CLEAN AIR FLOW TEST

OBJECTIVE

Clean Air flow test in milling system is carried out to

i. check velocity variation between the pulverized coal pipes of a mill is within allowable limit and
there by to ensure that correct size orifices are installed in coal pipes for equalizing the Air flow
and
ii. There is no foreign material plugged inside the pulverized coal pipes.

PROPOSAL

Clean Air flow tests shall be conducted in all the mills individually with Cold Air.

The test will be conducted by running primary air fan and mill and flow measurement will be taken at
specified locations and ensured that completion criteria is achieved by placing required sizes of orifice
plate in p.c. pipelines.

Note:
The complete responsibility for conducting the test in a safe and systematic manner following the
approved procedure as well as making the system ready are in BHEL's scope.

SERVICES REQUIRED

Availability of man power with required tools for attending to any leakage in the system.

Availability of operating personnel to coordinate the activities

Availability of lighting arrangements and communication in the operating floor.

Availability of portable fire fighting equipment near test area.

Availability of auxiliary cooling water for mills & fans.

Availability of instrument air supply

Availability of LT supply

Availability of HT supply

Pitot Tube

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Debris in and around milling system shall be removed.

Approach / Staircase / Platform wherever required are made available especially near the Pitot tube
traversing location.

First aid kit available near test.

The test team should be aware of the procedure adopted.

Other agencies working near the test area are informed / cleared as per requirement. SRCC will be
enforced.

STATE OF THE PLANT

The trial run of the mill which is selected for the test is completed and is ready for operation from remote
in all respect. The milling system should be clean and all air leakage points have been arrested.

Both set of ID, FD & PA fans are commissioned and ready for operation from remote along with
respective air heaters, gate & dampers.

The corresponding raw coal feeder is erected and is boxed up properly to avoid any air escape from mill
through these feeders.

Mill discharge damper is commissioned and kept opened fully.

Mill and Coal pipes seal air dampers are commissioned and kept fully closed.

The Coal Pipes isolation gate near the burner end (in all 4 corners) is kept opened fully.

Two suitable size tapping points at 90 degrees apart in the same plane provided in the vertical straight
portion of the all the 4 P.C. pipes of the mill. (Taping points are preferably located at a distance of 10-D
and 5-D away from any bend on the upstream and down stream side of the pipeline respectively. This is
to be suitably decided at site giving consideration to approach, coal pipe lay-out and personnel safety,
“D" is the diameter of the coal pipe.)

Proper access platforms provided for taking Pitot tube differential pressure measurement.

Pitot tube differential pressure gauge, Thermometer (0-100 0C), polythene tubes of sufficient length, are
made available.

10 markings are made on the Pitot tube at the distances of

0.0436 R, 0.135 R, 0.238 R, 0.358 R, 0.507 R, 1.492 R, 1.642R, 1.762R,1.816 R and 1.956 R, (R-Inside
radius of the Coal Pipe)
All gates and dampers in Primary Air, Secondary air and Milling circuits are commissioned and ready for
operation from remote..

All leakage points in the milling circuit are arrested.

Reliable communication system among the test team members is made available.

The classifier assembly is serviced thoroughly and all the vanes are set uniformly at desired position to
facilitate air flow required for conducting the test.

Pitot tube to be used for clean air flow test is calibrated one and the calibration certificate is available.

All the required instruments of ID, FD and Milling systems are commissioned.

METHOD

Start ID, FD & PA fans as per equipment O & M manual instruction and establish furnace draft and air
flow through the selected mill.

Under mill in off condition, start seal air fan and ensure discharge pressure more than mill inlet pressure
by 100 mm wcl. Then, start the mill as per O & M manual instruction and keep it in running condition.

Based on the design air flow of the mill, calculate ∂ -P to be set across mill inlet air flow measurement
device.

Air flow through the mill is increased by opening hot / cold air damper and loading PA fan accordingly.

PA header pressure shall be maintained at 750-800 mm-wcl.

Select a Coal Pipe of average length, and insert the Pitot tube to the center of the pipe and adjust the air
flow to produce the calculated Pitot tube differential pressure (approximately 110% flow)

Record mill air temperature, mill total air flow indication, mill differential pressure, PA header pressure at
control room. If control room indications are not available for certain parameter, then suitable measuring
arrangements to be made at local. ( if both are available, cross check local and remote readings)

Velocity profile in each Coal Pipe shall be obtained by traversing the Pitot tube at the same plane in two
directions (A and B), 900 apart at the center of equal areas.

Convert the pilot tube differential pressure reading (velocity head) into air velocity inside the Coal Pipe
by using the formula

V = 0.2365227 √ h. (t)

Where V - air velocity in m/Sec

h – Pitot tube differential Pr. in mm wcl

t – Air temp in 0 K

Calculate the average air velocity in individual coal pipe (V p). Subsequently calculate the average of the
velocities of all four coal pipes of the test mill (V m). Find the maximum & minimum velocity and the
deviation shall be with in ± 5.0% of the average velocity of all four pipes (V m).
 Max.Velocity - Ave.Velocity
% Max. deviation = x 100
Ave. Velocity

Ave.Velocity – Min.Velocity
% Minimum deviation = x100
Average Velocity

Record air temperature and flow differential across the mill inlet air measuring device. These values are
to be frequently checked and maintained throughout the test.

Repeat the above test for the remaining mills.

In case the deviation is not within the allowable limit, sizes of the orifice plate will be adjusted and test
will be repeated till deviation is within the limit.

Determine the Weight flow per minute through each coal pipe using the equation:
Air flow (Kg/min.) = (Л x D2/4) xVx60X?

Where :
V= air velocity m/sec.
D= Coal pipe ID, m.
?= air density, kg/m3 at test temperature.

Totalize the air flow for one mill.

COMPLETION CRITERIA

The clean air flow test for Coal Pipes completed after achieving the following criteria.

a) Velocity variation of maximum and minimum velocity is within ± 5.0 % of average velocity.