BOILER

ASSIGNMENT

FIRE-TUBE BOILER:
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating steam. The fire-tube boiler developed as the third of the four major historical types of boilers: low-pressure tank or "haystack" boilers, flued boilers with one or two large flues, fire-tube boilers with many small tubes, and high-pressure water-tube boilers. Their advantage over flued boilers with a single large flue is that the many small tubes offer far greater heating surface area for the same overall boiler volume. The general construction is as a tank of water penetrated by tubes that carry the hot flue gases from the fire. The tank is usually cylindrical for the most partbeing the strongest practical shape for a pressurized container and this cylindrical tank may be either horizontal or vertical. This type of boiler was used on virtually all steam locomotives in the horizontal "locomotive" form. This has a cylindrical barrel containing the fire tubes, but also has an extension at one end to house the "firebox". This firebox has an open base to provide a large grate area and often extends beyond the cylindrical barrel to form a rectangular or tapered enclosure. The horizontal fire-tube boiler is also typical of marine applications, using the Scotch boiler. Vertical boilers have also been built of the multiple firetube type, although these are comparatively rare: most vertical boilers were either flued, or with cross water-tubes.

OPERATION:
Schematic diagram of a "locomotive" type fire-tube boiler In the locomotive-type boiler, fuel is burnt in a firebox to produce hot combustion gases. The firebox is surrounded by a cooling jacket of water connected to the long, cylindrical boiler shell. The hot gases are directed along a series of fire tubes, or flues, that penetrate the boiler and heat the water thereby generating saturated ("wet") steam. The steam rises to the highest point of the boiler, the steam dome, where it is collected. The dome is the site of the regulator that controls the exit of steam from the boiler. In the locomotive boiler, the saturated steam is very often passed into a superheated, back through the larger flues at the top of the boiler, to dry the steam and heat it to superheated steam. The superheated steam is directed to the steam engine's cylinders or very rarely to a turbine to produce mechanical work. Exhaust gases are fed out through a chimney, and may be used to pre-heat the feed water to increase the efficiency of the boiler. Draught for fire tube boilers, particularly in marine applications, is usually provided by a tall smokestack. In all steam locomotives since Stephenson's Rocket, additional draught is supplied by directing exhaust

steam from the cylinders into the smokestack through a blast pipe, to provide a partial vacuum. Modern industrial boilers use fans to provide forced or induced draughting of the boiler. Another major advance in the Rocket was large numbers of small-diameter firetubes (a multi-tubular boiler) instead of a single large flue. This greatly increased the surface area for heat transfer, allowing steam to be produced at a much higher rate. Without this, steam locomotives could never have developed effectively as powerful prime movers.

TYPES OF FIRE-TUBE BOILER:

Cornish Boiler:
The earliest form of fire-tube boiler was Richard Trevithick's "high-pressure" Cornish boiler. This is a long horizontal cylinder with a single large flue containing the fire. The fire itself was on an iron grating placed across this flue, with a shallow ashpan beneath to collect the non-combustible residue. Although considered as low-pressure (perhaps 25 psi) today, the use of a cylindrical boiler shell permitted a higher pressure than the earlier "haystack" boilers of Newcomen's day. As the furnace relied on natural draught (air flow), a tall chimney was required at the far end of the flue to encourage a good supply of air (oxygen) to the fire. For efficiency, the boiler was commonly encased beneath by a brick-built chamber. Flue gases were routed through this, outside the iron boiler shell, after passing through the fire-tube and so to a chimney that was now placed at the front face of the boiler.

Lancashire Boiler:
The Lancashire boiler is similar to the Cornish, but has two large flues containing the fires. It was the invention of William Fairbairn in 1844, from a theoretical consideration of the thermodynamics of more efficient boilers that led him to increase the furnace grate area relative to the volume of water. Later developments added Galloway tubes (after their inventor, patented in 1848), crosswise water tubes across the flue, thus increasing the heated surface area. As these are short tubes of large diameter and the boiler continues to use a relatively low pressure, this is still not considered to be a water-tube boiler. The tubes are tapered, simply to make their installation through the flue easier. Side-section of a Scotch marine boiler: the arrows show direction of flue gas flow; the combustion chamber is on the right, the smokebox on the left.

Scotch Marine Boiler:

The Scotch marine boiler differs dramatically from its predecessors in using a large number of smalldiameter tubes. This gives a far greater heating surface area for the volume and weight. The furnace remains a single large-diameter tube with the many small tubes arranged above it. They are connected together through a combustion chamber an enclosed volume contained entirely within the boiler shell so that the flow of flue gas through the firetubes is from back to front. An enclosed smokebox covering the front of these tubes leads upwards to the chimney or funnel. Typical Scotch boilers had a pair of furnaces, larger ones had three. Above this size, such as for large steam ships, it was more usual to install multiple boilers.

Locomotive Boiler:
A locomotive boiler has three main components: a double-walled firebox; a horizontal, cylindrical "boiler barrel" containing a large number of small flue-tubes; and a smokebox with chimney, for the exhaust gases. The boiler barrel contains larger flue-tubes to carry the superheater elements, where present. Forced draught is provided in the locomotive boiler by injecting exhausted steam back into the exhaust via a blast pipe in the smokebox. Locomotive-type boilers are also used in traction engines, steam rollers, portable engines and some other steam road vehicles. The inherent strength of the boiler means it is used as the basis for the vehicle: all the other components, including the wheels, are mounted on brackets attached to the boiler. It is rare to find superheaters designed into this type of boiler, and they are generally much smaller (and simpler) than railway locomotive types. The locomotive-type boiler is also a characteristic of the overtype steam wagon, the steam-powered forerunner of the truck. In this case, however, heavy girder frames make up the load-bearing chassis of the vehicle, and the boiler is attached to this.

Taper Boiler:
Certain railway locomotive boilers are tapered from a larger diameter at the firebox end to a smaller diameter at the smokebox end. This reduces weight and improves water circulation. Many later Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway locomotives were designed or modified to take taper boilers.

Vertical Fire-Tube Boiler:

A vertical boiler is a type of fire-tube or water-tube boiler where the boiler barrel is oriented vertically instead of the more common horizontal orientation. Vertical boilers were used for a variety of steampowered vehicles and other mobile machines, including early steam locomotives

Horizontal Return Tubular Boiler:

Horizontal Return Tubular boiler (HRT) has a horizontal cylindrical shell, containing several horizontal flue tubes, with the fire located directly below the boiler's shell, usually within a brickwork setting

Admiralty-Type Direct Tube Boiler:

Extensively used by Britain, before and in the early days of ironclads, the only protected place was below the waterline, sometimes under an armoured deck, so to fit below short decks, the tubes were not led back above the furnace but continued straight from it with keeping the combustion chamber in between the two. Hence the name, and considerably reduced diameter, compared to the ubiquituous Scotch or return tube boiler. It was not a great success and its use was being abandoned after the introduction of stronger side armouring the furnace crowns, being very near the water-level, are much more liable to overheating. Further, on account of the length of the boiler, for an equal angle of inclination, the effect on the water-level is much greater. Finally, the unequal expansion of the various parts of the boiler is more pronounced, especially at the top and bottom, due to the increased ratio between the length and the diameter of the boiler; the local strains are also more severe on account of the comparatively feeble circulation in long and low boilers. All these also resulted in a shorter life. Also, the same length of a combustion chamber was much less effective on a direct tube than on a return tube boiler, at least without baffling.

Immersion Fired Boiler:

The Immersion Fired boiler is a single pass fire-tube boiler that was developed by Sellers Engineering in the 1940s. It has only firetubes, functioning as a furnace and combustion chamber also, with multiple burner nozzles injecting premixed air and natural gas under pressure. It claims reduced thermal stresses, and lacks refractory brickwork completely due to its construction.

Variations:
Water Tubes:
Fire-tube boilers sometimes have water-tubes as well, to increase the heating surface. A Cornish boiler may have several water-tubes across the diameter of the flue (this is common in steam launches). A locomotive boiler with a wide firebox may have arch tubes or thermic syphons. These increase the heating surface and give additional support to the brick arch. Another technique for increasing the heating surface is to include internal rifling inside the boiler tubes (also known as Serve tubes).

Not all shell boilers raise steam; some are designed specifically for heating pressurised water.

Reverse Flame:
In homage to the Lancashire design, modern shell boilers can come with a twin furnace design. A more recent development has been the reverse flame design where the burner fires into a blind furnace and the combustion gasses double back on themselves. This results in a more compact design and less pipework.

Package Boiler:
The term "package" boiler evolved in the early- to mid-20th century from the practice of delivering boiler units to site already fitted with insulation, electrical panels, valves and gauges. This was in contrast to earlier practice where little more than the pressure vessel was delivered and the ancillary components were fitted on-site.

Advantage & Disadvantage Fire Tube Boiler:

Each steam boiler type has its advantages and disadvantage as well as with the type of fire tube boiler. The following are advantages and disadvantages if the owner of power plant choose fire tube boiler as his boiler.

Advantages Of Fire Tube Boiler:

1. The water is supplied in shell and outside tubes while hot gas is supplied inside tubes so the water volume cannot be shaken easily when the fire tube boiler is running. 2. Fire tube boiler is so easy to use, operate, clean and maintain 3. Fire tube boiler can be used in small scale industries. 4. Fire tube boiler is relatively cheaper than water tube boiler.

Disadvantages Of Fire Tube Boiler:

1. From the furnace combustion side, required time to fill water is longer than to increase temperature and pressure. 2. The efficiency of heat transfer (heat transfer efficiency) is bad enough because of the heat exchanger does not use thermal radiation. 3. In case of bombers fire tube boiler would be very dangerous if a large amount of hot water and steam have been accumulated inside (leakage occur). 4. The fire tube boiler cannot produce steam at a pressure higher than 250 pounds per square inch. 5. Capacity of generated steam is limited.