of a larger
steam drum placed
above the smaller
water drum.
• It is usually chosen
for producing large
quantities of high-
pressure steam.

Fig 3

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 5 of 21

 Water tube boilers
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Steam drum reservoir of relatively cool water as

it recieves feed, gives necessary head to displace
high temp. mixture of steam & water from heated
tube surfaces.
• Steam drum provides space for the seperation of
mixture of steam & water.
• Water flow: steam drum  water drum via
downcomers (not passing through furnace). From
water drum distributes to generating tubes and
headers.
• Water rises up through generating tubes, providing
positive circulation. (water density ↓ on heating)
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 6 of 21
 Water tube boilers
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Water drum, provides accumulation space for

suspended solids precipitating from boiler water.
• Blowdown connection at bottom for blowing down
such impurities.
• Drums are connected directly by generating tubes
and by others via headers.
• Waterwall tubes used on roof side and rear of the
furnace are connected to drums or headers as
required.
• The gases leaving the furnace pass external to
the tubes, imparting heat to the water inside them.

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 7 of 21

 Water tube boilers
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• A multiloop superheater is placed in the lower part

of the uptake.
• Here steam is superheated i.e., it is raised above
its saturation temperature for use in turbines.
• The exhaust gases heat up an economiser (where
incoming feedwater is heated) after passing
through the superheater.

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 8 of 21

 ED 2017/ REV. 0

Composite Boilers
The figure shows a composite Cochran boiler.

• Can be used in port

and also at sea.
• In port it is fired with
Diesel oil or Heavy
oil(as per regulations).
• Waste heat in diesel
engine exh. varies
between 20 to 25% of
total heat energy
being supplied. Fig 4

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 9 of 21

 ED 2017/ REV. 0

Composite Boilers
• Upto 50% of this waste heat is recoverable in
Exhaust Gas Boiler.
• Bypass line may be provided for the exh. gases to
bypass the boiler at sea, if required.
• At sea the burner is shut off or on ‘Auto’ and
Exh. gases from main engine heat up water.
• Burner cuts in if engine slows down/ steam
pressure falls. Hence during long hours of
maneuvring, boiler is set on ‘Auto’.
• The steam produced is led off through a main
steam stop valve for auxiliary services.

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 10 of 21

 ED 2017/ REV. 0
Superheated Steam
• If dry saturated
steam is further
heated at constant
pressure, its
temperature
increases.
• Thus it stores more Fig 5
energy without
increasing the boiler
scantlings.
• Allowing it to perform more work on– turbines.
• The onset of condensation is also delayed, the
steam having to drop to the evaporation temperature
corresponding to the pressure.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 11 of 21
 Superheater
ED 2017/ REV. 0

Construction:
• Header type water tube
boiler’s Superheater consist
of a series of U-tubes,
expanded and bell-mouthed
into two separate cylindrical/
rectangular section, forged
steel headers. Fig 6

• Headers distribute steam to the superheater tubes

and direct it from the inlet to outlet piping. These
both either vertically or horizontally mounted.
• The super heater tubes in the case of the Inter deck
type, are carried by superheat support tubes.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 12 of 21
 Superheater
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Super heater in a
D-type Boiler
• The super heater
tubes, Ф 32- 38 mm
are supported by
means of
transverse support
plates.

Fig 7

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 13 of 21

 Superheater
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Internal baffles are

welded inside headers,
so steam makes the
required number of
passes through the gas Fig 8
stream.
Position-orientation of Superheater:
• Placed out of the gas stream, to one side of the
boiler, in a plane parallel to the inclined generating
tube bank.
• It’s tubes project horizontally across the gas stream,
being placed at right angles to the generating tubes.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 14 of 21
 Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

They are fitted to keep the steam temperature in final

stages of the superheater within certain desired
limits.
This is done for two main reasons:
1. Most important protection of the super heater
tube material from the effects of overheating.
Steam temperature governs the tube metal
surface temperature rather than the temperature
of the gas flowing over them .
Example: Mild Steel superheater tubes should not
be subjected to steam temperatures in excess of
455°C.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 15 of 21
 Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

2. Secondly, formation of bonded deposits on

superheater tubes can be reduced if steam and
gas streams within certain temperature ranges are
prevented from coming into contact with each
other.

• Two basic types of Attemperators are available:

– Water cooled
– Air cooled

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 16 of 21

 Water cooled Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• These are constructed in a manner similar to that of

a surface type de-super heater.
• Placed below the water level in the steam drum. Or,
• As an alternative , placed in an external chamber
connected by balance connections to the
circulation circuit of the boiler.

Fig 9

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 17 of 21

 Water cooled Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• With this type, some of the steam leaving the

primary super heater passes directly to the
secondary super heater , while the remainder
passes through the attemperator before rejoining
the rest of the steam to enter the secondary super
heater.

• Control valves, fitted to the steam line leaving the

primary superheater, regulate the final superheat
temperature by varying the proportion of steam
flowing direct to the secondary super heater to
that passing to it via the attemperator.

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 18 of 21

 Air cooled Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Usually fitted
in the double
casing of the
boiler, consists
of inlet and
outlet headers
connected
together by a
series of multi-
loop tube
elements. Fig 10

• Enables superheated steam to make several passes

across the path of combustion air flowing to furnace.
APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 19 of 21
 Air cooled Attemperator
ED 2017/ REV. 0

• Here steam leaving the primary superheater passes

through the attemperator before entering the
secondary superheater.
• Final steam temperature is obtained by regulating
the amount of combustion air flowing over
attemperator through control dampers & air by-pass.
• Air cooled is much larger than a corresponding
water cooled type due to poor heat exchange
efficiency between the air and steam.
• Reduction in size possible if finned tubes used.
• A steam air heater is usually fitted to heat the by-
passed combustion air.

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 1 : Design of Marine Machinery Slide No. 20 of 21

 ED 2017/ REV. 0

Thank You

APPLIED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL MEM 22 : Diesel Engine Control and Safety Slide No. 21 of 21