CASE STUDY

DRUM LEVEL CONTROL:

Water Cycle:

The main purpose of most boilers is to heat water to steam. To accomplish

this a series of tubes are placed in the boiler to confine the water and provide a
large heat transfer surface for interfacing with the hot gases of combustion. The
water in these tubes is turned to steam. A large heater is provided on each end of
the tubes to distribute the water from

Control:

The object of the control system is to provide steam at a constant pressure, and
to do so safely minimum cost. The control must be flexible enough to react to
changes in the amount of steam required and provide steam at an optimum
efficiency. The control must provide adequate feed water to exactly offset that
drawn off as steam and last as blown down. At the same time the system has to
provide adequate fuel to produce the heat needed to convert the water to steam
an amount of to completely burn the fuel must be made available. And, off
course, all these functions must be ordinate to provide not only maximum
efficiency but also safety. The control scheme outs typical and includes sum of
the important concepts.

FEED WATER CONTROL

We all look at the feed water portion of the control scheme. The aim of this
part of the control is to maintain quite precisely the liquid level in the boiler drum
to maximize the steam water separation maintaining the level is also important to
assure that liquid is present in the boiler tubes. This assures the tubes will be
cooled by the water as it boils and acts to protect them from over heating in
addition, it assures that there will be the water circulation described pervasively
the main elements of the control of the drum leveler the measurement of the
liquid level in the drum and the control of the feed water flow valve. The obvious
control would be to provide the drum level measurement to a level controller
whose output regulate the feed water control valve (Single Element) this is not,
however, a good solution here the primary reason this does not provide good
control is that the level is a slow responding phenomenon that tends to integrate
the results of the feed water flow in and steam out. That is a change in the feed
water flow very long time to show up as a small increase in the level this is due to
the large volume capacity of water in the boiler.
If the steam flow changes, this will affect the level, which in turn will control the
feed water valve. As seen before, this is very slow and what we really want to do
is to sense a change in steam flow and make a change to the feed water flow.
We can do this by providing the steam flow measurement as a feed forward
signal in the level controller in this way the feed forward signal from steam will
effect the feed water valve for changes in steam flow while the level control
accurately maintain the correct level by controlling the feed water to correct for
losses and minor changes. This control system is called ” two element feed water
control.”

There is another phenomenon that happens in a boiler “shrink and swell” that we
need to look at when there is a change in steam flow (consider an increased
demand and resulting increase in steam flow) the pressure in the boiler and drum
will immediately begin to be reduced as the steam is drawn off when these
happens the vapor bubbles in the boiler will expand the displacing the water in
the boiler which increases the liquid level in the drum calling for less feed water
flow the level controller. This is off course, the wrong direction has the feed water
flow should be increased to replace the increase the steam drawn off. When the
cold feed water enters the drum it cools water in the boiler which condensates
the steam bubbles which reduces the column and the reduces the drum level.
Again the measurement going the wrong way that is, more liquid is resulting in
the measurement indicating the lower level the shrink and swell phenomenon are
transects from changes in steam flow and feed water and are relatively short
lived.
The phenomenon is over come by a Sophisticated scheme called the “three
element drum level control system”. Here, feed water flow to the boiler is actually
measured and controlled. The flow rate is based on a divine signal, which is the
result of both the steam flow, and feed water signal is drum level controller. Now
as steam flow increases feed water flow is increased and when flow is decreases
less feed water flow is called for the drum level controller will maintain correct
level by adjusting the feed water flow demand to correct for losses and minor
changes
 SINGLE ELEMENT CONTROL TWO ELEMENT CONTROL

Steam flow

DRUM
LEVE DRUM
L LEVE
L

F
L T
L
T T
PV

sp LIC
Lt :level transmitter LIC
Ft :flow transmitter
Ff :feed forward control
m/a:manual/auto
M/A
pv:process variable
sp:set point FF

M/A

feed water line control valve

DRUM
LEVE
F L
LI
F L
C
M/A
T T
F
 THREE ELEMENT CONTROL

Steam flow

DRUM Feed water flow

LEVE
L
F
T
L Level transmitter F
T T
Square root pv

LIC
Level indicating control

pv

sp
FF
LIC

M/A

Ft :flow transmitter
Ff :feed forward control
m/a:manual/auto
pv:process variable
sp:set point feed water line control valve