Knowledge Sharing-Overview of Power Plant Boilers

L&T Heavy Engineering
Overview of Power Plant Boilers.
By
Soubhadra A Nag.
DCC-Thermal Design
Date - 25th Oct 2017
© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 1

What is a Boiler?
1. Boiler is an apparatus to produce steam. Thermal energy released by

combustion of fuel is used to make steam at the desired temperature and
pressure.
2. The steam produced is used for:
3. (i) Producing mechanical work by expanding it in steam engine or steam
turbine.
4. (ii) Heating the residential and industrial buildings
5. (iii) Performing certain processes in the sugar mills, chemical and textile
industries.

Schematic of a Boiler….

IBR – Indian Boiler Regulation
• The Indian Boilers Act was enacted to consolidate and amend the law
relating to steam boilers.
• Indian Boilers Regulation (IBR) was created in exercise of the powers
conferred by section 28 & 29 of the Indian Boilers Act.
• IBR Steam Boilers means any closed vessel exceeding 22.75 liters in
capacity and which is used expressively for generating steam under
pressure and includes any mounting or other fitting attached to such vessel,
which is wholly, or partly under pressure when the steam is shut off.
• IBR Steam Pipe means any pipe through which steam passes from a boiler
to a prime mover or other user or both, if pressure at which steam passes
through such pipes exceeds 3.5 kg/cm2 above atmospheric pressure or such
pipe exceeds 254 mm in internal diameter and includes in either case any
connected fitting of a steam pipe.
IBR – Indian Boiler Regulation…
1. Manufacturers and suppliers of boilers and associated components for use in
India must comply with the Indian Boiler Regulations (IBR) which covers all
material and equipment utilised in the manufacture of boilers for use in India
2. It is not possible for any boiler material or equipment to be imported into
India unless it is accompanied by a certificate
3. This certificate must be endorsed by an inspecting authority designated by
the Indian government.

Types of Boilers
Boilers are Classified into two types,
1. Fire Tube Boilers
2. Water Tube Boilers
Fire Tube Boilers:

a) Water gets heated outside the tubes while the hot gases flows inside
the tubes.
b) Low Pressure system.
c) Ex. RG/CG Boiler, Synloop Boiler etc.
Water Tube Boilers:

d) Water flows inside the tubes and the hot flue gases flow outside the
tubes.
e) Low & High Pressure system.
f) Ex. Power Plant Boilers.
Comparison between Fire-tube & water-tube boilers
S no. Particulars Fire tube boilers Water tube boilers
1. Mode of firing Internally fired Externally fired

2. Rate of steam production lower Higher
3. construction Difficult Simple

4. transportation Difficult Simple
5. Treatment of water Not so necessary More necessary
6. Operating pressure Limited to 16 bar Under high pressure as

100 bar
7. Floor area More fl oor area Less fl oor area

8. Shell diameter Large for same power Small same power
9. explosion Less More
10. Risk of bursting lesser More risk
Power Plant Boilers
Layout
Typical Size for 660 MWe

55 m x 20 m x 25 m

5710C To HP
Turbine L&T
569 C
Heavy Engineering
0
Mixer Header To IP Turbine

5340C
4230C 4620C 5260C
Separator FRH
FSH 4730C
Platen
Heater
From CRH Line LTSH
4430C 3260C
LTRH
3240C
NRV
From FRS Line 2830C
2800C Economizer Economizer

Phase 1 Phase 2
Water/Steam Circuit
Boiler Bottom Ring

Recirculation Pump Header
© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved

Flue Gas flow

Air flow
ECONOMISER
Boiler – Flue Gas Circuit
APH
ESP
CHIMNEY
ID Fan
SA Fan
FD Fan
TO PROCESS MU WATER CONDENSATE
ECONOMISER
DEAERATOR
TOWER
CHEMICAL
DOSING
STEAM
DEAERATOR STORAGE TANK
F.P:01
Boiler – Steam/Water
Circuit
F.P:02

Boiler Components
Economizer
• Heat Recovery Equipment.

• It adds sensible heat to the incoming feed water.
• It enhances the efficiency of the boiler by abstracting the heat from flue gases.

Boiler Components
Boiler Bank
• Boiler bank tubes connect Steam and Mud drums in a boiler.

• Natural circulation occurs with out the aid of any external down comers. First 20-
30% rows act as risers and the rest act as down comers.
• Membrane division wall separates the boiler bank and the furnace.
Boiler Components
Membrane/Waterwall Panel
• It is the zone where water partially converted into steam.

• The arrangement is of tube and fin construction so that it forms a gas tight
chamber.
• It ensures the flue gas gets cooled down before entering boiler bank zone.

Boiler Components
Air Preheater
• The Air Preheater is the last heat recovery equipment which is situated last in the
flue gas path.
• It is a cross flow heat exchanger which provides hot air for combustion.

Boiler Components
Boiler Mountings & Accessories
• Fittings or Devices which are • Fittings or Devices which are provided

necessary for safety and controls to increase the efficiency of boiler and
are known as Mountings. help in smooth running of boiler are
known as Accessories.
 Safety Valve.  Economiser.

 Water Level Gauge.  Air Preheater.
 Pressure Gauge.  Superheater.
 Fusible Plug.  Boiler Feed Water Pumps.
 Blowdown Valve.  Pressure Reducing Valve.
 Feed Check valve.  Moisture Separator.
 Air Vent Valve.  Steam Traps.

Theory Of Boiling..
There are two theories which governs the boiling:
1. Nucleate boiling
• Bubble production commences on

surface.
• Initially small number of nucleation sites
are active.
• At higher flux number of nucleation sites
increase
• Bubbles coalesce and form irregular
columns of vapor leaving the surface .
• At C departure from nucleate boiling
occurs also known as Critical Heat Flux.
• Nucleate Boiling is an efficient and preferred mode of heat transfer for boiling
applications.

Theory Of Boiling..
There are two theories which governs the boiling:
2. Film boiling
• Film boiling is a post critical heat flux

(CHF) regime with such a high surface
temperature, that the wall can not
contact with the liquid, but is covered by
the vapor and thus has. relatively low
heat transfer efficiency due to poor heat
conductivity of the vapor.
• Heat is transferred mainly by radiation.
• Flux increases.
• When the steam generation film between the tube wall and wall insulation fluid,
the heat exchange becomes poor vapor film, so that the wall will reach a high
temperature, and the danger of burning
Theory Of Boiling..
• Rifle Tubes Vs Smooth Tubes
• The presence of the internal rifling induces centrifugal forces in the mass flow
thereby separating the water from the steam fraction and forcing the water
towards the tube wall.
• This ensures nucleate boiling regime on the tube wall.

Supercritical v/s Subcritical

What is Supercritical Pressure ?
• Critical point in water vapour cycle is a thermodynamic state where there is
no clear distinction between liquid and gaseous state of water.
• Water reaches to this state at a critical pressure above 22.1 MPa and 374
°C.


Comparison
Absolute Pressure Saturation Temperature Latent Heat
(Bar) (oC) (K J/Kg.)
50 264 1640
150 342 1004
200 366 592
221 374 0
• Aggressive process conditions (Pressure and Temperature) in supercritical

power plants demand for a modification in the boiler developed for subcritical
power plants.
• The modification is mainly in terms of material and the water chemistry
requirement in the power plant.


COMPARISION OF SUPER CRITICAL & SUB CRITICAL
DESCRIPTION SUPERCRITICAL SUB-CRITICAL
(660MW) (500MW)
Circulation Ratio 1 Once-thru=1
Assisted Circulation=3-4
Natural circulation= 7-8
Feed Water Flow -Water to Fuel Three Element Control

Control Ratio -Feed Water Flow
-MS Flow
(7:1)
-Drum Level
-OHDR(22-35 OC)
-Load Demand
Latent Heat Addition Nil Heat addition more
Sp. Enthalpy Low More
Sp. Coal consumption Low High
Air flow, Dry flu gas loss Low High
Continue..
(660MW) (500MW)
Coal & Ash handling Low High
Pollution Low High

Aux. Power Low More
Consumption
Overall Efficiency High Low
(40-42%) (36-37%)
Total heating
surface area Reqd Low High
Tube diameter Low High

Continue..
(660MW) (500MW)
Material / Infrastructure
Low High
(Tonnage)
Start up Time Less More
Blow down loss Nil More
Water Consumption Less More

Water Wall Design

WATER WALL ARRANGEMENT

• Bottom spiral & top vertical tube furnace arrangement
• Once through design feature is used for boiler water wall design
• The supercritical water wall is exposed to the higher heat flux
• Spiral tube wall design (wrapped around the unit) with high mass flow &
velocity of steam/water mixture through each spiral
• Higher mass flow improves heat transfer between the WW tube and the
fluid at high heat flux.

SPIRAL VS VERTICAL WALL
VERTICAL WALL SPIRAL WALL

• Less ash deposition on wall • More ash deposition
• Less mass flow • More fluid mass flow
• More number of tubes • Less number of tubes
• More boiler height for same • Less boiler height
capacity • Uniform heat transfer and uniform
• No uniform heating of tubes and heating of WW tubes
heat transfer in all tubes of WW

Furnace Arrangement
SPIRAL TYPE
VERTICAL TYPE

Supercritical Sliding Pressure Boiler Water

Wall Design
Comparison of Vertical Wall and Spiral Wall


Ash accumulation on walls
Vertical water walls Spiral water walls

Super Critical Boiler

Materials

Advanced Supercritical Tube Materials
(300 bar/6000c/6200c)

Material Comparison
Description 660 MW 500 MW

Structural Steel Alloy Steel Carbon Steel
Water wall T22 Carbon Steel
SH Coil T23, T91 T11, T22
T91,Super 304
RH Coil H T22, T91,T11
LTSH T12 T11
Economizer SA106-C Carbon Steel
Welding Joints (Pressure Parts) More Less

Steam Water Cycle

Chemistry Controls

S. Parameter Sub Critical Super Critical

No.
Type of Boiler  LP and HP dosing. Or  No HP dosing
water  All Volatile Treatment  Combined water treatment (CWT).
1
treatment (Hydrazine + Ammonia)
Silica < 20 ppb in feed water and steam, Standard value <15 ppb in the cycle
2 < 250 ppb in boiler drum Expected value <10 ppb in the cycle
pH 9.0 - 9.5 for feed, steam & 9.0 – 9.6 for AVT(All volatile treatment)
3 condensate, 8.0 – 9.0 for CWT(Combine water
9.0 – 10.0 for Boiler drum treatment)
Dissolved < 7 ppb for feed. < 7 ppb for feed in case of AVT
4 Oxygen (DO) 30 – 150 ppb for feed in case of CWT
Cation (H+) <0.20 µS/cm in the feed & steam Standard value <0.15 µS /cm in the cycle
Conductivity cycle Expected value- <0.10 µS /cm in the cycle
5
6 (CPU) CPU is optional CPU is essential for 100% flow.
Silica and TDS By maintaining feed water quality Blow down possible till separators are
7 control and functioning (upto 30% load).
By operating CBD

Advantages of SC Technology
I ) Higher cycle efficiency means
Primarily
– less fuel consumption
– less per MW infrastructure investments
– less emission
– less auxiliary power consumption
– less water consumption
II ) Operational flexibility
– Better temp. control and load change flexibility
– Shorter start-up time
– More suitable for widely variable pressure operation

ECONOMY
Higher Efficiency (η%)
• Less fuel input.
• Low capacity fuel handling system.
• Low capacity ash handling system.
• Less Emissions.
 Approximate improvement in Cycle

Efficiency
Pressure increase : 0.005 % per bar
Temp increase : 0.011 % per deg K

Increase of Cycle Efficiency due to Steam Parameters
Increase of efficiency [%]
10
6,77
9
5,79
8 5,74
7 4,81
3,74
6 4,26
5 3,44 2,76
3,37
4
2,64
3
2,42 1,47
2 600 / 620
1,78 0,75
1 580 / 600
0 566 / 566
0 538 / 566
300
241 HP / RH outlet temperature [deg. C]
Pressure [bar] 175 538 / 538

Challenges of supercritical technology

• Water chemistry is more stringent in super critical once through boiler.
• Metallurgical Challenges
• More complex in erection due to spiral water wall.
• More feed pump power is required due to more friction losses in spiral water
wall.
• Maintenance of tube leakage is difficult due to complex design of water wall.
• Ash sticking tendency is more in spiral water wall in comparison of vertical

wall.

Thank You….

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L&T Heavy Engineering

Overview of Power Plant Boilers.

Date - 25th Oct 2017

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 1

1. Boiler is an apparatus to produce steam. Thermal energy released by

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 2

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 3

2. It is not possible for any boiler material or equipment to be imported into

India unless it is accompanied by a certificate

3. This certificate must be endorsed by an inspecting authority designated by

the Indian government.

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 5

1. Fire Tube Boilers

2. Water Tube Boilers

Fire Tube Boilers:

Water Tube Boilers:

1. Mode of firing Internally fired Externally fired

3. construction Difficult Simple

6. Operating pressure Limited to 16 bar Under high pressure as

7. Floor area More fl oor area Less fl oor area

Typical Size for 660 MWe

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 8

Mixer Header To IP Turbine

2800C Economizer Economizer

Boiler Bottom Ring

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved

Flue Gas flow

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 11

• Heat Recovery Equipment.

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 12

• Boiler bank tubes connect Steam and Mud drums in a boiler.

• It is the zone where water partially converted into steam.

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 14

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 15

• Fittings or Devices which are • Fittings or Devices which are provided

 Safety Valve.  Economiser.

© 2016 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 16

• Bubble production commences on

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 17

• Film boiling is a post critical heat flux

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 19

Supercritical v/s Subcritical

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 20

Supercritical v/s Subcritical

• Aggressive process conditions (Pressure and Temperature) in supercritical

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 21

Supercritical v/s Subcritical

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 22

Feed Water Flow -Water to Fuel Three Element Control

Pollution Low High

Tube diameter Low High

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 24

Blow down loss Nil More

Water Consumption Less More

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 25

Water Wall Design

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 26

WATER WALL ARRANGEMENT

• The supercritical water wall is exposed to the higher heat flux

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 27

SPIRAL VS VERTICAL WALL

VERTICAL WALL SPIRAL WALL

© 2015 Larsen & Toubro Limited : All rights reserved 28