INTERNSHIP REPORT ON VOCATIONAL TRAINING AT

NTPC RLI SIPAT

By

Harshita Singh – 19119044

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

In

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
RAIPUR
JUN – JULY 2021
 DECLARATION

I, Harshita Singh, hereby declare that the presented report of internship on vocational training
at NTPC RLI SIPAT is prepared by me after the completion of 4 weeks training at NTPC
RLI SIPAT from 19/06/2021 to 17/07/2021 under the guidance of Dr. N.V. Swamy Naidu
Sir, Professor In-charge of Training and Placement cell, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, NIT Raipur and all the information provided here are true and correct to the best
of my knowledge and belief.

I also confirm that, the report is only prepared for my academic requirement not for any other
purpose.

Name – Harshita Singh

Roll no. – 19119044
B. Tech, Mechanical Engineering
NIT Raipur
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to Mr. Alok Kumar Tripathi, AGM and
Sr. faculty of NTPC RLI SIPAT, Mr. Raji Reddy, DGM for their able guidance and support
in completing my project.

I would also like to thank all other faculties at NTPC RLI Sipat who delivered informative
lectures in webinars which helped us a lot to understand about the power industry and the
whole NTPC Ltd. For organizing such a well-rounded program for students for their overall
development even in this time of crisis.

Last but not the least I would also like to thank Dr. N.V. Swamy Naidu Sir, Professor In-
charge training and placement cell and also all other faculty members of Mechanical
Engineering Department of NIT Raipur for their valuable suggestions and co-operation.
CONTENTS –

• Chapter 1 – About NTPC

• Chapter 2 - Indian Power Sector
• Chapter 3 - Renewable energy sources
• Chapter 4 – Boiler and its auxiliaries
• Chapter 5 – Project Report on Air - Preheaters
 CHAPTER 1

ABOUT NTPC

1.1 INTRODUCTION
NTPC is the India’s biggest power company. It is a Govt of India Enterprise and a Maharatna
Company. Present installed capacity of NTPC is 65,810 MW (including 11,755 MW through
JVs/Subsidiaries), 2 Wind There is total 46 NTPC Stations (23 Coal based stations, 7 gas-
based stations, 1 Hydro station, 1 small hydro, 13 Solar PV and 1 Wind based Station) and 25
Joint Venture stations (9 coal based, 4 gas based, 8 hydro, 1 small hydro and 1 Solar PV).
NTPC is expected to be a 130 GW company by 2032. Currently it has 19000+ Employees
and consistently among best places to work for.

1.2 THE JOURNEY OF NTPC SIPAT SO FAR...

 Page No. – 1

1.3 SALIENT FEATURE ABOUT NTPC SIPAT-

• First Super Critical Power Plant of NTPC

• India’s First 765 KV Transmission System
• 660 MW Simulator Training Centre for Super Critical Power Plant
USAID referenced it as ‘World class facility’ in their report
• Compact & Clean-Model Township of NTPC.
• Food waste from plant & Township is used for BIO METHANATION GAS
formation process.

1.4 POWER EVACUATION AND ALLOCATION

Page No. – 2
 CHAPTER 2

INDIAN POWER SECTOR

2.1 THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INDIAN POWER SECTOR

2.2 DEMERGER OF VERTICALLY INTEGRATED STRUCTURE

2.3 COMMON TERMS

• Installed Capacity- Rated Capacity as given my manufacturer in MW

• Energy Generated- Power generated in Kwhr or Units or Million Units (MU)
• Plant Load Factor (PLF) %- Actual energy generated in a period x 100 (MU)/Total
Capacity to generate in that period (MU)
• Availability Factor (AF) %- No of Hrs machine is connected to grid x 100/Total
number of hours- %
• Declared Capacity (DC)- Generating Capability declared by Generator in MW
• Scheduled Generation (SG)- The level of power generation in MW as demanded by
the power purchaser MW
• Actual Generation (AG)- The power actually generated by the power producer MW

• Heat Rate-Heat Energy consumed / Electricity Generated Kcal/KwHr

• APC %- Energy consumed by the power producer while generating power x100/
Gross energy generated
• Sp Oil- ml/kwhr -Oil consumed by power producer/ Electricity generated
• Power is the rate at which work is done- 60 Watt (J/Sec) Mega Watt – 1000 KW
• Energy – The work actually done or stored – 60x100 = 6000
Watt Hour = 6 KWHr= 6 Units

2.4 MAJOR REFORMS IN INDIA IN POWER SECTOR

• De-licensed generation.
• Freedom to captive generation including group captive
• Recognizing trading as an independent activity.
• Open access in transmission
• Open access to consumers above 1 MW
• Multiple licenses in distribution.
• Regulatory Commissions at the State & Central Leve
2.5 RELATIVE POSITION OF INDIA IN THE WORLD ENERGY
 CHAPTER 3

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

3.1 MAJOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

3.2 RENEWABLE AND NON – RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Non-renewable: A non-renewable resource is a limited natural resource that cannot be re-

made or re-grown in a short amount of time at a scale comparable to its consumption.
Renewable: Renewable resources are unlimited natural resources that can be
replenished in a short period of time.
Renewable energy is energy obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible.
Examples of renewable resources include wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, tidal
power and hydroelectric power. The most important features of renewable energy are that it
can be harnessed without the release of harmful pollutants.
Page No. - 6
Non-renewable energy is the conventional fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, which are
likely to deplete with time.

3.3 COMMERCIAL AND NON – COMMERCIAL ENERGY

Commercial Energy:
The energy sources that are available in the market for a definite price are known as
commercial energy.
By far the most important forms of commercial energy are electricity, coal
and refined petroleum products.
Examples: Electricity, lignite, coal, oil, natural gas, etc.
Non-Commercial Energy:
The energy sources that are not available in the commercial market for a price are classified
as non-commercial energy.
Non-commercial energy sources include fuel such as firewood, cattle dung and agricultural
waste.
Examples: Firewood, agro waste in rural areas, solar energy for water heating,
electricity generation, for drying grain, fish and fruits, etc…

3.4 SECTOR WISE ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN

Page No. - 7
3.5 ADVANTAGES AND DIS- ADVANTAGES OF ENERGY SOURCES
 CHAPTER 4

BOILER AND ITS AUXILARIES

Pressure part- Water wall, Boiler first part, second part, steam piping, stop V/Vs, ERV,
safety valves etc.
Rotary Machine – Fans, APH, Ducting, Dampers etc.
Milling System- Mills, Feeders, Mill Reject, Burners, Ducts and Dampers etc.

4.1 BOILER

It is an enclosed pressure vessel and the heat generated by the combustion of fuel is
transferred to water to become steam.
Boiler as per IBR-

• Closed vessel volume more than 22.75 liter.

• Pressure must be more than 3.5 kg/cm2 ~ 50 psi.
 • It has the attachment like mounting & fittings.

4.2 SPECIFICATION OF BOILER AT SIPAT AT 500 MW UNIT

Boiler Type
Controlled Circulation with Rifled Tubing (Improved heat transfer rate), Dry-Bottom,
Radiant Reheat, Single Drum, Top Supported, Balanced Draft Furnace.

Type of Firing Tilting Tangential

Depth 15.797 M
Width 19.177 M
Furnace Volume 16424 M3
Drum elevation 75.33 M

Boiler Technology

WATER CIRCULATION SYSTEM –

1. ECONOMISER –
 • Forms part of feed water circuit
• Pre heat boiler feed water
• Recovery of heat from flue gas
• Location in bottom of rear pass
• No steam formation

2. DRUM –

• To separate water from steam

• To remove dissolved solids

• To protect water walls from starvation

• Acts as temporary pressure reservoir during transient loads

DOWN COMERS-

There are six down comers which carry water from boiler drum to the bottom ring header.
They are installed from outside the furnace to keep density difference for natural circulation
of water & steam.

SUPERHEATERS-

1. Conventional Super Heaters

Convection super heaters absorb heat mainly by the impingement of flow of hot gas around
the tubes. A purely convection super heater has a rising steam temperature characteristic.
2. Radiant Super Heaters

Radiant super heater absorb heat by direct radiation from the furnace and are generally
located at the top of the furnace. a radiant super heater has a falling characteristic, the steam
temperature drops as the steam flow rises.

PROJECT REPORT ON
AIR PRE – HEATERS: TYPES, FUNCTIONS AND DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

An air preheater (APH) is a device designed to preheat the combustion air used in a fuel-
burning furnace for the purpose of increasing the thermal efficiency of the furnace and
decrease fuel consumption of the process. They are also recognized as air heaters or air-
heating pipe. The use of hot air makes the combustion process more efficient by making it
more stable and less energy losses due to incomplete combustion and unburnt carbon.

It is designed to exchange heat energy with desuperheaters. Desuperheater is a Device which

is been used to reduce the temperature of the steam in a high heat generation plants where
large amount of heat energy or steam is released in the atmosphere.

The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the boiler flue gas which
increases the thermal efficiency of the boiler by reducing the useful heat lost in the flue gas.
Air preheaters used in large boilers found in thermal power stations producing electric power
from e.g. fossil fuels, biomass or waste. For instance, as the air preheated has been attributed
worldwide fuel savings estimated to 4,960,000,000 tons of fuels, "few inventions have been
as successful in saving fuel as the Ljungström Air Preheater", marked as the 44th
International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers.

Location of air preheater in a boiler:

Air preheater is an intermediate accessory. It is located in the final stage of the boiler. To
increase the efficiency of the boiler, an air preheater is installed between the economizer and
chimney. In every modern boiler, an air preheater is commonly installed in the same location.

SIGNIFICANCE OF AIR PREHEATER

● An air preheater (APH) is a device designed to preheat the combustion air used in a
fuel-burning furnace for the purpose of increasing the thermal efficiency of the furnace and
decrease fuel consumption of the process. They are also recognized as air heaters or air-
heating pipe. Use of hot air makes the combustion process more efficient by making it more
stable and less energy losses due to incomplete combustion and unburnt carbon.

● It is designed to exchange heat energy with desuperheaters. Desuperheater is a device

which is been used to reduce the temperature of the steam in a high heat generation plants
where large amount of heat energy or steam is released in the atmosphere.

● The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the boiler flue gas which
increases the thermal efficiency of the boiler by reducing the useful heat lost in the flue gas.

● For proper combustion 3 things are essential. They are Time, Temperature &
Turbulence. If more time is allowed during combustion, the fuel will burn completely.
Similarly, if the fuel is pre-heated, we can have better combustion. More is the turbulence,
more the intimate contact of fuel and air, this will result in better combustion.
● Pre-heating of fuel is normally done by the primary air and complete combustion is
ensured by secondary air. Both these airs are pre-heated in pre-heater. Normally air pre-
heater is located in “heat recovery zone” of a boiler. An air preheater is located in the final
stage of the boiler and is installed between the economizer and chimney. The air is heated by
the flue gas. Naturally the un-utilized heat of the “product of combustion” is utilized to heat
the air at air- preheater. This will result in improvement of the performance of boiler.
● Generally, a reduction of 22o C in Flue gas can result in the efficiency increment of
1%. In a 660 MW Boiler, temperature reduction of around 215o C can be achieved. This
corresponds to an efficiency increment of 5.5 -6 % in Boiler.
● Mostly tubular air preheater or recuperative APH are utilized in Babcock and Wilcox
boiler whereas, regenerative APH are used in large capacity boilers due to its compactness.
It can be either bi-sector or tri-sector type regenerative APH, depending upon the design.

● Further the air pre heater may also be used for heating the air in order to dry wet coal
in the pulverizing plant.

● If an air preheater will not present in the power plant, then we need to give more heat
energy to boiler which decreases the efficiency of the plant as it is difficult for the air to attain
the desired superheated state while leaving boiler and the useful heat energy of the exhaust
gases are wasted to atmosphere. Moreover, discharge of hot air also leads to harmful
environmental impacts.

● Also, the cold air entering furnace at very high temperature would cause thermal
shock if not pre heated.

● Hence, we can depict that air preheater is an important part of any power plant

TYPES OF AIR PREHEATER

The air preheaters are classified into two types based on their features and construction.
These two types of air preheater are
1. Recuperative type air preheater
2. Regenerative type air preheater

Recuperative Type air preheater

Recuperative preheater is generally called static preheater. In the recuperative type the flue
gas in on one side of the surface and the air is on the other side. The heat from the flue gas is
continuously transferred to the air through the heat transfer surface normally in form of tubes/
plates.

Regenerative Air preheater

Regenerative air preheaters, known as storage type heat exchanger, have an energy storage
medium, called the matrix, which is alternately exposed to the hot and cold fluids. When the
hot flue gases flow through the matrix in the first half of the cycle, the matrix gets heated and
the gas is cooled. In the next half of the cycle when air flows through the matrix, air gets
heated and the matrix is cooled. The cycle repeats itself. The heat transfer from the gas to air
is thus periodic, the amount depending on the number of heating-cooling cycles executed per
second.

There are two types of Regenerative air preheater:

● Ljungstrom (matrix element rotating)
● Rothemuhle (matrix element stationary)

Ljungstrom Regenerative air preheater:

In a rotary air preheater, the rotor acts as the main component to transfer the heat. The rotor is
installed with several sheet elements such as corrugated sheets, undulated sheets, and flat
sheets.
The flat sheets are kept separated by a certain distance of about 5 to 10 mm from the other
two plates, which helps in creating flow paths and helps in increasing heat supplied and
turbulent flow of gas or air.

The thickness of these sheets is about 0.44 to 1.22 mm. The high heat and high turbulence
can be achieved by a certain space between the sheets. Like tubular type AH, carbon steel and
COR-TEN is used to manufacture these sheets for both high and low-temperature condition.

To reduce corrosion and deposition of unwanted materials in high operating temperatures,

thin sheets are used with minimal spacing distance. Likewise, in low or medium operating
temperatures, thick sheets are used with maximum spacing distance. Thick sheets always
have a long lifespan than thinner sheets.
Fuel savings with the ljungstrom air preheater are about 1-1% % for every 4.4°c to 10°c
increase in combustion air temperature, depending on the application.
Their simplified design and operating integrity assure continuous reliable service throughout
the life of the plant.

Rotating baskets (Ljungstrom)

Rotating baskets are attached or installed along with the rotor, it has both inlet and outlet to
transfer air and gas. These baskets are filled with three types of sheets as mentioned above.
The rotor usually rotates at the speed of 4 to 5 rpm when it is driven by an external rotating
drive or motor.

The whole setup is covered by a casing which helps in preventing the air from escape. Other
seals on the sides also help to prevent leakage of air. Soot blown process always must be
done before starting and after finishing the entire preheating process in the air preheater. This
helps to keep the AH clean and free from unburnt fuel.

This air preheater is further classified into two types based on the position of the rotating
shaft. They are horizontal shaft design and vertical shaft design. Both types are commonly
used in utility boilers. While comparing to vertical shaft AH, horizontal shaft types are more
popular.

FACTORS AFFECTING WHILE OPERATING AIR PREHEATERS

Some factors affect air preheaters while operating.

The common factors are
• Corrosion at low temperature
• Fouling and plugging

Corrosion at low temperature

⮚ This problem occurs commonly in tubular type air preheater. Whenever the
temperature metal tube falls below the dew point temperature the corrosion occurs. Sulphur
content and moisture content present in fuel and flue gas are the main reason for corrosion.

⮚ This may cause a serious problem so it requires a regular periodic check-up in the
coldest area in the air preheater. The coldest area of air preheater is where the exit gas and
cold incoming air meets. Proper maintenance is required to handle this problem.

Fouling and plugging

⮚ Fouling means deposition of residual ash content. This usually happens at the low end
of the air preheater where the moisture content gets reacts with the moisture at the low-
temperature end. This results in fouling. Due to regular deposition, the ash deposit grows
bigger in size.

⮚ If the size of the ash deposit continuously grows, then the gas passages become
plugged. Along with the increase in deposit also results in increasing the pressure drop.
Soluble deposits can be removed by water washing and soot blowing must be done at regular
intervals to avoid fouling.

⮚ Soot blown is impossible in vertical tubular air preheater, so the tube is installed with
larger diameters to manage ash deposition.

DESIGN OF AIR PREHEATER

Air preheater is the device used to heat the air supplied for the combustion with the help of
hot flue gases. The purpose of the air preheater is to recover the heat from the boiler flue gas
which in turn increases the thermal efficiency due to reduction in the heat lost in the flue gas.
As a result, the flue gases are conveyed to the chimney at a lower temperature allow a more
simplified design of the conveyance system. It also allows control over the temperature of
gases leaving the chimney to meet the emission regulations.
There are two types of air preheater in thermal power stations. In recuperative air preheater
the heat exchange between the flue gas and the air to be heated takes place continuously
through the walls of the heating surface that separate them. In regenerative air preheater the
heat exchange is accomplished by the alternate heating and cooling metallic or ceramic fixed
or rotating surfaces of the preheater.
Air preheater basket
Air preheater baskets are compact arrangement of profiled metal sheets placed in the air
preheated rotor in two or more layers and plays the most important role in the process of heat
recovery. The material of construction and design profile of the heating elements depend on
the operating conditions, quality and type of fuel.
Standard materials of construction:
● Carbon steel
● Corten steel
● Stainless steel
● Enamelled coated steel

ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS

Advantages of air preheater in a boiler

● The efficiency of the boiler is increased.

● It is used as a source of heat for heating the air.
● Fuel usage is reduced.
● Quality combustion is achieved.
● Recovery of waste heat from the boiler protects the environment from the pollution.
● Furnace losses are reduced.

Disadvantages of air preheater in a boiler

● Corrosion is the main disadvantage of the air preheater.

● Erosion in AH due to high gas velocities.
● Extra installation, maintenance and supervision cost added
● Due to extra addition of instrument, there will be more pressure drop, so the
requirement of force drag power will be more.
Applications of Air Preheaters

● Industrial steam boilers

● Industrial drying processes
● Refinery & Petro-chemical furnaces
● Incinerators

References-

1.https://www.eqmagpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Wind-Power-Conf.-by-JKJ-
MNRE21112016.pdf
2. http://www.cbip.org/ExternalFile/Hydro_Regulations_Policies.pdf
3. https://solarify.in/blog/policies-regulations-solar-energy-india/
4. https://mnre.gov.in/
5. https://mnre.gov.in/solar/schemes/
6. https://www.mpoweruk.com/electricity_demand.htm
7. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/electricity-demand-pattern-india-analysis-way-forward-
anurag yadav
8. https://www.motilaloswal.com/site/rreports/HTML/636231785966923124/index.htm
9. https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Energising-India.pdf
10. “Load Profiles and Their Use in Electricity Settlement”- Elexon guide 7th November,
2013.
11. “Seasonal variations in Electricity Demand”-a special report published by the UK
electricity
statistics department.
12. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/74426.pdf
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_energy_storage
14. https://greycellsenergy.com/glossary-item/ramp-rate/
15. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/ebf483/node/705