Lancashire Boiler:

Today we will learn about Lancashire boiler. This is the most common boiler
is the Sugar and Cotton industries. Lancashire is a horizontal, stationary fire
tube boiler. This boiler is invented by Sir William Fairbairn in the year 1844.

The flue gases flows through the fire tube, situated inside the boiler shell, so
it is a fire tube boiler. This boiler generate low pressure steam. It a internally
fired boiler because the furnace is placed inside the boiler.

Principle of Lancashire Boiler:

This boiler works on the basic principle of heat ex-changer. It is basically a
shell and tube type heat ex-changer in which the flue gases flow through the
tubes and the water flows through shell. The heat is transfer from flue gases
to the water through convection. It is a natural circulation boiler which uses
natural current to flow the water inside the boiler.

Working:

The Lancashire boiler is a shell and tube type heat ex-changer. The fuel is
burn at the grate. The water is pumped into the shell through the economizer
which increases the temperature of water. Now the shell is half filled with
water. The fire tube is fully immersed into the water. The fuel is charged at
the grate which produces flue gases. These flue gases first passes through the
fire tube from one end to another. This fire tubes transfer 80-90% of total
heat to the water. The backward flue gases passes from the bottom passage
where it transfer 8-10% heat to water.

The remaining flue gases passes from the side passage where it transfer 6-
8% of heat to water. The steam produces in drum shell it taken out from the
upper side where it flows through super heater if required.
1. Safety valve
2. Man hole
3. Steam pipe
4. Steam stop valve
5. Safety valve
6. Pressure gauge
7. Feed check valve
8. Water gauge
9. Blowoff valve
 10. Fusible plug

Figure depicts a Cochran boiler. It is a modified form of simple vertical boiler. It has a

hemispherical crown to given maximum space for steam and very high strength to withstand

high steam pressure.

Generated flue gas from the furnace pass through large number of smaller diameter

tubes located horizontally in the boiler drum. The large heat transfer area is available for

exchange of heat between water and flue gases. The water is converted into steam from the

steam space it is supplied to the plant where the steam is required. Low temperature flue

gases enter the environment via chimney. All the necessary mountings as per IBR is attached

with above boiler.

The advantages of this boiler are its low chimney height, portability, high beaming rate

and burning of clay kind of solid as well as liquid fuel. But it has poor efficiency for smaller

unit, high head space, difficult to inspect and uneconomical in operation.