STEAM GENERATOR or

BOILER
Definition
Basic types of steam generator
 Classification of boilers
• 1. Horizontal, Vertical or Inclined Boiler.

-If the axis of the boiler is horizontal, the boiler is

called horizontal,
• -If the axis is vertical, it is called vertical boiler
and
• -If the axis is inclined it is called as inclined boiler.
 Classification of boilers
• 2. Fire Tube and Water Tube
-In the fire
boilers, the hot
gases are inside
the tubes and
the water
surrounds the
tubes.
Examples: Cochran,
Lancashire and
Locomotive boilers.
 Classification of boilers
-In the water tube boilers,
the water is inside the
tubes and hot gases
surround them.
Examples: Babcock and
Wilcox,
Yarrow boiler etc.
 Classification of boilers
• 3. Externally fired and internally fired

The boiler is known as externally fired if the

fire is outside the shell.
Examples: Babcock and Wilcox boiler
-
• In case of internally fired boilers, the furnace
is located inside the shell.
Examples: Cochran, Lancashire boiler etc.
 Classification of boilers
• 4. Forced circulation and Natural Circulation

-In forced circulation type of boilers, the circulation of

water is done by a forced pump.
Examples: Lamont, Benson Boiler etc.

• -In natural circulation type of boilers, circulation of

water in the boiler takes place due to natural
convention currents produced by the application of
heat.
Examples: Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox boiler etc.
 Classification of boilers
• 5. Higher Pressure and Low Pressure Boilers
-The boiler which produce steam at pressures of 80 bar
and above are
called high pressure boilers.
Examples: Babcock and Wilcox, Benson Boiler etc.

• -The boilers which produce steam at pressure below 80

bar are called low
pressure boilers.
Examples: Cochran, Cornish, Lancashire and
Locomotive boiler etc.
 Classification of boilers
• 6. Stationary and Portable

Stationary boilers are used for power plant

steam, for central station utility
power plants, for plant process steam etc.

• Mobile boilers or portable boilers include

locomotive type, and other small
units for temporary use at sites.
 Classification of boilers
•
7. Single Tube and Multi Tube Boiler
The fire tube boilers are classified as
• -single tube and
• -multi-tube boilers,
depending upon whether the fire tube is one or more than one.
Examples: Cornish, simple vertical boiler are the single tube boiler
and rest
of the boilers are multi-tube boiler.

8. According to passes
-single pass
-Multi pass
Comparison of fire tube and water tube
boilers
Particulars Fire-tube boilers Water-tube boilers
Position of water and hot Hot gases inside the tubes Water inside the tubes
gases and water outside the and hot gases outside the
tubes tubes
Mode of firing Generally internally fired Externally fired
Operation pressure Limited to 16 bar Can go up to 100 bar
Rate of steam production Lower Higher
Suitability Not suitable for large Suitable for large power
power plants plants
Risk on bursting Involves lesser risk of More risk on bursting
explosion due to lower due to high pressure
pressure
Floor area For a given power it For a given power it
occupies more floor area occupies less floor area
Construction Difficult Simple
Cont…
Particulars Fire-tube boilers Water-tube boilers
Transportation Difficult Simple
Shell diameter Large for same power Small for same power
Chances of explosion Less More
Treatment of water Not so necessary More necessary
Accessibility of Various parts not so More accessible
various parts easily accessible for
cleaning, repair and
inspection
Requirement of skill Require less skill for Require more skill and
efficient and economic careful attention
working
Why the fire tube boilers are not preferred for high pressure
application?
Selection of a Boiler
Essentials of a Good Steam Generator
Performance of steam Generator
Cochran boiler
 Cochran boiler
• Shell
It is hemispherical on the top, where space is provided for steam.
Grate
It is placed at the bottom of the furnace where coal is burnt.
Fire box (furnace )
It is also dome-shaped like the shell so that the gases can be deflected
back till they are passed out through the flue pipe to the combustion
chamber.
Flue pipe:
It is a short passage connecting the fire box with the combustion chamber.
Fire tubes:
A number of horizontal fire tubes are provided, thereby the heating
surface is increased.
 Cochran boiler
• Combustion chamber:
It is lined with fire bricks on the side of the shell to prevent
overheating of the boiler. Hot gases enter the fire tubes from the
flue pipe through the combustion chamber.
Chimney:
It is provided for the exit of the flue gases to the atmosphere from
the smoke box.
Manhole:
It is provided for inspection and repair of the interior of the boiler
shell.
Normal size of a Cochran boiler:
Shell diameter – 2.75 meters:
Height of the shell – 6 meters.
 Cochran boiler
• Working of the Cochran boiler:
• Coal is fed into the grate through the fire hole and burnt. Ash
formed during burning is collected in the ashpit provided just below
the grate and then it is removed manually.
The hot gases from the grate pass through the flue pipe to the
combustion chamber. The hot gases from the combustion chamber
flow through the horizontal fire tubes and transfer the heat to the
water by convection.
The flue gases coming out of fire tubes pass through the smoke box
and are exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney.
Smoke box is provided with a door for cleaning the fire tubes and
smoke box.
 Cochran boiler
• The following mountings are fitted to the boiler:

Pressure gauge: this indicates the pressure of the steam inside the boiler.
Water gauge: this indicates the water level in the boiler. The water level in the
boiler should not fall below a particular level, otherwise the boiler will be over
heated and the tubes may burn out.
Safety valve: the function of the safety valve is to prevent an increase of steam
pressure in the boiler above its normal working pressure.
Steam stop valve: it regulates the flow of steam supply to requirements.
Blow-off cock: it is located at the bottom of the boiler. When the blow-off cock is
opened during the running of the boiler, the high pressure steam pushes (drains)
out the impurities like mud, sand, etc., in the water collected at the bottom.
Fusible plug: it protects the fire tubes from burning when the water level in the
boiler falls abnormally low.
 Cochran boiler
• Salient features of Cochran boiler:
• The dome shape of the furnace causes the hot
gases to deflect back and pass through the flue.
The un-burnt fuel if any will also be deflected
back.
• Spherical shape of the top of the shell and the
fire box gives higher area by volume ratio.
• It occupies comparatively less floor area and is
very compact.
• It is well suited for small capacity requirements.
 la Mont boiler
• A forced circulation boiler was first introduced by
La-Mont in the year 1925 which is used in Europe
and America. This is a modern high pressure
boiler (water tube type steam boilers) working on
forced circulation system.

Working principle of La Mont Boiler

The image shows the flow circuit of La Mont
Boiler.
 la Mont boiler
• Steam separator drum
The la Mont boiler
consists of a steam
separator drum which is
placed wholly outside
the boiler setting .
• The drum receives a
mixture of steam and
water from the
evaporator tubes and
feed water from the
economizer.
• The steam is separated
from water in the drum.
 la Mont boiler
• Circulating pump
The water from the drum
is then drawn to the
circulating (centrifugal)
pump through the down-
comer.
• The pump circulates water
(“forced circulation”)
equal to 8 to 10 times the
weight of steam
evaporated.
• This prevents the tubes
from being overheated.
 la Mont boiler
• Distributing header
The circulating pump
delivers the feed
water to the
distributing header
with orifices at a
pressure above the
drum pressure.
 la Mont boiler
• Evaporator
The header distributes
water through orifices
into the evaporator
tubes acting in parallel.
• Orifice in the header
controls the flow of
water to the
evaporator tubes.
• Here part of the water
is evaporated and a
mixture of steam and
water from these tubes
enters the drum.
 la Mont boiler
• Convection super heater

• The steam produced in the

boiler is nearly saturated.
• This steam as such should
not be used in the steam
turbine.
• The presence of moisture
in it will cause corrosion of
turbine blades, etc. to raise
the temperature of steam
and thereby to increase the
turbine efficiency, super
heater is used.
 la Mont boiler
• Steam outlet
Superheated steam from
the super heater passes
out to the steam turbine
through the steam outlet.
Economizer
The quantity of
superheated steam thus
delivered to turbine is
continuously made up in
the form of feed water.
• Feed water supplied by the
feed pump is heated in the
economizer on its way to
the steam separator drum.
•
la Mont boiler
The economizer is a device
used to preheat the feed water
using the hot gases leaving the
boiler.
• Before the gases are let off to
the atmosphere, they are
made to flow in a definite
passage in the economizer so
that some of the heat in the
hot gases, which otherwise
gets wasted, can be used to
preheat the feed water.
• The preheated water requires
only a small amount of heat to
be supplied in the boiler,
resulting in some saving of the
fuel burnt.
Air pre heater
la Mont boiler
Since the heat of the exit gases
cannot be fully extracted
through the economizer, the
air pre heater is employed to
recover some of the heat
escaping in these gases.
These exit gases preheat the
air from the blower in the air
pre heater.
The preheated air is supplied
to the furnace for combustion.
Capacity
The capacity of la-mont boiler
is about 50 Tonnes/hr of
superheated steam at a
pressure of 170 kgf/sq.cm. and
at a temperature of 500’C..
 Loeffler Boiler
• Salient features of Loeffler Boiler
The novel feature of the Loeffler Boiler is to evaporate water solely
by means of superheated steam. The furnace heat is supplied only
to economiser and superheater. In other words, steam is used as a
heat absorbing medium.
The major difficulty experienced in La-Mont boiler is deposition of
salt and sediment on the inner surfaces of water tubes.
• The deposition reduces the heat transfer, ultimately, the generating
capacity. This difficulty was solved in Loeffler boiler by preventing
the flow of water into the boiler tubes.
• Feed water is evaporated in the drum using part of the superheated
steam coming out from the water-heater.
• Thus only the dry saturated steam passes through the tubes. Poor
feed water can, therefore, be used without any difficulty in the
boiler, which is great advantage of this boiler.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Economiser
The feed water from the
feed tank is supplied to the
economiser by feed pump.
• In the economiser the feed
water is made to flow
through a number of tubes
surrounding which the hot
gases leaving the furnace
pass over.
• There is a heat exchange
from the hot gases to the
feed water, which is
preheated in the
economiser.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Evaporated Drum

• It is housed away from the

furnace.
• It contains a mixture of
steam and water.
• The feed water from the
economiser tubes enters the
evaporator drum into which
is also passed two-thirds of
the superheated steam
generated by the boiler.
• The superheated steam gives
its superheat to the water in
the drum and evaporates it
to saturated steam.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Mixing Nozzles
The nozzles distribute and
mix the superheated
steam throughout the
water in the evaporator
drum.
Steam circulating pump
A steam circulating pump
forces this saturated
steam from the
evaporator drum to the
radiant super heater
through the tube of the
furnace wall.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Radiant super heater
The radiant super heater is
placed in the furnace.
• The hot gases in the
furnace are used for
superheating the
saturated steam from the
drum.
• The radiant super heater
receives heat from the
burning fuel through
radiation process.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Convection super heater
Steam from the radiant
super heater enters the
convection super heater
where it is finally heated to
the desired temperature of
500’C.
• The convection super
heater receives heat from
the flue gases entirely by
convective heat transfer.
• Both radiant and convection
super heater are arranged
in series in the path of the
flue gases.
 Loeffler Boiler
• Steam outlet
About one-third of the
superheated steam from the
convection super heater passes
to the steam turbine while the
remaining two-thirds is passed
on to evaporator drum to
evaporated the feed water to
saturated steam.
Capacity
Capacity of the Loeffler boiler is
about 100 Tonnes/Hr of
superheated steam generated at
a pressure of 140 kgf/sq.cm and
at a temperature of 500’C.
 Mounting of high pressure boiler
• Mounting of high pressure boiler: There are
different fittings and device which are
necessary for the operation and safety of a
boiler. The various mountings used on the
boiler
• 1. Water level indicators: The function of a
water level indicator is to indicate the level of
water in the level constantly. It is also called
water gauge.
Water level indicator
 Water level indicator
• Working of Water gauge:
• The water gauge shows the level
of water in the boiler drum. It
warns the operator if the water
level goes below a fixed mark, so
that corrective action may be
taken in time to avoid any
accident.

• For the observation of the water

level in the boiler, the water and
steam cocks are opened and
drain cock is closed.
 Water level indicator
• The steam enters from the upper
metal tube M1 into the glass tube
and water enters from the lower
metal tube M2 into the glass tube.
• Hence, water stands in the glass
tube at the same level as in the
boiler.

• The junctions of the metal tubes

and the glass tube are provided
with two balls. In case the glass
tube is broken, the balls are
pushed to the top and bottom ends
of the glass tube.
 Water level indicator
Thus the flow of both water
and steam out of the boiler
is prevented.

When the boiler is not

working, the water gauge
can be taken out from the
boiler for cleaning
purposes by removing the
bolts.
 Fusible plug
• 2. Fusible plug: The function of a fusible plug is to prevent the
boiler against damage due to overheating for low water level.

• Working of fusible plug:

• During the normal operation, the fusible plug is submerged in
water which keeps the temperature of the fusible metal below its
melting point.
But when the water level falls below the top of the fusible plug, it
is uncovered by the water.
• The fusible plug therefore melts by the heat of the furnace. Thus
the copper plug drops down and is held within the gun metal body
by the ribs.
• The opening so made allows the steam rush into the furnace and
extinguish the fire. The damage to the fire box which could burn
up, is avoided.
 Steam stop valve
• Steam stop valve: A junction valve is a valve which is
placed directly over a boiler and connected to a
steam pipe which carries steam to the engine.
• If a valve is placed in the steam pipe leading steam to
the engine and placed near the engine. It usually
termed as stop valve. The larger sizes are called
Junction valve and smaller sizes Stop valve
• • Function: to shut off or regulate the flow of steam
from the boiler to the steam pipe or steam from the
steam pipe to the engine.
 Steam stop valve
• When the hand wheel is
turned, the spindle
which is screwed
through the nut is raised
or lowered depending
upon the sense of
rotation of wheel.
The passage for flow of
steam is set on opening
of the valve.
Steam stop valve
 Feed check valve
• 4. Feed check valve: The function of a feed check
valve is to control the supply of water to the boiler and
to prevent the exception of water from the boiler
when the pump pressure is less as pump is stopped.

• i) To allow the feed water to pass into the boiler.

• ii) To prevent the back flow of water from the boiler in

the event of the failure of the feed pump.

• The feed check valve is fitted in the water space of the

boiler slightly below the normal level of the water.
Feed check valve

Working same as that of

non return valve
 Blow off cock
Function: To drain out the water from the
boiler for internal cleaning, inspection, repair
or other purposes.
• It may discharge a portion of water when
the boiler is in operation to blow out mud,
scale or sediments, periodically.
• It is fitted on the boiler shell directly or to a
short branch pipe at the lowest part of the
water space.
 Blow off cock
• The commonly used blow off
cock is shown in figure.
• It is consists of conical plug
fitted accurately in to similar
casing.
• The plug has rectangular
opening, which may be brought
in line of passage by rotating
the plug.
• This causes the water to
discharge from boiler.
• The discharge of water may be
stopped by rotating the plug
again.
 Safety Valve
Function : The function of safety valve is to release the excess steam
when the pressure of steam inside the boiler exceeds
the rated pressure.

• There are 4 types of safety valves:

i) Lever Safety Valve

ii)Dead Weight Safety Valve

iii) Spring Loaded safety Valve

iv)High steam and low water safety valve

 Lever Safety Valve
• It consists of a valve resting over a gun metal
seat. The valve seat is fixed on a mounting
block, fitted over the boiler shell.
• One end of the lever is hinged to a rod of the
mounting block, while the other end carries a
weight. A short strut is placed over the valve.
 Dead Weight Safety Valve
ii)Dead Weight Safety Valve
• It is mainly used for low pressures, low capacity, stationary
boilers of the Cornish and Lancashire types.

• Merits:
1)Simplicity of design
2)Gives quite a satisfactory performance during operation.
3)It cannot be easily tempered from the pressure adjustment view.

• Demerits:
1)Unsuitable for use on any boiler where extensive vibration and
movement are experienced( e.g. locomotive and marine work).

2)It is not suitable for high pressure boilers because a large amount
of weight is required to balance the steam pressure.
 Dead Weight Safety Valve
• The Dead Weight safety valve consists
of a valve V which is made of gun metal
to prevent rusting.
• It rests on the gun metal seat S and is
fixed to the top of a vertical steam pipe
P.
• The pipe has a flange F at the bottom
for fixing at the top of the boiler shell.
A weight carrier C is suspended from
the top of the boiler.
• It carries cast iron rings (i.e., weight W).
the total weight must be sufficient to
the keep the valve on its seat against
the normal working pressure.
 Dead Weight Safety Valve
• Working of Dead Weight safety valve:
• When the steam pressure in the boiler exceeds the
normal working pressure, it lifts the valve with its
weight.
• The excess steam therefore escapes through the pipe
to the atmosphere, until the pressure reaches its
normal value.
It is the simplest type of safety valve; it is suitable for
stationary boilers only, because it cannot withstand the
jerks and vibration of mobile (marine) boilers.
• Another disadvantage of this valve is the heavy weight
required to balance the steam pressure. Hence, it is not
suitable for high pressure boilers
 Spring Loaded safety Valve
• iii) Spring Loaded safety Valve
• • For locomotives and marine engines both the lever and
dead weight types are unsuitable for obvious reasons,
and the valve must be spring loaded, as such valve is
unaffected by vibration or deviation from the vertical.

• • Disadvantage :
One disadvantage of this valve is that the load on the
valve increases as the valve lifts, so that pressure
required
just to lift the valve is less than that required to open it
fully.
 Spring Loaded safety Valve
valve
• Description of spring
loaded safety valve:
•
It is loaded with a spring
instead of weights.
Hence it is called spring spring
loaded safety valve.
• It consists of a cast iron body
body having two branch
pipes P1 and P2. Two
separate valves are
placed over the valve p1
seating's, which are p2
fixed to the top of the
branch pipes.
 Spring Loaded safety Valve
valve
lever

• A lever is placed over

the valves by means of
two conical pivots.
The lever is attached to spring
a spring at its middle.
The spring pulls the
lever in downward body
direction.
• The lower end of the
spring is attached to p1
the valve body by
means of a shackle. p2
Thus the valves are
held tight to their seats
by the spring force.
 Spring Loaded safety Valve
working
When the steam pressure exceeds the normal working
pressure , the valves rise up against the action of the
spring and allow the steam to escape from the boiler till
the pressure in the boiler reaches its working pressure
• The spring loaded safety valve is much lighter and
compact compared with other safety valves.
• For locomotive or marine service, the safety valve should
be such that it is unaffected by jerks and vibration likely
to occur in such device.
• Hence spring loaded safety valve is preferred for
locomotive and marine services, in addition to stationary
boilers.
Spring Loaded safety Valve
 High steam and low water safety
valve
It serves the following purposes.
(i) The steam automatically escapes out when
the level of water falls below a certain level.
(ii) It automatically discharges the excess
steam when the pressure of the steam rises
above a certain pressure.
Use : It is generally used on Lancashire or
Cornish boiler.
It cannot used in mobile boilers.
 High steam and low water safety
valve
• It consist of a main valve (known as lever
safety valve) and rest on its seat.
• In the centre of the main valve, a seat for a
hemispherical valve is formed for low water
operation.
• This valve is loaded directly by the dead
weights attached to the valve by a long rod.
• There is a lever , which has its fulcrum. The
lever has weight suspended at the end.
 High steam and low water safety
valve
• When it is fully immersed in water. It is balanced by a
weight at other end of lever F.
• When the water level falls, the weight comes out of
water(E) and weight at other end will not be sufficient
to balance weight(F).
• Therefore weight comes down E.
There are two projections on the lever to the left the
fulcrum which comes in contact with a collar attached
to the rod.
When weight E comes down, the hemispherical valve is
lifted up and the steam escapes with a loud noise,
which warns operator.
 Pressure gauge
The function of a pressure gauge is to measure
the pressure exerted inside the vessels.
It is usually constructed to indicate up to double
the maximum working pressure.
Its dial is graduated to read pressure
in kgf/cm2 gauge.
There are two type of pressure gauges, they are
Bourdon tube type pressure gauge and
Diaphragm tube type pressure gauge
 Manhole and mud box
Manhole provides opening for cleaning,
inspection and maintenance
purpose.
• Mud box is a collection chamber (as shown in
Babcock and Wilcox boiler) for collecting the
Mud.
 Accessories of high pressure boiler
• There are auxiliary plants required for steam boiler for
their proper operation & for increase of their efficiency.
The various accessories are
• 1. Feed pump: The feed pump is a pump which is used
to deliver feed water to the boiler .
• It is desirable that the quantity of water supplied
should be at least equal to that evaporated and
supplied to the engine.
• Two type of pumps which are commonly used as feed
pump are Reciprocating pump and Rotary pump.
• 2. Injector: The function of an injector is to
feed water in to the boiler.
• It is commonly employed for vertical and
locomotive boiler and does not find its
applications in large capacity high pressure
boiler.
Accessories of high pressure boiler

• 3. Evaporator: Evaporator is used in high

pressure boiler which is placed after the air in
the way of flue gases water are tube.
• Hence evaporator is a unit which consumes
the energy of flue gases in boiler.
• Its main function is to convert the water to
steam add much to the boiler efficiency.
Accessories of high pressure boiler
• 4. Economiser: An economiser is a device in
which the waste heat of the flue gases is
utilized for heating the feed water.
• Economiser is very important part of the
boiler, with the help the economiser the
efficiency of the boiler increased and the
evaporative capacity of the boiler is increased.
Economiser are of two type Independent type
and Integral type.
Accessories of high pressure boiler
• 5. Super heater: The function of a super heater is
to increase the temperature of the steam above
its saturation point.
• Whatever type of boiler is used, steam will leave
the water at its surface and pass into the steam
space.
• Steam formed above the water surface in a shell
boiler is always saturated and cannot become
superheated in the boiler shell, as it is constantly
in contact with the water surface.
• If superheated steam is required, the saturated
steam must pass through a super heater.
• This is simply a heat exchanger where additional
heat is added to the saturated steam.

In water-tube boilers, the super heater may be an

additional pendant suspended in the furnace
area where the hot gases will provide the degree
of superheat required.
A water tube boiler with a super
heater
Super heater
Accessories of high pressure boiler
• 6. Air-pre heater: The function of air pre
heater is to increase the temperature of air
before is enters the furnace.
• It is generally placed after the economiser.
• So that flue gases pass through the
economiser and then to air preheat.
• Usually, there are three types of pre-heater
are Tubular type, Plate type and Regenerative
type.
 Air pre heater
• Stationary-plate regenerative air preheater
• Instead the air ducts in the preheater are rotated
so as to alternatively expose sections of the
heating plate elements to the upflowing cool
air.[1][2][3]
• As indicated in the adjacent drawing, there are
rotating inlet air ducts at the bottom of the
stationary plates similar to the rotating outlet air
ducts at the top of the stationary plates.
 Tubular type
A bundle of vertical tubes through
which the flue gas flows downward
(see adjacent diagram) and exchanges
heat with ambient air flowing
horizontally across the exterior of the
tubes.
. Baffles are usually provided so that
the air flows across the tubes a
number of times. For example, as
shown in the adjacent diagram, the
air flow across the tubes three times
and is referred to as 3-pass tubular air
pre heater.
The same as (1) above except that
the flue gas flows upward rather than
downward.
A bundle of horizontal tubes through
which the air flows and exchanges
heat with the hot flue gas flowing
downward across the tube bundle
• . In some designs, there may be three separate
horizontal tube bundles one above the other.
• The air enters the lower tube bundle from the right-
hand side, exits on the left-hand side and then enters
the middle tube bundle on the left-hand side and exits
on the right-hand side.
• Finally, the air enters the upper tube bundle on the
right-hand side and exits on the left-hand side.
• In essence, such a design is similar to the 3-pass design
of (1) above except that the air is in the tubes rather
than outside the tubes.
Circulation
Steam Drum
Steam Pressure Control
Steam Temperature Control
Numerical