Steam Generator

STEAM GENERATOR:BASICS
Outcome: Students should able to
01: Understand the working principle of boiler, its function and
classification.
02: Understand the location and function of different boiler mountings
(Safety valve; Pressure gauge; fusible plug; feed check valve; water level
indicator; Blow off cock)as well as boiler accessories (superheater;
economiser & air preheater)
PRE-REQUISITE:
1. Formation of steam at constant pressure
If water is heated beyond the boiling point (99.64=100 0 C),it vaporizes
into gaseous phase called as Steam.
The property of steam varies with Pressure and Temperature and can be
found out from steam table.

Assumption: 1 kg of steam is produced from ice at 1.01325bar.

2. Quality/Types of Steam
The quality of steam is determined by knowing
1. Dryness fraction and
2. Temperature of steam

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1. Dryness Fraction: It measures the fraction of vapour present in the

mixture of steam.
mg
It is denoted by x and given by x 
mw  mg
If x=90%, it indicates that 0.90 kg vapour is prese nt in a mixture of 1kg
of steam. (In other words, 0.20 kg of water vapour)

A) Wet/Unsaturated Steam: It is the mixture of vapour and moisture.

It is characterized by x. (0<x<1)

Enthalpy: hwet  hf  x  hfg

h
Entropy: s wet  s f  x  fg  s f  x  s fg
T
dq dh h fg
---------- ds   ; s fg 
T T T
s wet  s f  x  s fg
Specific Volume: v wet  x  v g

B) Dry Saturated Steam: When water is completely converted into

vapour, it is called as dry saturated steam.
In other words, x=1(m v =1 & m w =0)

Enthalpy: hdry  hf  hfg  hg

Entropy: s dry  s f  s fg  s g
Specific Volume: v dry  v g

C) Superheated Steam: If dry saturated steam is further heated at

constant pressure, its temperature increases and the steam is
superheated steam.
In other words, x=1(m v =1 & m w =0)


Enthalpy: hsup  hg  Qadded @ P C  hg  C PS  Tsup  Tsat 
hsup  hg  C PS  Tsup  Tsat 
dq C  dT Tsup
dT  Tsup 
Entropy: sdry  s g   s g  PS  s g  CPS   s g  CPS  ln  
T T Tsat T  Tsat 

 Tsup 
s dry  s g  C PS  ln 
 Tsat 
Tsup
Specific Volume: v sup  v g 
Tsat

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Since P  Constant; VT

For Dry steam : v dry  v gTsat
For Superheate d steam : Vsup Tsup

Hence
Vsup Tsup

vg Tsat
Tsup
 Vsup  v g 
Tsat
2. Temperature of steam:
If Tgiven  Tsat        Dry Saturated Steam
If Tgiven  Tsat         Wet Steam
If Tgiven  Tsat        Superheate d Steam
3. Important Definitions
1. Sensible heat of water: The quantity of heat absorbed by 1kg of water
when it is heated from 0 0 C to boiling point (100 0 C).It is denoted by h f .
In other words, the increase or decrease i n temperature of fluid
without change in phase. (No change in Phase)
2. Latent/Hidden Heat: It is the heat absorbed or released during a
change of phase of matter. (No change in temperature)
3. Latent heat of fusion: The quantity of heat required to convert 1kg of
ice into water at constant temperature (0 0 C) and denoted by
h fusion =335 kJ/kg
4. Latent heat of vaporization or evaporation: The amount of heat energy
required to convert 1kg of water into dry saturated steam at constant
temperature (100 0 C) and denoted by h fg =2257 kJ/kg
5. Total heat: It is the sum of enthalpy of saturated water and enthalpy
of vaporization. hf  hfg  hg
6. Saturation temperature: It is the temperature at which phase change
starts and denoted by T sat .
7. Superheated Temperature: If the temperature of steam is more than
saturation temperature, it is called as T su p .

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INTRODUCTION TO BOILER
Definition:
 A boiler is a closed vessel in which water is converted in to steam by burning of
fuel in presence of air at desired temperature, pressure and at desired mass
flow rate.
 According to the Indian Boiler Act 1923, a boiler is a closed pressure
vessel with capacity more than 23 liters and used for generating steam
under pressure and includes all the mountings fitted to a closed vessel.

PRINCIPAL OF WORKING
 In case of boiler, any type of fuel burn in presence of air and form flue gases
which are at very high temperature (hot fluid). The feed water at atmospheric
pressure and temperature enters the system from other side (cold fluid).
Because of exchanges of heat between hot and cold fluid (water) temperature
raises and it form steam. The flue gases (hot fluid) temperature decreases and
at lower temperature hot fluid is thrown in to the atmosphere via
stack/chimney.

FUNCTION OF A BOILER
The steam generated is employed for the following purposes:
 Used in steam turbines to develop electrical energy.
 Used to run steam engines.
 In the textile industries, sugar mills or in chemical industries as a cogeneration
plant.
 Heating the buildings in cold weather.
 Producing hot water for hot water supply.

IMPORTANT TERMS IN BOILER

1. Shell: Made from one or more steel plates and bent into cylindrical form.
2. Grate: Part of furnace upon which fuel is placed.
3. Furnace: Chamber formed by the space above the grate and below the boiler
shell.
4. Combustion Chamber: Part of furnace where combustion of fuel takes place.
5. Water Space and Steam Space: The volume of shell occupied by water is
termed as Water Space while the remaining one is called as Steam Space.

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6. Mountings: The equipments or devices used for safety or proper functioning

of boiler are called Mountings.
7. Accessories: The equipments or devices used for improving the performance
of boiler are called Accessories.

IBR AND NON-IBR BOILERS

 Boiler generating steam at working pressure below 10 bar and having water
storage capacity less than 22.75 liters are called non-IBR boilers. (INDIAN
BOILER REGULATION).
 Boilers outside these limits are covered by the IBR and have to observe certain
specified conditions before being operated.

CLASSIFICATION OF BOILERS
The different ways to classify the boilers are as follows
1. According to location of boiler shell axis
 Horizontal (Lancashire boiler, Locomotive boiler, Babcock and Wilcox
etc.)
 Vertical (Cochran boiler, vertical boiler etc.)
 Inclined boilers
When the axis of the boiler shell is horizontal the boiler is called horizontal boiler. If
the axis is vertical, the boiler is called vertical boiler and if the axis of the boiler is
inclined it is known as inclined boiler.
2. According to the flow medium inside the tubes
 Fire tube (Lancashire, Locomotive, Cochran and Cornish boiler.)
 Water tube boilers (Simple vertical boiler, Babcock and Wilcox boiler.)
The boiler in which hot flue gases are inside the tubes and water is surrounding the
tubes is called fire tube boiler. When water is inside the tubes and the hot gases are
outside the boiler is called water tube boiler.
3. According to boiler pressure
According to pressure of the steam raised the boilers are classified as follows
 Low pressure (Below 80 bar) [Cochran and Cornish boiler, Lancashire and
locomotive boiler]
 High pressure boilers (> 80 bar) [Babcock and Wilcox boiler]
4. According to the draft used:

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 Natural draft (Simple vertical boiler, Lancashire boiler.)

 Artificial draft boilers (Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Locomotive boiler.)
Boilers need supply of air for combustion of fuel. If the circulation of air is provided
with the help of a chimney, the boiler is known as natural draft boiler. When either a
forced draft fan or an induced draft fan or both are used to provide the flow of air in
the boiler is called artificial draft boiler.
5. According to method of water circulation:
 Natural circulation (Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Lancashire boiler.)
 Forced circulation (Velox boiler, Lamont boiler, Loffler boiler.)
If the circulation of water takes place due to difference in density caused by
temperature of water, the boiler is called natural circulation boiler. When the
circulation is done with the help of a pump the boiler is known as forced circulation
boiler.
6. According to furnace position:
 Internally fired (Simple vertical boiler Lancashire boiler, Cochran boiler.)
 Externally fired boilers (Babcock and Wilcox boiler.)
When the furnace of the boiler is inside its drum or shell, the boiler is called internally
fired boiler. If the furnace is outside the drum the boiler is called externally fire boiler.
7. According to Fuel Used.
 Solid
 Liquid
 Gaseous
 Electrical
 Nuclear energy fuel boilers
The boiler in which heat energy is obtained by the combustion of solid fuel like coal or
lignite is known as solid fuel boiler. A boiler using liquid or gaseous fuel for burning is
known as liquid or gaseous fuel boiler. Boilers in which electrical or nuclear energy is
used for generation of heat are respectively called as electrical energy headed boilers
and nuclear energy heated boiler.
8. According to number of tubes
 Single tube (Cornish boiler, Vertical boiler.)
 Multi-tube boiler (Lancashire boiler, Locomotive boiler, Babcock and Wilcox.)

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A boiler having only one fire tube or water tube is called a single, tube boiler. The
boiler having two or more, fire or water tubes is called multi-tube boiler.

9. According to boiler mobility

 Stationary (Lancashire, Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Vertical boiler.)
 Portable (Locomotive boiler, Marine boiler)
 Marine boilers
When the boiler is fixed at one location and cannot be transported easily it is known
as stationary boiler. If the boiler can be moved from one location to another it is
known as portable boiler. The boilers which work on surface of water are called marine
boilers.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF A BOILER

One has to send the technical details to the manufacturer to purchase a boiler. The
technical details that are used to give information about a particular boiler include the
following things:
 Size of drum (Diameter and Length)
 Rate of steam generation (kg/hr)
 Heating surface (Square meters)
 Working pressure(bar)
 Number of tubes /drum
 Type of boiler
 Manufacture of boiler
 Initial cost
 Quality of steam
 Repair and inspection facility

WATER TUBE BOILER

Babcock and Wilcox boiler Babcock and Wilcox is a water-tube boiler is an example of
horizontal inclined tube boiler it also a High Pressure Boiler.
Construction:
Babcock and Wilcox boiler have longitudinal drum. It consists of a drum connected to
a series of front end and rear end header by short riser tubes. To these headers are

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connected a series of inclined water tubes of solid drawn mild steel. The angle of
inclination of the water tubes to the horizontal is about 15° or more.

Fig. : Babcock and Wilcox Boiler

Working: The fire door the fuel is supplied to grate where it is burnt. The hot gases
are forced to move upwards between the tubes by baffle plates provided. The water
from the drum flows through the inclined tubes via down take header and goes back

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into the shell in the form of water and steam via uptake header. The steam gets
collected in the steam space of the drum. The steam then enters through the ant
priming pipe and flows in the superheated tubes where it is further heated and is
finally taken out through the main stop valve and supplied to the Steam turbine or
Steam engine when needed.
The pressure of steam in case of cross drum boiler may be as high as 100 bar and
steaming capacity up to 27000 kg/h. At the lowest point of the boiler is provided a
mud collector to remove the mud particles through a blow-dawn-cock.
Capacity and Utility:
Evaporative capacity ranges from 20000 to 40000 kg/hr
Operative pressure ranges from 11.5 to 17.5bar.
Steam formed from such boilers is primarily used to run steam turbines and generate
electric power.
Salient Aspects:
1. Draught loss is minimum.
2. The replacement of the defective tubes can be made readily.
3. The unit has a capability to quickly cope with high peak loads which are generally
needed at thermal power stations.

FIRE TUBE BOILER

Cochran boiler:
It is one of the best types of vertical multi-tubular boiler, and has a number of
horizontal fire tubes it also a Low Pressure Boiler. Construction: Cochran boiler
consists of a cylindrical shell with a dome shaped top where the space is provided for
steam. The furnace is one piece construction and is seamless. Its crown has a
hemispherical shape and thus provides maximum volume of space. Working: The fuel
is burnt on the grate and ash is collected and disposed of from ash pit. The gases of
combustion produced by burning of fuel enter the combustion chamber through the
flue tube and strike against fire brick lining which directs them to pass through
number of horizontal tubes, being surrounded by water. After which the gases escape
to the atmosphere through smoke box and chimney.
Specifications:
Shell diameter 2.75 m
Height 5.79 m

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Working pressure 6.5 bar (max. pressure = 15 bar)

Steam capacity 3500 kg/hr (max. capacity = 4000 kg/hr)
Heating surface 120 m2
Efficiency 70 to 75% (depending on the fuel used)

Fig. : Cochran Boiler

Locomotive boiler:
Internally fired, horizontal, multi-tubular, natural circulation, artificial draft fire tube
type portable boiler with furnace located in tubes.
Construction and working:
The boiler consists of large number of smaller diameter tubes located in a cylindrical
shell along with a rectangular fire box at one end and a smoke box at the other end.
Fuel burn on the inclined grate and flue gases enter into the tubes because of fire
bridge arch. The flue gases pass through number of tubes. Water is surrounded to the

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tubes. There is an exchange of heat between water and flue gases. The water convert
into steam and the flue gases at lower temperature enter into chimney. The steam
enters the super heater and the superheated steam is supplied to the steam engine via
steam stop valve. The draft created in above case is of artificial type. The chimney of
this boiler is very short. As such enough draft cannot be created by chimney. The draft
is obtained by passing the steam exhausted from the engine through a blast-pipe
located in the smoke box. The steam passing through the nozzle above the blast pipe
creates enough suction to draw in the air through the tubes. A circular door is
provided at the end of smoke box for inspection and cleaning. The rate of steam
generation accelerated due to vibrations caused by the movement of the boiler. The
boiler has a very low efficiency and cannot carry high overloads without suffering
heavy damage due to overheating.

Fig.: Locomotive Boiler

Utility/Application:
It is a mobile boiler and steam generation rate is higher.
The locomotive boiler is so designed that it is capable of meeting sudden and
fluctuating demand of steam, which may be imposed due to variation in power and
speed.
 Uses in railways, road rollers etc.
 Also used in agricultural fields, saw mill plants and stationary power services
where semi- portability is desired.

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Advantages:
 Large rate of evaporation (55 to 70 kg/sec) per Sq.m of heating surface.
 Freedom from brickwork, chimney and special foundations, which reduces the
cost of installation. Reasonable low cost and compactness makes it ideal for
portable unit.
Disadvantages:
 Incapable of meeting very high overloads because of danger of being damaged
due to overheat.
 Max. Steam pressure is limited to 20 bars.
 Leakage occurs frequently at the place where the tube joins the plate.
 Large flat surface needs bracing.
 Accumulation of mud particles in water lags cause scale formation.

BOILER MOUNTINGS
The boiler mountings are the different fittings and devices which are mounted on a
boiler shell for proper functioning and safety.
(A) Mountings for safety
1. Safety valve (02 Nos.)
2. High pressure and low water safety valve on Lancashire and Cornish boiler
(01 each)
3. Water level indicator (02 Nos.)
4. Fusible plug (01 No.)
(B) Mountings for controls
1. Pressure gauge (01 No.)
2. Steam stop valve (01 No.)
3. Feed check valve (01 No.)
4. Blow off cock (01 No.)
5. Man hole (01 No.)
6. Mud box (01 No.)

01.SAFETY VALVE

Safety valve is located on the top of the boiler. They guard the boiler against the
excessive high pressure of steam inside the drum. If pressure exceeds the working

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pressure then the safety valve allows blowing off a certain quantity of steam to the
atmosphere, and the pressure falls in the drum.
There are four types of safety valves.
1. Dead-weight safety valves
Figure 01 shows the schematic of a dead weight safety valve. It is similar to dead
weight (whistle) loaded on a pressure cooker and functions in a similar way. A
gunmetal valve rests on gunmetal seat. The gunmetal seat is mounted on a steel
steam pipe.

Fig.01: Dead weight safety valve

The valve is fastened to a weight carrier. The dead weight is in the form of cylindrical
discs are placed on the carrier so it acts downward. When the force due to steam
pressure exceeds the total dead weight acting downward, the valve lifts up from the
seat and some quantity of steam left the atmosphere, thus reducing the steam
pressure in the boiler shell, and the valve is again closed. The dead weight safety valve
is used on stationary boilers.

2. Spring- loaded safety valve

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Fig.02: Spring –loaded safety valve

The dead weight safety valve cannot be used on locomotive and marine boilers.
The spring loaded safety valve is used on locomotive marines and on high –
pressure valve. Fig shows the valve close the steam passages under the action
of a central helical spring. When the upward force of steam exceeds the
downward spring tension, the valves open and some steam escape to the
atmosphere. Thus lower the steam pressure in the boiler and the valves are
closed again under the spring force.

3. Lever-loaded safety valve

The fig. shows the lever- loaded spring safety valve, the body of valve is fastened
on the top of the boiler shell. A gunmetal valve is placed on the steam passage
formed in the casing. A cast iron lever attached to a fulcrum on one end and
loaded by weight on the other end keeps the valve on the seat in a closed
position.

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When the upward force due to steam pressure exceeds the load on the valve,
the valve opens, and allows some quantity of steam to escape. The pressure of
steam in the boiler falls and the valve again rests on the seat.

Fig.03: Lever-loaded safety valve

02.WATER LEVEL INDICATOR

The water level indicator is located in front of the boiler in such a position that the
level of water can easily be seen by the attendant. Two water level indicators are used
on all boilers. A water level indicator consists of a metal tube and a strong glass tube
with markings. The upper and lower ends are connected to two gunmetal hollow pipes.
The drain cock is to ensure the water and steam cock to clear steam. During operation
steam cock and water cock remains open while the drain cock remains close. During
the normal operation, the two balls provided inside the gunmetal pipe remains in
position as shown in figure 4, hence the water can reach the glass gauge and its level
can be seen.
In case the glass gauge breaks accidently, the water and steam simultaneously rush
out through the gunmetal pipes. The force is exerted on two balls and they are carried
away by water and steam and the passage are closed. The water and the steam cocks
are then closed and the glass gauge is replaced.

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Fig.04: Water level indicator.

03.PRESSURE GAUGE

A pressure gauge is fitted in front of the boiler in such a position that the operator can
conveniently read it. It read the pressure of steam in the boiler and is connected to the
steam space by a siphon tube.

Fig.05: Bourdon pressure gauge

The most commonly used gauge is the bourdon pressure gauge. Fig 5 illustrates the
bourdon pressure gauge. It consists of an elliptical spring bourdon tube. One end of

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the tube is connected to the siphon tube and other end is connected by levers and
gears to pointer.
When fluid pressure acts on the bourdon tube, it tries to make its cross section
change from elliptical to circular. In this process, the lever end of the tube moves out
as indicated by an arrow. The tube movement is magnified by the mechanism and
given to pointer to move over a circular scale indicating the pressure.

04.FUSIBLE PLUG
It is very important safety device which protect the fire tube boiler shell against
overheating. It is located just above the furnace in the boiler. It consists of a gun metal
body with a fusible molten metal as shown in figure 6.
During the operation the fusible plug is covered by water and its temperature does not
rise above melting state. When water level falls it uncovers the fusible plug. It heats up
and falls down the water and steam rush through the hole and extinguish the fire
before any major damage.

Fig. 06: Fusible plug

05.BLOW-OFF COCK
The function of the blow off cock is to discharge mud and other sediments deposited in
the bottom most part of the water space in the boiler, while the boiler is in operation.
It can also be used for drain off boiler water. It consists of conical hollow gunmetal

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plug type of valve. The flow of water through the cock can be stopped by rotating the
plug valve in such a way that its solid side comes in the line of the hole in the casing
as shown in figure 7.

Fig. 07: Blow-off cock

06.FEED CHECK VALVE

Fig.08: Feed check valve

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The feed check valve is fitted to the boiler, slightly below the working level in the
boiler. It is used to supply high pressure feed water to the boiler. It also prevents the
returning of feed water from the boiler if the feed pump fails to work. A feed check
valve consists of two valves feed valve and check valve as shown in figure 8. In normal
working the feed water pressure is more than the boiler pressure, thus the check valve
remains open. But in case of its failure, the boiler pressure become more than the feed
water, the valve rests on its seat and closes the water passage and prevents its reverse
flow.

07.STEAM STOP VALVE

The steam stop valve is located on the highest part of the steam space. It regulates the
steam supply for use. The steam stop valve can be operated manually or
automatically.

Fig.09: Steam stop valve

08.MAN HOLE AND MUD HOLE

The man hole is provided on the boiler shell at a convenient position so that a person
can enter through it, inside the boiler for cleaning and inspection purposes.
The mud hole is placed at the bottom of the boiler to collect mud discharge through
the blow off cock. Therefore, it is connected with blow off cock.

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BOILER ACCESSORIES
The devices used to improve the performance and operation of the boilers is called
Boiler Accessories. Following accessories were used to improve the performance of
boiler:
1. Feed Pumps: It is used to deliver feed water to the boiler by the pump.
2. Injector: The water is delivered to the boiler by steam pressure; The Kinetic
energy of steam is used to increase the pressure and velocity of feed water.
3. Economiser: It is a device in which the waste heat of flue gases is utilized for
heating the feed water.
4. Air Preheater: It is use to increase the temperature of air before it enters the
furnace.
5. Superheater: It is use to increase the temperature of steam above it
saturation point.
6. Steam Separator: It is use to separate the water particles from the steam to
the steam engine or steam turbine.

01.SUPERHEATER
Super heaters are used in boilers to increase the temperature of the steam above its
saturation temperature.

Fig.01: Superheater

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This is done by passing the steam through a small set of tubes and hot gases over
them. The super heater commonly used in Lancashire boiler is as shown in figure 01.
This super heater consists of two headers and a set of super heater tubes made of
high quality steel in the form of U-tube. The super heater is located just before the
gases enter the bottom flue. The amount of hot gases passed over the super heater
tubes should be in proportion to the amount of superheated steam passing through
the tubes. Otherwise, the tubes should be overheated. To avoid this, the amounts of
hot gases are divided as shown in figure. The super heater is put out of action by
turning the damper, the gases coming out from the central flue pass directly into the
bottom flue without passing over the super heater tubes.
The arrangement for getting superheated or wet steam is shown in figure. For
getting superheated steam, the valves A and B are opened and valve C is closed. And
the damper is kept open as per the quantity of steam flowing through the pipe.
For this position the flow direction of the steam is shown in the figure. If wet
steam in required, then the valves A, B and gas damper are kept closed, and valve C is
kept open. In this case the steam directly comes out from the boiler through the valve
C. by adjusting the gas damper the temperature of the steam coming out of super
heater is always maintained constant irrespective of amount of steam passing through
the super heater.

02.ECONOMISER
The economizer usefully extracts the waste heat of the chimney gases to preheat the
water before it is fed into the boiler. A green’s economizer commonly used in
Lancashire boiler is shown in figure 02.
The economiser consists of vertical cast iron pipes which are fitted with two
headers, one at the bottom and other at the top. The feed water is passed through the
bottom header, economizer pipes and top header and on to the boiler. The hot gases
pass over the external surface of the water tubes. The heat from the hot gases is given
to the feed water through the tube surface. A safety valve is fitted on the top header for
the safety of the pipes against any highest pressure of water that may be developed. A
blow-off valve is also fitted at the lowest point of the economizer to discharge the
sediments collected from the feed water.

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Fig. 02: Economiser

To prevent the deposition of the soot from the flue gases over the economizer tubes, a
set of scrapers is fitted over the pipes as shown in the figure. This is necessary as the
deposition of the soot reduces drastically the heat flow rate from the gases to the
water. The soot is removed by moving the scrapers over the pipes up and down
continuously with the help of chain and gear arrangement. The soot removed from the
pipe is collected in soot chamber situated below the bottom header and removed
periodically.

The temperature of the feed water should not be less than 350C because there is a
danger of corrosion of the cold pipe outer surface due to condensation of moisture and
SO2 contained in the flue gases.

03.AIR PREHEATER

Air preheated, like economizer, recovers some portion of the waste heat of the flue
gases. Air supplied to the combustion chamber is preheated by using the heat in the
waste flue gases.

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Fig. 03: Air Preheater

Air preheated is placed after the economizer and before the gases enters the chimney.
A tubular type commonly used in smaller boiler plants is shown in figure 03. The hot
gases are passed through the tubes and air circulates around them. Air is forced to
deflect by using baffles as shown in figure and compelled to move in zigzag path for a
number of times. This increases the period of contact between the air and hot surface
and air is effectively heated. The soot and other material carried with gases are
collected in the hopper at the bottom and removed periodically through soot and other
material carried with gases are collected in the hopper at the bottom and removed
periodically through soot gate.

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Questions
Q.1: Define boiler as per IBR?
Q.2: Name the low pressure and high pressure boilers? (At least two names each)
Q.3: Compare water tube and fire tube boiler on the basis of following factors:
Particulars Fire tube boiler Water tube boiler
Position of water & Hot/flue gases inside tubes Water inside the tubes and
hot/flue gases and water outside the tubes hot/flue gases outside the tubes
Mode of firing Internally fired Externally fired
Drum size Compact Bulk
Suitability Suitable for Industries Suitable for Power Plants
Operating pressure =16bar >100bar
Steam generation rate Lower Higher
Risk of bursting Low due to low steam High due to high steam pressure
pressure
Construction Difficult Simple
Transportation Difficult Simple
Treatment of water Not necessary Must necessary

Q.4: Water tube boilers are always preferred in power plants for producing steam?
Justify

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Q.5: Complete the following table

SN Mounting Location Function
01 Safety Valve

02 Steam stop valve

03 Feed check valve

04 Blow off valve

05 Fusible plug

06 Water level
indicator
07 Pressure gauge

08 Man hole

09 Mud hole

Q.6: Draw the block diagram of a boiler plant showing location of air-preheater,
superheater, economiser clearly indicating the air and water circuit flow?
Q.7: Draw the various circuits used in Boiler? (Water ckt; Steam ckt and Hot flue
gases ckt)
Q.8: Complete the following table
SN Mounting Location Function
01 Superheater

02 Economiser

03 Air Preheater

Q.9. Give the advantages of superheated steam?

All power plants are using superheated steam due to following advantages:
1. Heat content is very large and does more work without increasing its pressure.
2. Due to large heat content, steam consumption for the same power output is
less.
3. High temperature improves the thermal efficiency.
4. Since it is free from moisture, no danger of corrosion and erosion.

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Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

 The following are the fire tube boilers except
a) Cochran
b) Lancashire
c) Locomotive
d) Babcock and Wilcox

 The following are the water tube boilers except

a) Stirling
b) Lancashire
c) Yarrow
d) Babcock and Wilcox

 The water tubes in a Babcock and Wilcox boiler are........

a) Horizontal
b) Vertical
c) Inclined
d) Horizontal and inclined

 The boiler commonly used in sugar mills is

a) Cochran
b) Cornish
c) Lancashire
d) Stirling

 In fire tube boilers, pressure is limited to

a) 16 bar
b) 32 bar
c) 48 bar
d) 64 bar

 The following is a boiler mounting.

a) Feed pump
b) Water level gauge
c) Economizer
d) Superheater

 What is the function of safety valves in the boiler?

a)To prevent excessive steam pressure
b)To prevent excessive air pressure
c)To prevent water pressure
d) To prevent from rising temperatures

 What is the function of Blow down valve of a boiler?

a) To remove sludge
b) To build sediments

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c) To remove Flue gas

d) To remove ash

 Other than Steam stop valve in the boiler which is the other similar type
of valve used?
a) Non-reversible valve
b) Transient valve
c) Reversible valve
d) Junction valve

 What is the function of fusible plug in the boiler?

a) Protect the fire tube
b) To trip on overload
c) To act as a junction switch
d) To maintain pressure

 What is the function Air heater in the boiler?

a) Preheat the air before entering the boiler
b) Recover the heat from flue gas
c) Heating of economizer tubes
d) Reheat the gas coming out of economizer

 What happens due to high temperature of feeds water in the economizer?

a) Fuel consumption increases
b) Fuel mechanical efficiency increases
c) Fuel consumption decreases
d) Fuel mechanical efficiency decreases

 The economiser is used in boilers to........

a) Increase thermal efficiency of boiler
b) Economies on fuel
c) Extract heat from the exhaust the gases
d) Increase flue gas temperature

 An economiser __________ the steam raising capacity of a boiler.

a) Increases
b) Decreases
c) Has no effect

 A device used to increase the temperature of saturated steam without

raising its pressure, is called
a) Blow Off Cock
b) Fusible Plug
c) Superheater
d) Stop Valve
`
 An air preheater is installed
a) before the economiser
b) before the superheater

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c) between the economiser and chimney

d) none of these

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