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Power Plant Familiarization V - II
Power Plant Familiarization V - II
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1. STEAM GENERATION
Boiling & consequent steam generation is a quite familiar process. In brief , as we began to
heat water, it goes on absorbing heat at constant pressure and is evident by rise in the temp. A stage
reaches when water begins to boil and there is no rise in temp., at this stage steam is formed, which
continues to be so at the same temp. unless and until pressure changes. The first stage of heat has ;due
to the latent heat. Thus, thermodynamically speaking, boiling may be considered a special case of
adding heat to the working substance in a constant-pressure, constant temp. process.
As the pressure rises ,latent heat decreases and a stage is reached at (221.06 bar ), when the
latent heat become zero, this pressure began termed as critical pressure. (for detail see part 1 ,chapter
6).
Further , once the steam is formed & does not have any traces of water i.e. is dry & saturated ,
we keep the pressure constant while heat is being added, the temperature of steam will begin to rise, the
heat expended being known as superheat.
As the working pressure rises, the specific weight of the water goes on decreasing while that of
steam goes on rising till at critical pressure it becomes equal both for steam and water as shown in fig.
No. 1.1.
Because of specific weight, differential between water & steam at a given pressure, there exists
a different head, which ever a pretty long range of pressure provides a good means for circulation
during steam generation. Depending upon working pressure i.e. below critical , the steam generators
are designated as subcritical or super-critical.
Whereas, for a greater part of the range in subcritical pressure it is possible to have natural
circulation during evaporation, but above supercritical pressure circulation is forced one. In the higher
subcritical pressure range also due to the reason of economy, forced or assisted circulation may be
employed.
1.2 TYPES OF BOILING
It is essential to have a temp. gradient between the products of combustion & the fluid in order
to have heat transfer from the later. The temp. gradient for a given flux apart from the fluid flow &
conductivity of metal will depend upon external & internal deposits on the tubes. The change from
liquid to vapor take place both at the solid liquid interface , as at the inside tube surface of a water tube
boiler & at the liquid vapor interface, as with the water surrounding the steam bubbles. There are two
distinct viz. " nucleate" & " film type of boiling, based upon the modes of formation & release of
steam bubbles. The details of the two types are given in the following sub-sections.
1.2.1
the initial stages of heating involves 'sub cooled ' water heating. i.e. below the saturation temp.
when the flux is great enough with a given amount of mass flow, the water in contact with the tube
begins to evaporate, but as the temp. of bulk of water has not reached saturation temp. , the bubble
collapse & give latent heat to surrounding water. This is the 'sub cooled nuclear' phase. Further, when
the bulk of the liquid reaches saturation temp. the bubbles will not collapse & 'nucleate boiling' will
start. nucleate boiling is characterized by the formation and release of steam bubbles at the interface
with the water still wetting the surface. This is a dual phenomenon where both the flow of the fluid
through the tube & the flow of bubbles through the fluid effect the heat transfer. The other points with
respect to nucleate boiling are as under :-
1.2.2. Beyond nucleate boiling region (i.e. higher heat fluxes ) the bubbles collapse to from a film of
superheated steam over part or all the heating surfaces. This condition is known as 'film boiling'.
This conditions also tends to arise when the proportion of steam in the fluid increases to a point
1.4.1 A steam generation may be basically classified according to the method employed to
establish flow through its evaporator, since for all types flows through the economizer upto the drum
are established by feed pump. Natural circulation is the movement of the circulating fluid in
conformance with the available differential head and in a boiler, this is due to the difference in densities
of the contents of down comers and upriser. The circulation in this case is said to be taking place on
Thermo-syphon' principles. As the pressure rises the difference is densities between water & steam
(Fig.1.1) and consequently the driving force reduces. Thus the head available will not be able to
overcome the frictional resistance required for the flow. Therefore, the natural circulation is limited to
boilers with drum operating around 175 Kg/cm2.
In any given natural circulation system, the movement of the steam and water will increase with
increased heat input to a maximum value or so called end point, after which further increase in heat
absorption will result in a decrease in flow. The general form of the curve is shown in Fig. 1.6. In the
process of circulation, following two opposing forces are present:-
(I) The increase in flow results from the increase in the difference of the densities of the respective
fluids in down comers and risers caused by the increase in heat absorption.
(II) However, at the same time, the friction and impact losses in the system increase, mainly due to
increase in specific volume in the riser circuits. Therefore, when the losses increase as compared to
gain due to pressure differential the flow rate will begin to drop.
1.4.2 In natural circulation boilers the objective is to design the circuits in the region of rising part
of the curve. In this region, the boiler tends to be self-compensating for the usual heat absorption
variations such as:
Typical flow curves for steam output with increasing circulating flow are shown in Fig.1.7 for a
186 bar natural circulation boiler working in the rising region of operative curves.
Self compensation may take place due to the reason given below:
One of the characteristics of natural circulation is its tendency to provide the highest flow in the
tubes with the greatest heat absorption.
Heat transfer rates between the inside surface of steam generating tube and the boiling water in
it are extremely high, and the tube inner wall is normally only a few degrees above the saturation
temperature corresponding to the operating pressure.
Tube overheating and failures are almost invariably due to internal deposits that insulate the
tube from the cooling effects of the water flowing in the tube. Those failures are mostly in high heat
flux zones.
a) Once-Through Type…. Water from the feed supply is pumped to inlet ends of the heat
absorbing circuits. Evaporation or change of stage gradually takes along the length of the circuit and
when the evaporation is complete, further progress through the heated circuits results in superheating
the vapor. No steam and water drum is required in this system and is generally applicable above
supercritical pressures. Fig. No.1.4 shows the scheme of forced circulation boilers at supercritical
pressures.
b) A modification of once through type boiler is that, evaporation is up to partial dryness
(9o%) and the water is removed in a separator and the dry steam passed further through the circuit for
superheating. The system is used at sub-critical pressures in the higher pressure zone as shown in Fig.
No. 1.5
c) Even near on beyond the critical pressures it has been found advantageous to recirculate the
water through the furnace tube at low loads. This protects the furnace tubes and simplifies the start-up
procedure. A typical operating pressure for such a system is 260 Kg/cm2. This system is called
`Combined Circulation System' and has been adopted in C.E. Boiler designs.
In this type provision of steam-water drum is made as in the case of natural circulation boilers and
circulating pumps for circulation in various circuits like the forced circulation boilers. This
corresponds to `Controlled Circulation System' as per the CE/BHEL classification. In this system of
circulation, there is net thermal loss for the boiler unit because of the separate circulating pump. See
Fig. 1.10
The flow to individual tubes is controlled by orifice plates to compensate for different positions
along the feed headers and different heat absorption.
Though it is possible to adopt natural circulation for boilers working up to the range of 170 to 180
Kg/cm2 but some designers feel it necessary to have assisted circulation even in this or lower ranges.
The advantages are:
(i) It is possible to have tubes of smaller diameter for driving up the steam water mixture by
making the pumps to do a little more work.
(ii) The provisions of orifices helps to have a more uniform temperature giving another slight
saving in tube wall thickness over and above that already obtained by using smaller tubes.
(iii)There is overall reduction in furnace size:
Steam separation …. This is the process of removing bulk masses of water from steam.
This may be carried out buy gravity, centrifugal force or by change of direction. It is termed as Primary
Separation. The steam may still contaminants which must be removed on reduced in amount before the
Steam Washing…. This action takes place after primary separation and is the process of
rinsing the steam with relatively clean feed water or steam condensate resulting from cooling with feed
water. Its purpose is mainly to obtain contact with low silica content water, wash out impurities and
condense vaporous silica. Boilers used in India for power generation do not have this system. In order
to limit silica carry over care is taken that silica content of drum water always remain within specified
limit.
Blow Down…. The salts from the above process will fall into the drum and thus in its water salt
concentration will increase. The removal of a part of drum water preferably that which contains high
concentration of salts is known as blow down.
Priming….This is the carry over of water in pulps to the steam during higher water level
periods i.e. when the separators (drum internals) get in-effective. There will be entertainment of water
in steam due to this. Foaming is primarily the result of the chemical conditions of the boiler water
caused by concentration of oil, soap, organic matter, suspended particles or other foreign matter.
Excess foaming may result in foam over i.e. carry over of the foam with the steam.
1.9.2 Factors affecting steam separation….. Both the design features and operating factors, affect
the separation of steam from steam water mixture reaching the drum through the risers. These factors
influence the separation as discussed below:
Operating Pressure…. Due to increase in sp. wt of steam with increased pressure and
greater decrease in sp. wt. of water, the net available head for causing flow of the steam water mixture
in the riser decreases as the pressure increases as shown in Fig. 1.8. This also affects the natural
tendency of steam and water to separate, as the limiting velocity of a water particle conveyed din
steam and force to gravity both vary directly with the differential in the specific weights of the water
and the steam, which will affect steam flow per unit of flow area, the steam velocity and the force of
gravity as shown in Fig. 1.11.
Rate of steam generation and water circulation…. For a low rate of steam generation
(velocity of steam leaving water-upto 1 mps), the steam bubbles have enough time to separate from the
mixture by gravity without being drawn into the down comers and without carrying entrained water
drops into the steam outlet. At higher rate of generation, not only this advantage is denied, but also the
dense upward traffic of steam bubbles causes swelling of level and false level rise is indicated.
Arrangement of Down Comers and Risers… The effect of the location of the riser
circuits in relation to the water level is shown in Fig. 1.12 (a & b). Neither of the arrangement is
capable of producing desired results if only gravity separation is to be depended upon.
Size of the drum… The lower rate of steam generation per unit area is required if
separation is to be carried effectively . Further to permit separation of moisture droplets, a certain
minimum distance between the swelled water level and the steam outlet is required, which has to be
increased alongwith rise in pressure, at 300 psia (20.68 bars) this distance is approximately 24' (61cm).
Thus, it will appear that size of the drum has marked affect on steam separation.
Boiler water analysis…. The increase in boiler water concentration will lead to
higher contamination of steam. Also if the water has higher concent4ation of dissolved solids,
increased foaming will take place, which will make ineffective the drum internals which have been
fitted for effective steam separation and reduce available space where separation is by gravity only.
Type of steam load…. With rapid increase in boiler load, steam pressure will
reduce causing thereby increase in steam volume through out. The resulting `Swell' will increase the
level which effects separation adversely and results in water carry over. Thus to prevent carry over
larger drum will be required or proper control over boiler load.
Water level carried… The rapid fluctuation in water level are not desirable as
these affect the separation adversely and on increased level moisture carry over will result because of
the reduced available space in the drum in case of steam separation by gravity and the ineffectiveness
of drum internals by flooding. The modern boilers are ,therefore, equipped with proper and effective
water level regulation system.
By gravity separation…. The preceding discussion clearly reveals that gravity separation can be only
employed in case of boilers having low generation rates, constant loads and low operating pressures. In
case otherwise size of the drum has to be increased which will not be economical. Therefore, other
methods for effective primary separation are employed.
By use of Baffles… These are the simplest type of primary separation devices and are in the form of
obstacles in the direct path of steam to outlet. At lower rate of generation single V type baffle may be
suitable, but for higher rates other designs such as compartment baffle be used. Diagrammatically
baffles are shown in Figure 1.13 ( a & b)
By use of Multiple drums and baffle combination…. The arrangement is shown in Fig. 1.14. The
steam outlet is in dry drum where provision of baffles is also made.
By centrifugal action…. In all the modern high pressure and high capacity boilers separation of steam
is obtained buy employing cyclones which work on centrifugal action. The three basic effects which a
good separation system shall promote are:
(i) Centrifugal action to produce separation forces many time greater than those produced by
gravity.
(ii) Alter direction of steam water mixture so that the upward velocity vector is zero.
(iii)Provision of drainable wetted surface into which fine spray can coalesce.
An arrangement of steam drum internals for effecting steam separation incorporating the three
requirements mentioned above the shown in Fig. 1.15. This is used in natural circulation type boilers
of CE/BHEL designs. The steam water mixture from the furnace passes through the centrifugal
separators where a spin by the spinner blades is imparted to it. This forces the water to the outer edge
The removal of a portion of water containing impurities from the Boiler Drum is termed as blow
down. This is resorted in order to remove the impurities is which increase in the drum after the
separation and purification of steam. The blow down water is first passed through a flash tank, where
the flash steam is admitted to the deaerator and then water is led through a heat exchanger, where it
gives its heat to D. M. water. These steps help to recover heat from a part of blow down water, which
finally goes to waste channel. The blow down may be continuous and or periodic. Continuous blow
down tapings are from the drum and periodic blow down is from low point drains fitted to lower
headers of water walls. Periodic blow down is resorted to when concentrations increase and are not
cleared by continuous blow down, and also to remove those impurities which reach the lower headers
and get accumulated there. The amount of continuous blow down may be determined as given
(Ref.Fig.1.17)
T x Ks + P x Kp = (T + P)Kf.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
During the last thirty years there has been a phenomenal growth in the size of the generating plant.
The increase in size has been necessitated due to many economical & technical factors such as the
demand for increased power, desire to have it at low cost despite the steady increase in cost of materials
& labour, and general deterioration in fuel quality. The last factor is of grate importance to India where
large reserves of low grade coals can be utilized for power generation.
The present technological advancements have placed practically no restrictions on unit size
provided the grid has the capacity to bear it during tripping etc. In India the units of 500 MW sizes are
being operated at present.
The increase in size has led to increase in over all dimensions. These mammoth Boilers may be as
high as a 12 to 15 story building. Fig. No. 2.1 compares the sizes of a 200 MW and 500 MW unit with
Kutub Minar.
The increase in boiler size also helps in reduction of vol. And area per KW capacity. This helps to
utilize the power station to their utmost advantage. Typical figures are given below:
T1 & T2 are max. & min. absolute temperatures. As T2 is limited by ambient conditions so T1
must be as high as possible.
Thus from the efficiency point of view the largest gain can be obtained by the use of higher
temperatures, but against this must be set the increasing cost of pressure part materials as temperature is
increased.
2.3.2
The relative gains due to increase in pressure and due to temperature can be studied with the
help of T -S diagram. The area between water and saturated steam lines go on reducing as the pressure
rises and so the incremental work done, but gain to superheating steam is significant.
2.3.3
When operating at steam temps, between 538 oC and 593 oC serious consideration must also be
given to be possibilities of gas-side corrosion. In India unfortunately no data on this aspect by taking
into consideration characteristics of our coals, has been built up. However 200/210 Mw units with 540
o
C temperatures as super-heater and reheater exists are now in operation. The investigations carried out
by Central Electricity. Generating Board (United Kingdom) with respect to boilers using local coals
show an operating steam temperature range of 538 oC to 593 oC without serious risk of gas side
corrosion.
The increase in operating temps. will involve the use of high cost an static material. The
C.E.G.B (U.K) taking into consideration the load factor of the system has established 566 oC as the
most economical steam temperature for coal fired units. If the load factor goes below 20%, temp. can
be reduced. The corresponding steam temp. limit for the oil fired boiler is 538oC
Gas W D H
Oil 1.06 W 1.05 D 1.2 H
Coal 1.12 W 1.10 D 1.5 H
2.5.2.1
The medium and high volatile coals can be fired through horizontal circular burners in the front
or and rear wall or through corners. These fuels are normally direct fired through medium speed ball or
roller mills. Low volatile coals require the application of the U-flame and direct firing of these fuels is
favored in using medium speed ball mills or tube mills.
2.5.2.2
For coal preparation equipment is wide and varied. This may comprise apart from the
equipment in storage yards; the crushers, conveyors, raw coal bunkers, pulverizes and classifiers etc.
For fuel oils the burning equipment consists of burners of various types. The main problem is
to atomize the oil which may be done by raising pressure or in combination with steam or in
combination with air.
For fuel oil the preparation equipment will consist of pumps, storage tanks, pressure regulator,
and heating arrangement right from the unloading stage to final burning into the furnace.
2.5.3
Heat surface Area & Placement …. Low calorific value coals will require low furnace plan area
heat release. The fuel properties also influence the spacing of the superheater and reheater banks to
prevent serious fouling of the heating surfaces and the velocity of flues to minimize erosion. Particular
care is taken to reduce speeds wherever local dust concentration can occur, ash content is high and it is
of abrasive nature.
Apart from the shape and dimensions of the furnace the fuel specifications also influence the
arrangement of economizers and air heaters.
2.5.4 Choice of pollution control equipment including ash precipitators also depends upon the fuel
specifications.
(i) In furnace not only combustion but also heat transfer is taking place simultaneously.
(ii) The maintenance work involved in repairing the fire bricks (which is otherwise necessary) is
practically eliminated.
(iii)Due to heat transfer in the furnace, temperature of the flue gas leaving the furnace is reduced to
the acceptable level of the superheating surfaces.
(iv) Higher heat loading in the furnace is possible as heat is being simultaneously removed by heat
transfer, and hence economy in surfacing.
For the reasons explained in 8.6 the furnace rating of coal fired boilers are low. It will be seen
from Fig. No. 2.3 that inspite of the large increase in boiler sizes, furnace rating have not increased.
This is equally true , both for the heat release and the heat absorption rates which have remained
reasonably constant at 15,000 tu /Cu. Ft/hr. (558263KJ/m/hr) and 35,000 to 40,000 Btu/ Sq.ft. / hr.
(397081 - 453806 Kjm2/hr) respectively.
2.7.2
Front wall opposed and corner firing are the various systems used in furnace designs. The
firing system will effect the shape and dimensions of the furnace. The horizontal circular turbulent
burners for coal or other fuels can be designed upto 170 x 10 6 kj / hr. capacity. Opposed firing is very
suitable for burning low volatile coals. In case of coal burners the furnace depth should be 8m and
11m for front wall and opposed firing. Corner firing requires extra fan power to maintain the high
primary and secondary air velocities which are necessary to maintain the flame vortex. Furnace depth
may be increased or multi furnace design may be adopted for large boilers.
Note : All ratings are estimated on all projected radiant heating surface (P.R.H.S.) Inside the Furnace
upto the top of the furnace arch.[a1]
Fig. 2.3
The adequate distance between wing burners & side walls should also be decided. The number
of burners & widths can be increased in proportion to the heat input. Furnace heating surface can be
increased either by increased height or by the use of division walls.
A limiting factor with coal firing is the need to ensure that the residence time of fuel particles is
sufficient to ensure complete combustion and transfer of heat and as per the present experience it
should be 2 seconds, though only a fraction of a second is required for combustion of pulverized coal
particles. The improvements in burner, air distribution & pulverizes are aimed towards reduction in
furnace residence time of fuel particle.
2.7.3
2.7.3.1
In the tangent tube construction generally a tube of smaller dia. is placed in between two larger
tubes which touch each other. The wall is backed by fire bricks or moldable refractory Typical
construction is shown in Fig. No. 2.4.
2.7.3.2
The skin type of casing is shown in fig No.2.5 and has been mostly used on 120 to 500 MW
boilers. The casing plate is carried by mild steel channels welded to tubes which are stiffened by
beams attached to the channels by some form o spigot or clip to allow for differential expansion
between them.
2.7.3.3
A recent development in gas tight casings is the membrane was shown if Fig. No. 2.6 . The
tightness is accomplished by either welding tubes together by means of flats or bars. This actually
eliminates the casing and many of its accompanying problems. Insulation is directly applied to tubes
and metal lagging is attached to give the outer surface durability and good appearance. The use of the
membrane wall method of construction facilitates and construction of large surface panels (20m - 2.5m)
in the shops and transported to site as such. Thus lot of assembly and welding work can be avoided.
The method can be used in large boilers as well, (500, 660 MW). The two factors which have delayed
the introduction of this form of construction have been fear of excessive stresses, particularly during
starting and the high cost of plant needed for manufacture.
Downward expansion of the furnace walls is absorbed by the ash hopper water seal. The seal
also prevents air ingress into the combustion chamber which is normally maintained at a controlled
suction by the induced draught fans.
i) Ash hopper staggered throats: Ashing has often proved a difficult and costly operation. This is
often due to the radiant heat from the furnace fusing the coarse ash in the hopper into large, extremely
hard masses.
The introduction of the staggered throat did much to alleviate this problem. In the staggered
throat design, the configuration of the ash slopes reduces the penetration of the radiant heat to the ash
hopper.
ii) Ash quench sprays : (Fig 2.7) These sprays in a considerable number are arranged around the
top of the ash hopper. Supplied from a ring main, produce a finely divided spray of cooling water
across the mouth of the furnace throat.
i) Dry bottom furnace: Selected for coal of non-slagging type i.e. fusion temperature
of the ash produced by combustion will be more than the temperature encountered in the furnace.
Normally a maximum of 20% total ash may be collected as slag from bottom of furnace. The rest of the
ash is carried away along with flue gas. If slagging type coal is used in dry bottom furnace slag will
fuse and deposit in the heat transfer surfaces of furnace, superheater and reheater where removal may
pose problem.
Hopper at the bottom is formed by slopping the front and rear water walls, thus the amount of
brick work is reduced and hence maintenance. By this arrangement loss of efficiency due to
evaporation of water from hopper is also effectively reduced. Most of the Indian coals contain high
amount of silica in the ash and hence ash fusion temperatures are high. Hence dry bottom types are
best suited for Indian coals. In addition, loss of efficiency due to sensible heat in the molten ash of wet
bottom furnace for high ash content coals.
ii) Slag type: Furnace of this type normally has two furnace parts. Primary furnace is
used for very high rate of combustion from where the molten slag passes to ash hopper and the flue
gases into the secondary furnace which is very similar to dry type furnace. Provision is made to chill
the molten slag and crush to granular form for easy disposal be used. To obtain high temperature inside
the primary furnace which will facilitate the easy flow of ash, very small but highly rated design is
needed for primary furnace. High temp. refractory material is used inside the primary furnace and
hence maintenance is needed.
iii) Oil fired boiler furnace: Oil fired furnace is generally closed at the bottom as there
is no need to remove slag as in the case of PF fired boiler. Bottom will have small amount of slope to
prevent film boiling in the bottom tubes.
If the boiler has to be designed for both PF as well as oil, the furnace has to be designed for coal
as otherwise higher heat loading with PF will cause slagging and high furnace exit gas temperature.
2.8 SUPERHEATER
2.8.1
Superheaters(SH) are meant for raising the steam temperature above the saturation temperature.
Present trend is to limit the superheated and reheated steam temperature around 540 oC. The
introduction of advanced steam cycle in modern boilers has placed in greater burden on superheaters
and reheaters. The percentage of heat to superheater and reheater for the 165 bar boiler is approx.
50%.
2.8.2 Classification of Superheater.
The superheaters and reheaters placed above the furnace which can view the flame is called
radiant type. The other surfaces are called as convection types. This is most practical way of
classification.
ii) Superheater may be classified also according to the shape of the tube banks and the position of
the heaters, such as pendant SH, paten SH, horizontal SH, celling SH, wall SH etc.
iii) They may be classified according to their stages of superheating they perform, like primary SH,
Secondary SH, Final SH etc.
2.8.3 Arrangements
Generally heating surfaces can be arranged either in line or staggered. Staggered arrangement
requires less surface for same duty but draft losses will be more and on load cleaning of surfaces will
not be as effective as in-line arrangement. So, selection of nay one of them depends on the fuel fouling
characteristics, operating cost of draft loss, cost of tube materials etc.
The surfaces can be designed to place in such a way that the flow direction of flue gas and
steam is parallel or opposite. Counter flow arrangement has the advantage of minimum surface but the
metal temperature as the leaving selection is high compared to parallel flow. Hence the counter flow is
used in most of the cases except in final section where the metal temperature limitation calls for parallel
flow.
The superheaters are placed in the flue gas path to transfer heat by radiation and convection in
some proportion such that the outlet steam temperature can be maintained fairly constant at all loads.
Fig. 2.8 shows how steam temperature changes with load for radiant SH, convection SH and
combination of both. It is evident from the fig. That combination of radiant and convection type helps
to keep the superheated steam temperature nearly constant during variation of load. Any number of
stages of superheater can be designed but the present trend is to limit to 3 stages so that the cost on
headers, connecting pipings desuperheater can be kept minimum.
In a typical arrangement shown in Fig. 2.9 the saturated steam from drum enter the low
temperature superheaters (LTSH) via ceiling superheaters. After LTSH the steam enters platen
superheater through inter stage desuperheater and finally through a convection superheater.
2.9 REHEATERS
Reheaters (RH) are provided to raise the temperature of the steam from which part of energy
has already been extracted by HP turbine.
The arrangement and construction of a reheater is similar to that of a superheater and in modern
boilers the reheat sections are mixed with superheat section (see fig. 2.9)
Like super heater in reheater also, any number of stages can be designed. Normally most of the
reheater surfaces are placed in hotter zone so that the surface requirement is kept minimum to reduce
the pressure drop in steam to keep the cycle efficiency maximum.
2.10 DE SUPERHEATER
All modern boiler have contact type de-superheaters (Fig.2.10) by which feed water are sprayed
directly into the steam for required cooling. Amount of feed water to be sprayed is controlled by
automatic control system which is designed to maintain a set final steam temperature. Provision of
manual control is also there for emergency or other wise.
2.11.1
The combustion process in a furnace can take place only when it receives a steady flow of air
and has the combustion gases continuously removed.
The steam generator draft system includes air and flue gas flow.
2.11.2
When only a chimney (stack) is used to create the draft necessary for steady flow of air and flue
gas, the system is called `natural draft'.
2.11.3
For large boilers the draft created by stack is too little to ensure steady flow. For example, a
30m stack with gas at 250 oC will develop a draft of approximately 10.12 mm of water column (WC)
where as gas flow resistance of 100-120 mm of WC may be encountered. Thus it becomes essential to
provide fans for developing the draft and then the draft system is called 'mechanical draft'.
2.11.4
All modern large utility boilers are fired under 'balanced draft' condition i.e. where draft is zero.
This condition is created by the combination of 'forced draft' and 'induced draft'.
Forced draft represents flow of air or products of combustion at a pressure above atmosphere. The air
for combustion is carried under forced draft conditions and the fan used for this purpose is called
Forced Draft(FD) fan.
Induced draft represents the system where air or products of combustion are caused to flow to or
through a unit by maintaining them at a progressively increasing sub-atmospheric pressure. (This,
when, attained with a chimney is called natural draft). This is achieved with the help of stack and fans.
These fans are called Induced Draft(ID) fans.
2.11.5
Fig.2.11 shows the principle parts of balanced draft system. The draft steadily drops from FD
fan outlet to ID fan inlet.
Though theoretically balanced draft means keeping furnace pressure equal to atmospheric
pressure. In practice the furnace is kept slightly below atmospheric pressure(-2.. to -5mm of W.C.). It
ensures that there is no egress of air or hot gas and ash into boiler house.
DF+DS = DA + DG = DV
In this equation DA is the sum of friction losses in air ducts, bends, air heater, secondary air
pressure at fuel burner etc.
And, DG is the sum of friction losses in gas ducts, bends, economizer, air heater, super heaters
and reheaters, chimney etc.
2.12 ECONOMISERS
2.12.1
The economizer absorbs heat from the flue gas and adds it mainly as sensible heat to the feed
water. The temperature of feed water is kept just below the saturation in case of non-steaming
economizers. The work in the evaporative section of the plant is reduced by its heat contribution as
well as lowering the temperature of the flue gases prior to their entry into the air heaters.
Some of the boilers are equipped with steaming economizers. The evaporation in these
economizers is limited to 20% of feed water at full load and of course less as the load decreases,
because of the practical difficulties in treating a high percentage of water to a condition suitable for
steaming economizers, they cannot be used good advantage in boiler units where high feed make-up is
required.
Earlier the economizers were introduced mainly to recover the heat available in flue gas that
leaves the boiler and provision of this additional heating surface increased the efficiency of steam
generation, saving in fuel consumption, thus the name 'Economizer' developed. In the modern boilers
used for power generation feed water heaters were used to increase the efficiency of the unit and feed
water temperature and hence the relative size of economizer is less than earlier units. This is a good
proposition for pulverized fuel fired boilers.
Using of economizer or air heater or both is decided by the total economy that will result
flexibility in operation, maintenance and selection of firing system and other related equipment.
Modern medium and high capacity boilers used both economizer and air heater. In low capacity boilers
air heater alone may be selected.
It is usual to locate economizer ahead of air heaters and following primary super-heater or
reheater in the gas stream. Hence it will generally be contained in the same casing as the primary super
heater or reheater . See Fig.2.12 for location and arrangement of economizer. Counter flow
arrangement is normally selected so that heating surface requirement is kept minimum for the same
temperature drop in the flue gas. Economizers coils are designed for horizontal placement which
facilitate draining of the coils and favours the arrangement in the second pass of boiler. Water flow is
from bottom to top so the steam if any formed during the heat transfer can move along with water and
prevent the lock up steam which will cause over heating and failure of economizer tube.
(a) It must reduce the gas temperature to a level which is satisfactory for the air heaters.
(b) Its surface area must be minimized and its overall dimensions must be as compact as possible.
It must fit in with the design of the preceding section of the boiler, usually the reheater.
(c) Provision must be made for on-load cleaning equipment to ensure that gas-side draught loss is
kept to a minimum.
(d) Water flow must be uniformly distributed between tubes, and resistance to flow must be as low
as possible. A low flow through given tube or element could cause local steam formation which
could result in tube failure.
(e) Economizer supports must be arranged to cater for expansions and tubes must be adequately
supported to prevent sagging.
(f) A water recirculating connection may be provided from the boiler drum to give adequate
circulation during periods when feed flow is absent; this prevents economizer tubes from
'boiling out' and over heating, such as during pressure raising. On once-through boilers this
connection of course, is not necessary since a feed flow has to be maintained during pressure
raising periods.
On modern high pressure plant only two main types of economizers are installed.. These are
the plain tube type and the welded fin tube type.
Plain tube economizers are composed of several banks of tubes either in line or in staggered
formation. The staggered formation induces more gas side turbulence than the in line and so results in
a higher rate transfer. However, it has the disadvantage of giving a higher draught loss. In line
arrangement may need about 10 to 15% more surface but effectively cleanable with the help of on load
steam soot blowers. Hence selection of in-line or staggered arrangement depends on the nature of fuel
(fouling) and transverse distance between tube and compactness of the assembly required.
Welded fin type economizers have the tube heat exchange surface area extended by the addition of
welded fins. With earlier design of extended surface economizers, finned cast shrouds were shrunk on
to a mild steel tube. This type was costly and was prone to fouling. It was claimed however, to often
food resistance to gas side corrosion and erosion. With the high feed water temperatures utilized on
modern plant, gas -side corrosion is unlikely to occur and consequently the air-steel welded fin tube
designs have been developed; these are cheaper, lighter and more accurately constructed an so less
prone to fouling.
2.13.2
2.13.3
The material used in the manufacture of furnace wall tubes for coal fired boilers is ordinary
carbon steel but in the 500 MW oil fires unit of CEGB the major proportion of the furnace is
constructed from the 1% Cr. .5% Mo alloy. Designs submitted for 660 MW units also include this
material for the whole of the furnace. The anticipated maximum heat flux in these boilers in
approximately 175,000 BTU/ft2 (451395 Kcal/m2 hr) and therefore the use of this material is necessary
from stress temperature considerations only.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% Tp 321 Tp 347 Tp 316 Esshete 1250
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carbon .04.90 .04.90 .04.90 .06.15
Silicon .20.80 .20.80 .25.75 .30.75
Manganese .50-2.0 .50-2.0 1.6.20 5.50-7.0
Sulphur .030 Max .030 Max .030 Max .040 Max
Phosphorus .040 Max .040 Max .040 Max .040 Max
Nickel 9.0-13.0 11.0-13.0 12.0-14-0 9.0-11.0
Chromium 17.0-20.0 17.0-19.0 16.0-17.5 0.8-1.20
Molybdenum - - 2.0-2.75 0.8-1.20
Niobium 10 x C min - 75-1.25
1.10 Max
Titanium 4 x C min - - -
0.6 Max - - -
Boron - - .006 .009
Vanadium - - - .15-40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2.
Ducol W.30
Chemical composition
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade 'A' Grade 'B'
Min. Max. % Min Max
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.2% proof stress ( 3" to 6" thick) at 360 oC 19.5 ton f/in2
Ducol W.30 A has been used for a large number of boiler drums including all the 500 MW units and
the Drax 660 MW boilers. The grade B variant has a higher Nickel content for improved impact.
2.14 SUPPORTS
Modern high capacity boilers are top supported units. The hanger rods are designed for the
direct tensile stress resulting from the weight of the unit and the bending tensile stress from the pressure
part expansion that deflects the hanger rods horizontally from the vertical or cold load position. A
common support elevation is normally used and the effect of temperature load distribution among
them. In the walls of a top-supported unit, the tubes are carrying the lower sections and the load stress
in the tubes must be added to the pressure stress to determine the total stress in these members, all the
loads such as that of water, ash etc. shall be taken into account. The wind loads an earthquake effects
are also to be considered. Fig. No.2.13 shows a typically top-supported boiler (500 MW)
The most commonly used method of on-load cleaning is soot blowing, although other methods,
such as shot cleaning on economizers and tubular air heaters have been used to a more limit extent on
order boiler.
Steam has mainly been used as the soot blowing medium, but recently the used low-pressure air
as a soot blowing medium has been introduced as this offers a number of advantages.
These soot blowers are normally employed for cleaning the superheater, reheater zones of the
boiler.
The lance is attached to a travelling carriage which runs on tracks inside the blower housing.
The lance gets its rotary and traverse movement from the independent gear boxes and drive chains.
Control of movement is by stop and reverse limit switches fixed on extreme ends.
Flow of medium through the retractable is controlled by a valve head mounted at the rear of the
blower. An adjustable bar on the travelling carriage strikes a "v" shaped lever to cause the flow of
blowing medium.
Blowing pressures for each blower can be adjusted by positioning the screw attached to the
valve head.
The operation is same as long retractable but the lance will be extended for half boiler width. A
support bearing will be provided to support the lance. This type of blower is not suitable for the regions
where the gas temperature is more than 55 oC.
c) Wall Deslagger
The wall deslagger (Fig.2.15) consists of a stationary body and a gear-box for travel and another
for rotation of the swivel tube. The swivel tube is supported by sleeve type bearings at each end of the
body casting. The horizontal guide rods are used to assure proper alignment of the traveling gear-box.
Unlike the retractable the wall blower nozzles do not follow the helical path. Since the purpose
of the wall blower is to get the water walls on which it is mounted, cleaned, the swivel tube along with
the nozzle first moves forward and when the nozzle cleans the water wall, the traverse movement stops
and the swivel tube starts rotating.
The valve for controlling the steam flow is identical to that of long retract. This valve is opened
when the swivel tube is fully extended the traverse movement is fast (~1.2m/sec.) and the rotation is
very slow (n = 0.6 rpm). This gives maximum time for the cleaning effort.
The material of the nozzle and the nozzle head are made of heat resisting stainless steel
containing 25% Cr. And 12% Ni.
The operation of the wall blower is controlled by 3 limit switches which from part of the control
box, integral with the soot blower.
This type of blower is employed to clean the furnace walls. The travel is only 30 cms. The
swivel tube will go into the wall for 4 cms. And the nozzle attached to the swivel tube cleans the
surface .
The soot-blowing can be with steam or compressed air; both are equally efficient. Normally
for all the boilers supplied by us we use superheated steam. The steam taping is taken from any of the
intermediate superheater header. The enthalpy of superheated steam is selected such that after the
steam pressure is reduced to the blowing pressure, the steam will have enough superheat and also will
Modern soot blower installations are remotely operated and sequentially controlled from a
separate panel in the unit control room. The operation is usually carried out with conventional switch
gear, but can be by 'solid state' (electronic). Provision is made in the sequence control to skip any
individual soot blower or any group of soot blower in the boiler where it is found that less cleaning is
required or if one of the soot blowers is out for maintenance.
3.AIR HEATERS
3.1
The air heater is now an essential boiler auxiliary, because hot air is necessary for rapid and
efficient combustion in the furnace and also for drying coal in the milling plant. This is rather different
from its original purpose, which was to recover 'waste' heat from the flue gas to increase boiler
efficiency. In any of the present generation of large boilers, two sets of air heaters are provided one for
the normal duty of pre-heating air for combustion and the other for providing higher temperature air to
the mills for drying out wet coal.
So, there are two main types of air heater in use; the static recuperative plate or tube-type and
the rotary regenerative type, with its two variants (the Ljungstrom and the Rothemuhle types).
In the recuperative type, the flue gas is on one side of the tube or plate and the air is on the other
side.
In the regenerative type the gas flows through a closely packed matrix or heat transfer elements
giving up heat to the air heater elements and so raising the temperature of the matrix. Air is then
passed through and recovers the heat. Either the matrix or the hoods may be rotated to achieve this heat
transfer as a continuous process.
Here a matrix is rotated at 1- 1.5 rev/min. and travels alternately through the gas and air passes.
The axis of rotation may be either horizontal or vertical, but on recent installations the vertical spindle
type has predominated. There are good reasons for this; it provides for a direct lift when removing the
element packs which are fitted into the rotor spider. A vertical spindle arrangement also lends itself
readily to water-washing. (Fig.3.1)
The plates which form the element packs may be varied in spacing and thickness, and the cold
and elements are either enameled or made or corten or a similar alloy, to give the maximum resistance
to corrosion. The notched and undulated configuration of the element is shown in configuration is
designed to give the maximum turbulence and heat transfer as well as giving the individual plates a
'self-spacing characteristic.
In this type of air heater the small running clearances which are necessary, result in some
leakage of air to the gas side. Special seals have to be provided to reduce this leakage to a minimum;
The seals have to be accurately adjusted to give the maximum sealing effect at full operating
temperatures; thermal distortion of the rotor has also to be taken into account, since under operating
conditions the gas inlet metal temperature can be up to 220 oC above the outlet.
The element configuration is on the same principle as the Ljustrom type, but the plate
clearances are somewhat greater (about 3mm). Corten elements are again used in the cold-end packs.
(a) Moving parts increase the possibility of outages. Even so, the amount of maintenance due to
this will almost certainly be less than that required on an equivalent recuperative design.
(b) Leakage of air into gas, and gas and dust into air, because of entertainment by rotary action.
Leakage of air into gas because of the impossibility of perfect sealing.
(c) A relatively thin deposit on the plates can reduce the flow area quite appreciably, so increasing
the pressure drop to keep the elements clean, both soot blowing and water washing facilities
must be provided, because soot blowers alone are not able top keep the air heater elements
absolutely clean..
As coal contains less Sulphur, corrosion is not normally as much a problem as fouling and
hence lower exit gas temperature to a level of 120 oC is permissible. But in the case of oil firing, the
corrosion and plugging due to corrosive products of combustion are very common. The gas outlet
temperature and/or air inlet temperature has to be raised to restrict the corrosion to the permissible
During starting and at low loads the flue gas exit temperature falls to a low value the twill lead
to corrosion.
In rotary air heater fixed sprays are installed permanently inside the air heater casings and
coupled to fire mains so that instant action my be taken if there is a fire. To prevent flues, ducts and
hoppers from collapsing under the excessive accumulated weight of water suitable quick-release drain
valves are fitted at suitable points for using during fire-fighting operations.
Fixed or moving type soot blowers with multinozzle thoroughly cleans the air heater.
If not provided with on-load cleaning, this has to be cleaned at intervals during shutdown by
hand or mechanical method. Large quantity of cold or warm water can also be used for this
purpose. Small quantity of water will actually do harm by making deposit compact and hard.
Normally on-load cleaning devices keep them clean and if it is needed to clean during shut-
sown quantities of water may be used. If deposits is severe, sometimes soda-ash solution may
assist in dissolving it. Water requirement for cleaning is less when compared to static type.
In this system, at a location apart from the furnace, the coal is dried and pulverized and
classified continuously in the pulverizer. Then the finished product is pneumatically conveyed to a
collector where coal is separated and discharged by gravity into the storage bins or headers. From the
storage the pulverized coal is conveyed by pneumatic transport through pipelines to bins or location
where it is used . See Fig. 4.1
The basic advantage of the bin system is that the pulverization is not tied with the minute to
minute unit operation and the whole system can stand short outage of pulverizer system.
Disadvantage in intrinsic dust nuisance of the installation, incidence of the fire and higher cost
of pulverization. Under certain condition, serious explosion from coal gas emanating from the fuel in
bin may occur. More over, pulverized fuel is hygroscopic in nature. It picks up any moisture in the
storage bin after sometime. Initial investment and operating costs are higher. Preference has shifted to
the direct firing system due to greater advantage of the latter in simplicity, cost of operation and initial
investment.
In this system (Fig. 4.2) maintenance is greatly reduced. The fan is located before the
pulverizer and handles complete primary air required for drying and transporting the coal.
Disadvantages are that the fan is required to handle high temperature air resulting in high fan power. In
addition of this special material are required to handle high temperature air.
As the name implies, the primary air fan handles clean cold air either from FD fan discharge or
taking suction from atmosphere.
The advantages are saving in fan power and maintenance. The number of primary fans can be
only 2 per boiler to supply all the air to the pulverizes and the capacity of each need not exceed 2/3 of
total air requirement of pulverizers. The only disadvantage is the cost increase due to additional duct
work and air heater.
The advantages of pressurized system is that the coal air mixture can be directed into the boiler
thus saving the maintenance of exhauster. Separate sealing air arrangements are required to seal the
bearings, inside the mill, feeders and various dampers.
c) Suction System:
In this system the mill operates under negative pressure. Suction being created by an exhauster
placed after the mill. The exhauster handles all the coal air mixture and forces it into the burners. The
advantage of suction system is that the plant can be maintained clean. Since the mills operate under
suction, sealing of bearings in the mill base and journal shafts is not necessary. Allowable maximum
air temperatures can be higher than pressurized system, since the temperature of medium handled by
exhauster is constant around 70-100 oC
Common motors can be employed to drive both mill and exhauster. Cold air is drawn from
atmosphere near the mill, thus eliminating cold air duct.
Cold air flow is regulated by the exhauster inlet damper which should be automatically
positioned by the combustion control system to provide primary air flow to meet pulverizing system
requirement for proper transport of pulverized coal.
The disadvantage of this system is that the high speed exhauster has to handle coal air mixture
and tends to wear more as the pulverizer size increase. Smaller size mills can be adopted with the
above system.
In this system the mills operate under positive pressure. With exhauster provided at the exit of
pulverizer to boost the pulverized coal into the pressurized furnace. Since the pulverizer operates with
lesser pressure than forced draft fan pressure. The sealing of mill parts can be affected by taking cold
air line from FD fan discharge.
In this system (Fig. 4.3) raw coal from the bunker is fed at a regulate rate to the mills through a
feeder depending on the boiler load. Air required for drying and transporting the pulverized coal from
the mill is obtained from the FD fan. Hot air is drawn through air heaters and cold air directly from FD
fan discharge. Both are mixed before entering the milling circuit, in order to achieve a constant
temperature after classifier within safe limits. The drying and grinding takes place inside the mills.
The pulverized particle are being carried from the mill to the classifier directly mounted on the mill.
The medium is directed into the burners through various fuel pipe lines mounted at the outlet of the
classifier.
a) Slow speed mills : These mills, usually rotating between 15 to 25 rpm depending upon the mill
size, are called Drum mills or Tube mills or Ball mills or Ball tube mills.
b) The medium speed mills: These will normally be operating between 50 to 100 rpm. There are
varieties of designs in these types. These are called vertical shaft mills, or table type
pulverizers. The mills belonging to these categories are Bowl mills, Ball and Race Mills, Roller
mills etc.
c) High speed mills : These are directly coupled to the driving motor and run at 750 to 1000 rpm.
Mills of this type are often called type ball mills. They operate at a speed of 17 - 20 rev/min
and formerly were designed as suction mills (in other words in conjunction with exhauster fans), but in
modern power plant they are used as pressure-type mills (Fig.4.4)
The mill drum carrying the ball charge rotates on the anti-friction bearings. Raw-coal is fed to the
drum through the inlet elbow and gets crushed to powder inside the mill drum. The ball charge and the
coal are carried to a certain height inside the drum and allowed to fall down. Due to the impact of the
balls on coal particle and due to attrition as the particles slide over each other and also over the liners,
the coal gets crushed. Hot flue gases are used for drying and transporting the pulverized coal from the
mill to the classifier. The coarser parti8cles are returned by the classifier for further grinding.
In the past this type of mills has suffered from two principle disadvantages:
(1) The Power input required per tonne of coal milled could be up to twice as great as that for the
vertical spindle medium speed mill.
(2) The reliability of the mill has been limited mainly because of failures of bearings and
gearboxes.
As a result of this high availability in a tube-ball mill installation, it is not normal to provide
standby milling capacity; this helps to reduce the over all capital cost of the plant. Power
requirements have also been reduced, but they are still much greater than those for medium-
speed mills.
The advantage and disadvantages of tube ball mills may be summarized as follows:
Advantages:
1 High output possible, up to 50 tonnes per hour.
2 No maintenance over long periods (apart from routine on-load recharging of mill balls.)
3 High availability.
4 Because of high availability no stand by capacity is required.
5 No mill rejects, no problems with 'tramp' iron.
6 Reserve of fuel within mill makes output more stable.
Disadvantages :
1 High power consumption.
2 Some problems with control of coal level within the mill
3 Virtually constant power consumption at all loads; low load operation is therefore not
economical.
4 With high moisture constant fuels a high primary air temperature is required because of the low
air /fuel ratio.
5 Unplanned stops leave the mill full of coal which, under unfavorable conditions, can ignite.
This coal has to be quenched and even dug out otherwise the mill cannot be restarted
The output of the mill at a particular primary air flow is measured by the pressure drop across
the mill (excluding the classifier.) Since the mill itself may be regarded as a fixed-sized orifice,
any increase in pressure drop (differential) will be the result of either an increased air flow or an
increased quantity of fuel inside the mill. These two differential pressure (Primary air flow and
mill differential) are compared in the feeder control circuit or loop and are used to control the
speed of the feeder control circuit of loop and are used to control the speed of the feeder and so
maintain a correct fuel to air ratio at all levels of air flow through the mill. Therefore the mill
out put is controlled by variation in the air flow; to match this, the fuel flow is adjusted by the
feeder speed control.
The mills of this type has the maximum out put around 40 tonnes/hour.
Mill control and operation is similar in many respects to the 'E' types, It differs in one major
respect. Among various designs of pulverizers of the medium speed family, the bowl mill
design has a specific characteristic feature in that, there is no metal contact between the grinding
elements. This is one of the features which contributes to lesser metal loss on the grinding
elements.
Low power consumption, quiet and vibration less operation, flexibility of operation through
wide load range, good control response for varying loads, good drying capability, easy
maintainability are some of its main advantageous features.
Capacities of various ranges are available from 1.7 t/hr to 100 t/hr.
Advantages
(1) Low power consumption, (slightly less than suction type mills and considerably less than tube
balls of equivalent output)
(2) Output is little affected by fuel characteristic, such as moisture in the fuel.
(3) Primary air fan is more efficient than exhauster fan.
(4) Primary air fan requires less maintenance than exhauster fan, so giving improved availability.
(5) Total area required for new design high output mill is less than for equivalent ball mills.
(6) Comparatively quiet in operation.
Disadvantages:
(1) Provision of sealing air supply necessary.
(2) Periodic maintenance is required.
(3) Tightness requirements of casing and inspection ports.
(4) Pyrites and tramp iron must be removed during operation.
(5) Small reserves of coal within the mill make it sensitive to the coal ' hanging up', so producing
load fluctuations.
Large capacity mill have not been further developed because of the very high speeds which are
necessary. This combined with the risk of damage of mill internals ( caused by the possible
ingress of tramp iron), the overall high maintenance costs, and the poor availability, has led to
the disinclination to install such mills in new power stations.
The advantages and disadvantages of high speed mills may be summarized as follows:-
Advantages:
Disadvantage:
(1) High maintenance costs.
(2) Tramp iron and similar foreign matter may damage the mill because of the high speeds at high it
operate.
(3) The high speed which is necessary has restricted the development of very large mills.
In a suction mill installation the exhauster fan is an essential feature, but because it has to
handle coal-laden air it is subject to blade erosion. With large p.f. installations, the pressure loss
through the milling and burner systems becomes greater owing to the increase in physical size
and the larger quantity of fuel in transit at a given time. Because of problems of maintenance,
exhausters fans have to be of [addle-blade design, in which case the higher pressure loss has to
be catered for either by an increase in fan speed or buy an increase in runner diameter. Either of
these leads to an increased blade tip velocity and there fore to higher wear rates caused by
erosion by p.f.
Advantages of P. A. Fan
In a pressure mill installation the inefficient paddle-bladed exhauster fan is replaced by a
primary air fan which is not subjected to the erosive efforts of p.f since it handles only clean air.
The fan, more efficient backward-bladed aerofoil section type is therefore used for primary air
fan duty; no problem experience in providing the increased fan output which is necessary for
the p.f. installations on large boilers. Therefore, the primary air fan firstly, it is far more
Table 1 gives a comparison of typical power consumption between different mill types. The
units are in KW/tonne of coal milled, and the table relates to mills having capacities of
approximately 15 tonne/hr with larger capacity mills the figures would tend to be slightly less.
From the table, one can see that the vertical spindle medium-speed pressure type mil has an
advantage. A further advantage appears when maintenance costs are considered. Maintenance
cost of an exhauster fan can be a much as twice those of a primary air fan. The combinations of
these considerations, and the higher availability of the primary air fan, make pressure mill
systems preferable.
Table 1- Typical power consumption of p.f mills of approximately 15 tonne/hr capacity in KW/tonne
coal milled.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Mill Type Mill Feeder P. A. Fan Exhauster Fan Total
_________________________________________________________________________________
Low Speed 12.05 0.22 10.60 22.87
Ball (Suction)
Classifiers may be divided into two basic groups, rotary and static, both of which make use of a
similar principle the resistance of a particle to a change of direction of speed. The greater the
mass of a particle, the greater is its resistance to such change.
In the rotary classifiers, 'whizzer' separators are situated so that the coal/ air mixture from the
mills is directed through them. Centrifugal force directs the coarser particles to the outside of
the separator covering, where the air/ gas velocity is at its minimum, and the particles then
return to the mill table under the influence of gravity.
The static-type separators all use centrifugal force for classification. Some mills, employ
adjustable vanes in the head of the mill to produce a 'cyclonic' effect which results in the
necessary centrifugal force. Variation of the vane angle varies the intensity of the 'swirl' or
'vortex' within the classifier cone; the more intense the swirl the finer the p.f. produced. But
intensification of the swirl beyond an economic limit will reduce the throughout of the mill by
creating restriction at the mill outlet.
Classifier by their very nature, are subjected to considerable forces of erosion.. For this reason,
constant checks on p.f. fineness are required to ensure that classifier efficiency is being
maintained. Classifier efficiency will also fall off if the correct coal/air ratio through the mill is
not maintained. An air velocity which is too high will not permit the coarser particles to fall out
of the air stream and return to the mill.
Two principle types of coal feeder are in use on modern pulverized fuel plant, the rotary table
type and the chain or drag link type. The former were in wide-spread use on unit boilers up to
120 MW capacity, on larger plant they have been largely superseded by the drag link type.
Feeder output can be controlled by any of the following 1) a two speed or variable speed motor;
a constant speed motor with a variable speed drive; ii) by control of the position of the scraper
knife for plough. The height of the feed regulator sleeve above the table when leaving the
chute.
The loss of availability of plant caused by failure in the coal flow made it necessary to examine
the whole problem of coal handling between the bunker and the mill; the result of this was the
adoption of the chain link or drag link feeder.
The importance of ensuring that mills are thoroughly purged of fuel when shutting down thus
becomes very obvious. Any coal or combustible material lodged any where within a mill
system presents a fire and /or explosion risk if it is allowed to remain. This is one of the basic
principles of the Pulverized Fuel Code of Practice. If the code of Practice is adhered to the
inherent dangers in the operation of milling plant will be reduced to a minimum.
Even though the mill output increases with high grindability index coals, in practice it can be
realized only if the system is designed for it, otherwise limitation on Primary air fan, exhauster,
air coal ratio, velocity in coal pipe etc. will limit the output.
When it is known at the design stage that high moisture coals may have to be burnt provision
can be made to deal with this by installing mill air-heater. Such air heaters are in addition to
the main air-heater and they supply hot primary air to the mills only. These air temperature
may be increased by augmenting this gas supply from the economizer outlet, although the
primary air temperature may be increased by augmenting this gas supply with gases withdrawn
from the super heater or reheater outlet, when very high moisture coals are being burnt.
An alternative coal drying method, which is employed on one design of suction tube-ball mill or
mills handling lignite, is to extract hot gases from the bottom of the furnace to supplement the
heat to the mills.
Mill capacity variation due to moisture variation is shown in Fig. 4.10 for vertical spindle mill
and tube ball mill. From this it can be clearly seen that tube ball mill capacity reduces even
when the coal moisture crosses 4% and reduces at a faster rate. This is one of the factors that
favour bowl mills for Indian coal as moisture content continuously varies due to rain, necessity
to wet the coal to reduce fire hazard, receipt from different mines etc.
As boiler output is proportional to the heat input to the boiler, mill output in terms of heating
value can be considered as true indication for deciding number of mills etc. But calorific value
of coal is independent of mill and hence calorific value of coal has to be considered separately
in selecting the mills. Hard coals like anthracite which has low grindability index will reduce
the capacity of mills in terms of mass but increase in terms of heating value, hence no additional
milling capacity or reduction of boiler output is needed.
4.7.7 Conclusions
Therefore, the principal factors affecting mill output are grindability and moisture content of the
raw coal and fineness requirements of the ground product. Where these factors are mere
favourable than those on which the mill design has been based (high grindability indeed, low
moisture and low fines requirements), considerable increases in mill output may be possible on
the other hand if one of these factors is unfavourable (a high moisture content for example) then
high grindability and low fineries, requirements may still produce sufficient corrective action to
enable the mill to maintain its full duty.
5.FANS
5.1 THE FOLLOWING FANS ARE USED IN THE BOILER HOUSES :
Can either be sized to overcome all the boiler losses(pressurized system) or just put the air in
the furnace (balanced draft units)
Primary air has got two functions viz. Drying the coal and transportation into the furnace.
May take air from atmosphere and supply air to mill at a pressure higher than mill pressure or
may take up suction from cold P.A. level and boost up that pressure.
There may be seal air fan for each mill or they may supply to a common duct from where air
can be supplied to mills for sealing.
Two fans are usually provided, one will run and the other will remain as stand by.
When F. D. fans are running a portion of cold air is diverted to the scanner air fans and then to
the flame scanner cooling air connections. Two scanner air fans are usually provided one will
run and other will remain as stand by. When F. D. fans trip the scanner air fan will draw air
from atmosphere through emergency damper.
5.2 A fan can be defined as a volumetric machine which like pumps moves quantities or air or gas
from one place to another. In doing this it over comes resistance to flow by supplying the fluid
with the energy necessary for contained motion. Fans, blowers, compressors all move air but at
greatly different pressures. Fan pressure range is from a few mm of water upto about 0.07
kg/cm2. Blowers work at about 3.5 kg/cm2, compressors span about 2.5 kg/cm2 and up.
Physically a fans elements are a bladed rotary (such as an impeller) and a housing to collect the
incoming air or gas and direct if flow.
Advantages :
(a) Efficiency is higher than axial type
(b) Easy repairable at site
(c) Less noise
Disadvantages:
(a) Higher cost both initially and operating
(b) Physical size is more in comparison to axial type.
Backward curved blades have air leaving at low velocity from the blade ties, making them more
suitable for high motor speed. Then power consumption at an intermediate flow so that they
cannot be overloaded. Power plants use this type of fan for F. D. fan.
The forward or straight bladed fans are preferred for I.D. fans since then lower speed retards
blade erosion caused by fly ash.
5.6.1 Necessity ….. In any system load conditions will vary such as from light up of the boiler to
full load & load fluctuation during normal operation. Thus to maintain combustion & draft
conditions at different loads control of fan output is essential. Further a margin of pressure &
capacity above those normally required for full output has to be provided on draft plant to
compensate for boiler fouling, adverse combustion or poor fuel, which again calls for draft plan
control from zero load to MCR.
5.6.2 Methods …. Following methods of control of output are available.
Damper Control …. It is a simple control & acts a throttle valve introducing resistance into
the system to restrict the fan output to any desired quantity. The use of dampers to control draft
is very inefficient as the excess energy developed at a particular load must be dissipated by
throttling. Thus, system cannot be used on large capacity boilers. The performance &
characteristic is shown in Fig. 5.3. The system has however got the following advantages.
Inlet vane control …. This method of control requires less horse power at fractional output
than outlet damper control (Ref. Fig. 5.3). The vanes are located radially in the inlet eye of the
casing. In the fully closed position they overlap each other slightly. Each vane spindle is
connected by a lever to a ring supported on the fan casing & this ring is free to rotate through a
limited are. The arrangement for a radial fan is shown in Fig. No. 5.4. Some of the designs (as
in BTPS - 100 MW Units axial flow type) incorporate wire rope pulleys arrangement for
operating the mechanism.
The inlet vanes give the air or gas a varying degree of spin in direction of fan rotation. This
enables the required head to be produced at a proportionately lower power input. Inlet vane
control is costlier as compared to damper control, but cheaper than that of speed control. Vane
leakage often makes it difficult to reduce the air/gas flow below 1/4th of full fan output when a
single speed motor is used. For a large size fans says for 500 MW units this control is used in
conjunction with two speed drive.
Variable speed control… This is the most efficient method of control from the point of
view of power consumption. The characteristics are shown in Fig. No. 5.3. However, speed
control involves high capital cost & the added complications of variable a. c. or d. c. motor
Blade Pitch Control… This type of control is achieved in axial reaction fan. The impeller
blades are titled during operation and hence the angle of entry is varied to vary the performance.
The hydraulic servomotor helps in achieving the control with the help of an external oil system.
On large modern plant almost all dampers & control equipment are provided with remote
control; in other words, they are operable from a central control room. However, local control
is provided for emergency use & is generally backed up by a manual operation facility.
i) Spiral casing
ii) Impeller
iii) Inlet guide vane control assembly
iv) Shaft with bearing assembly
v) Seal assembly
5.8.2 Impeller
The impeller is a welded structure consisting of back plate, cover plate, impeller ring, blades
and hub.
Blades have been welded onto the back plate and cover plate with proper welding sequence.
The impeller ring is welded to the inlet side of the cover plate at its inside diameter. The hub is
welded to the back plate. Hub will have a taper bore for the mounting of the impeller on to the
shaft. The impeller is dynamically balanced.
Shaft
It is a solid shaft dynamically balanced. Critical speed will be well above the operating speed
(more than 30 %). One end is having a taper on to which the impeller is mounted and the other
end is having provision for taking one coupling half through key. Torque is transmitted through
the keyed joint on the coupling side and by the taper fit to the impeller. Shaft is provided with
oil holes and grooves for hydraulic mounting and dismounting.
Bearings
Bearings for this NDFV fans are monoblock design with two cylindrical roller bearings and one
angular contact ball bearing kept in the same housing. Bearings and housings are the same for
fan sizes 18-25. The bearings are lubricated by stand oil. Presently forced oil circulation system
has also been envisaged as a safety measure in meeting the high temperature problems.
The advantages of the monoblock design are that the shaft is of short length . Hence it is easy
for machining th4e bearing locations in one setting and avoids a lot of misalignment. It is shop
assembled due to its compactness and hence only impeller mounting is done at site.
The fan as a whole can be divided into some major sub assemblies.
i) Spiral casing
ii) Impeller
iii) Shaft
iv) Bearings
v) Damper Assembly
vi) Sealing.
NOTE :Difference between NDV & NDZV fans is that one side suction chamber with damper is absent
in NDV fans.
The inlet cone helps in accelerating the flow and supports the inlet ring.
5.9.2 Impeller
The impeller is a completely welded structure. It consists of center plate or back plate, cover
plate, blades. The blades are welded between back plate and cover plate. Proper welding
sequence is followed to have minimum distortion.
The saw tooth type wheel design has the center plate recessed between the blades. The other
things are same.
Blades are all of circular single are profile. The impeller ring comes at the inlet dia. Of the
cover plate. The center and hub discs have machined groove which ensures central location of
the wheel relative to the shaft during operation (running fit) The internal recess of center and
hub disc permits central assembly (assembly fit)
To protect the connection from wear between impeller, shaft and center disc a conical cover
plate is provided which is fixed to the center plate for NDZV fans and fixed to the hub disc in
the case NDV fans.
Upon completion of all welding operations, the impellers are stress relieved. It is dynamically
balanced.
5.9.3 Shaft
The shaft is a hollow tube with two end pins shrunk fit at the two ends and welded. Torque is
transmitted through the fit and the weld is only for securing purpose. The tube is controlled at
the inside diameter. The shaft ends are machined after welding. A flat split rings is welded on
to the shaft tube for taking up the shaft flange. The completed shaft is dynamically balanced.
The shaft's first speed must be at least 35 % above the operating speed. It is so dimensioned to
meet this requirement.
5.9.4 Bearings
The impeller is mounted on pillow block bearings. One is a locating bearing and the other is a
non locating (free) bearing. The bearings are spherical roller type housed in SOFN bearing
housing. Temperature gauges are provided on the housings for each bearing.
It is a welded casing flanged at both ends. The bearings pedestals are mounted to the side walls
by screws.
There are 3 to 5 flaps fixed by screws on the their shafts which are supported y pedestals
providing dry lubrication. The flat shafts carry clamping levers and the adjusting torque is
transmitting by feather keys and the individual clamping levers are connected by a linkage.
In double suction fans the two damper assemblies at the two suction chambers are connected
through universal joints and driven only from one side. Depending on the site conditions the
drive can be arranged on the linkage side. The adjusting travel is same for all fan sizes.
Connected to the drive unit is provided by an adjusting rod with ball joints. A graduated plate
indicates the flap position in degrees.
5.9.6 Seals
Sealing for the shaft with the spiral casing consists of a labyrinth section for axial and an
asbestos strip for radial sealing. The labyrinth seal in centrally located and screwed to the
bearing pedestal which helps precis controlling of the labyrinth passage.
The asbestos strip ensures that the movement of the spiral casing during hot conditions relative
to the impeller wheel does not affect the fans function.
The unmachined flanges of the spiral casing are sealed with asbestos rope.
i) Suction Chamber
ii) Shaft with Bearing Assembly
iii) Impeller Assembly
iv) Servomotor Assembly
v) Diffuser Assembly
To achieve higher extraction efficiency, it was the practice for some years to install a
mechanical dust collector before an electrostatic precipitator. The reason for this was that data
available at the time showed that a precipitator was not significantly affected by fine dust and
therefore one could put in a relatively cheap mechanical collector to remove 70 % of the dust,
leaving a smaller precipitator to deal with the balance of finer dust. The two units would
therefore give the over all efficiency required.
Unfortunately, the results obtained from these combined plants were disappointing and later
information showed that the performance of the precipitator was considerably reduced in
dealing with the finer dust resulting from the use of a mechanical pre-collector. In view of the
above power stations are provided with electrostatic precipitators alone.
(b) Resistively
For temperatures below about 160 oC, the resistivity is dominated by the surface conduction
over the fly ash particles which in turn is greatly influenced by the chemical composition of the
flue gas. (i.e. H2O, SO3 etc.) At higher temperatures, or in a perfectly dry atmosphere the fly
ash behaves as semi insulator.
6.2.4 Description
The electrostatic precipitator essentially consists of two sets of electrodes, one in the form of
thin wires called discharge or emitting electrodes and other set called collecting electrodes in
the form of pipes or plates. The emitting electrodes are placed in the center of pipes or midway
between two plates and are connected usually to negative polarity of high voltage D.C. source
of the order of 25 - 100 Kv. The collecting electrodes are connected to the positive polarity of
the source and grounded. Fig 6.2 shows the details of a typical precipitator used of collection of
fly ash.
6.2.5 Types
The precipitator can be basically classified into the following types :
(i) Casing
(ii) Hoppers
(iii) Gas distributor screen
(iv) Collecting system
(v) Emitting system
(vi) Rapping mechanism for collecting system
(vii) Rapping mechanism for emitting system
(viii) Insulator housing.
6.3.1 Casing
The precipitator casing is designed for horizontal gas flow. It is an all -welded steel
construction, assembled from prevaricated wall and roof panels using panel construction. The
main part of the fabrication is done in the workshop.
The gas pressure and temperature and the wind load will cause the casing structure to flex.
6.3.2 Hopper
The hoppers are of pyramidal type (Figure 6.2). Also rough type and flat-bottom precipitators
with scraper conveyors are available for some applications. The valley angle of the hoppers
(angle between hopper corner and horizontal is never less than 55 oC and offer more to ensure
easy dust flow down to the feed out flange.
To ensure free flow of ash into the disposal system lower portions of the hoppers are provided
with electrical heaters with thermostatic control.
The collecting plates are made of 1.6 mm steel plate and shaped in one piece by roll forming.
Rigidity is the main purpose for the special design of the collecting plate edges.
In order to assure the most rigid construction, taller collecting plate (10m) are connected to one
another by transverse guides, thereby preventing any swinging tendencies.
The frame work has a four point suspension effectively taking care of the expansion when hot
gas is entering. All sharp edges and ends of frame parts are rounded to avoid excessive flash
overs.
Wire type electrodes give the best current distribution. Therefore they are the ones best suited
for difficult dusts with high electric resistivity.
The system (Fig. 63) employs 'tumbling hammers which are mounted on a horizontal shaft in a
staggered fashion, with one hammer for each shock bar. As the shaft rotates slowly each of the
hammers in turn over balances and tumbles, hitting its associated shock bar. The shock bar
transmits the blow simultaneously to all of the collecting plate in one row because of their direct
contact with the shock bar. A uniform rapping effect is provided for all collecting plates in one
row.
It is of prime importance in any rapping system to avoid excessive re-entertainment of the dust
into the gas stream during the rapping procedure. With the tumbling hammer rapping
mechanism the plates are given an acceleration, which cause the collected dust to shear away
from the collecting plates and fall down in large agglomerates. These large agglomerates, which
result from a single shock shearing action greatly reduce the possibility of dust re-entrainment
during rapping.
The rapping frequency should be as low as possible in order to minimize dust losses from
rapping. The frequency of each rapping system is adjustable within a wide range. There is one
set of rapping equipment provided for each bus section so that the frequency can be suited to the
conditions in that individual area.
One rapping mechanism is provided per electrical bus section. The driving arrangement for the
rapping mechanism is located either on the roof or on the side wall of the precipitator. The
operation of the gear motor for the rapping mechanism is controlled by a programmer relay,
which is adjusted to optimum conditions at the time of commissioning. Subsequent adjustments
can easily be carried out during operation, should operating conditions vary.
An additional increase in voltage beyond the normal operating zone produces a disproportionate
increase in current accompanied by heavy sparking and a rapid reduction in dust collection
efficiency. Experience has shown that the maximum dust collecting efficiency is related to the
amount of minor sparking that occurs on the electrodes. Thus the function of effective control
system is :-
(a) To operate the precipitator by a current and voltage that will vary according to the conditions in
the precipitator, maintaining a high efficiency by controlling the spark rate.
(b) To provide an inherent arc suppression by arranging for the power supply output to reduce
practically to zero for the duration of an arc.
(c) To provide back up protection against sustained power arc or persistent low voltage conditions
by means of an under voltage alarm circuit.
(d) To indicate when the power supply is inadequate or a power arc is sustained due to fault
conditions by means of visual and audio alarms.
(e) Provision of manual and automatic circuits.
The rectifier-control provides all the modern controls and has a spark rate controller unit which
controls a spark rate of 5 to 10 sparks per minute to maintain optimum dust collection
efficiency. The rectifier system provides a smoother control of output current from 10 % to 100
% of the rated value and also maintains the constant current output.
The system consists of rotary switches interlocks and key exchange boxes.
The exchanges boxes are located in control room and at prominent places on the precipitator
casing.
In the interlocking system, the insulator housings, inspection doors, hopper doors, HV isolating
switches are provided with key interlocks.
Each key designation consists of numbers and letters representing the unit involved, type of unit
and its location
TABLE 6.1 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CAOL ASH FROM INDIAN COALS.
TABLE 6.2 TYPICAL FLY ASH ANALYSIS ENTERING THE DUST COLLECTOR
(Pulverized Fuel Bituminous Coal)