Air compressor

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Air compressor supplies air into a nail gun

An air compressor is a device that converts electrical power or gas into kinetic energy by
pressurizing and compressing air, which is then released in quick bursts. There are numerous
methods of air compression, divided into either positive-displacement or non-positive
displacement types.

Positive-displacement air compressors work by forcing air into a chamber whose volume is
reduced to effect the compression. Piston-type air compressors use this principle by pumping
air into an air chamber through the use of the constant motion of pistons. They use
unidirectional valves to guide air into a chamber, where the air is compressed. Rotary screw
compressors also use positive-displacement compression by matching two helical screws
that, when turned, guide air into a chamber, the volume of which is reduced as the screws
turn. Vane compressors use a slotted rotor with varied blade placement to guide air into a
chamber and compress the volume.

Non-positive-displacement air compressors include centrifugal compressors. These devices

use centrifugal force generated by a spinning impeller to accelerate and then decelerate
captured air, which pressurizes it.[1]

The air compressors seen by the public are used in 5 main applications:

 To supply a high-pressure clean air to fill gas cylinders

 To supply a moderate-pressure clean air to supply air to a submerged surface supplied
diver
 To supply a large amount of moderate-pressure air to power pneumatic tools
 For filling tires
  To produce large volumes of moderate-pressure air for macroscopic industrial
processes (such as oxidation for petroleum coking or cement plant bag house purge
systems).

Most air compressors are either reciprocating piston type or rotary vane or rotary screw.
Centrifugal compressors are common in very large applications. There are two main types of
air compressor's pumps: Oil lubed and oiless. The oiless system has more technical
development, but they are more expensive, louder and last less than the oiled lube pumps. But
the air delivered has better quality. The best choice depends of the application that the user
needs.

Water-tube boiler
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Schematic diagram of a marine-type water tube boiler

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by
the fire. Water tube boilers are used for high-pressure boilers. Fuel is burned inside the
furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes. In smaller boilers,
additional generating tubes are separate in the furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the
water-filled tubes that make up the walls of the furnace to generate steam.

The heated water then rises into the steam drum. Here, saturated steam is drawn off the top of
the drum. In some services, the steam will reenter the furnace through a superheater to
become superheated. Superheated steam is used to drive turbines. Since water droplets can
severely damage turbine blades, steam is superheated to 730 °F (388 °C) or higher to ensure
that there is no water entrained in the steam.
Cool water at the bottom of the steam drum returns to the feedwater drum via large-bore
'downcomer tubes', where it pre-heats the feedwater supply. (In 'large utility boilers', the
feedwater is supplied to the steam drum and the downcomers supply water to the bottom of
the waterwalls). To increase economy of the boiler, exhaust gases are also used to pre-heat
the air blown into the furnace and warm the feedwater supply. Such water tube boilers in
thermal power station are also called steam generating units.

The older fire-tube boiler design – in which the water surrounds the heat source and the gases
from combustion pass through tubes through the water space – is a much weaker structure
and is rarely used for pressures above 350 psi (2.4 MPa). A significant advantage of the water
tube boiler is that there is less chance of a catastrophic failure: there is not a large volume of
water in the boiler nor are there large mechanical elements subject to failure.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Applications
o 1.1 Stationary
o 1.2 Marine
o 1.3 Railway
 1.3.1 Hybrids
o 1.4 Road
 2 Design variations
o 2.1 D-type boiler
o 2.2 Low Water Content
o 2.3 Babcock & Wilcox boiler
o 2.4 Stirling boiler
o 2.5 Yarrow
o 2.6 White-Forster
o 2.7 Thornycroft
o 2.8 Other types
 3 References
 4 External links

[edit] Applications

[edit] Stationary

Modern boilers for power generation are almost entirely water-tube designs, owing to their
ability to operate at higher pressures. Where process steam is required for heating or as a
chemical component, then there is still a small niche for fire-tube boilers.

[edit] Marine

Their ability to work at higher pressures has led to marine boilers being almost entirely
water-tube. This change began around 1900, and traced the adoption of turbines for
propulsion rather than reciprocating (i.e. piston) engines – although water tube boilers were
also used with reciprocating engines.

[edit] Railway

There has been no significant adoption of water-tube boilers for railway locomotives. A
handful of experimental designs were produced, but none of these were successful or led to
their widespread use.[1] Most water-tube railway locomotives, especially in Europe, used the
Schmidt system. Most were compounds, and a few uniflows. The Norfolk and Western
Railway's Jawn Henry was an exception, as it used a steam turbine combined with an electric
transmission.[2]

 LMS 6399 Fury

Rebuilt completely after a fatal accident

 LNER 10000 "Hush hush"

Using a Yarrow boiler, rather than Schmidt. Never successful and re-boilered with a
conventional boiler.[3]

[edit] Hybrids

A slightly more successful adoption was the use of hybrid water-tube / fire-tube systems. As
the hottest part of a locomotive boiler is the firebox, it was an effective design to use a water-
tube design here and a conventional fire-tube boiler as an economiser (i.e. pre-heater) in the
usual position.

One famous example of this was the USA Baldwin 4-10-2 No. 60000, built in 1926.
Operating as a compound at a boiler pressure of 350 psi it covered over 100,000 successful
miles. After a year though, it became clear that any economies were overwhelmed by the
extra costs and it was retired to become a stationary plant.[4] A series of twelve experimental
locomotives were constructed at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Mt. Clare shops under the
supervision of George H. Emerson, but none of them was replicated in any numbers.[5]
Brotan boiler

The only railway use of water-tube boilers in any numbers was the Brotan boiler, invented in
Austria in 1902 by Johann Brotan and found in rare examples throughout Europe. Hungary,
though, was a keen user and had around 1,000 of them. Like the Baldwin, this combined a
water-tube firebox with a fire-tube barrel. The original characteristic of the Brotan was a long
steam drum running above the main barrel, making it resemble a Flaman boiler in
appearance.[6][7]

[edit] Road

While the traction engine was usually built using its locomotive boiler as its frame, other
types of steam road vehicles such as lorries and cars have used a wide range of different
boiler types. Road transport pioneers Goldsworthy Gurney and Walter Hancock both used
water-tube boilers in their steam carriages around 1830.

Most undertype wagons used water-tube boilers. Many manufacturers used variants of the
vertical cross-tube boiler, including Atkinson, Clayton, Garrett and Sentinel. Other types
include the Clarkson 'Thimble tube' and the Foden O-type pistol-shaped boiler.[8]

Steam fire-engine makers such as Merryweather usually used water-tube boilers for their
rapid steam-raising capacity.

Many steam cars used water-tube boilers, and the Bolsover Express company even made a
water-tube replacement for the Stanley Steamer fire-tube boiler.[9]

[edit] Design variations

[edit] D-type boiler

The 'D-type' is the most common type of small- to medium-sized boilers, similar to the one
shown in the schematic diagram. It is used in both stationary and marine applications. It
consists of a large steam drum vertically connected to a smaller water drum (a.k.a. "mud
drum") via multiple steam-generating tubes. These are surrounded by walls made up of larger
water-filled tubes, which make up the furnace. M-Type Boilers Two fireboxes with a control
super-heater

[edit] Low Water Content

The 'Low Water Content' boiler has a lower and upper header connected by water tubes that
are directly impinged upon from the burner. This is a "furnace-less" boiler that can generate
steam and react to load changes quickly.

[edit] Babcock & Wilcox boiler

Babcock & Wilcox boiler

Designed by the American firm of Babcock and Wilcox, this type has a single drum, with
feedwater drawn from the bottom of the drum into a header that supplies inclined water-
tubes. The water tubes supply steam back into the top of the drum. Furnaces are located
below the tubes and drum.

 Foster-Wheelers
 Combustion Engineering

This type of boiler was used by the Royal Navy's Leander class frigates. The Y160 variant
used on the Batch 3 Leanders (eg HMS Jupiter) also incorporated steam atomisation
equipment on the fuel supply so that the diesel fuel entering the boilers via the three main
burners was atomised into a fine spray for better flame efficiency. The superheat temperature
of the Y160 was controlled manually by the Boiler Room Petty Officer of the Watch between
750oF and 850oF and the steam supplied to the main turbines was at a pressure of 550 psi.

[edit] Stirling boiler

Main article: Stirling boiler

Stirling boiler: five-drum form, in section

The Stirling boiler has near-vertical, almost-straight watertubes that zig-zag between a
number of steam and water drums. Usually there are three banks of tubes in a "four drum"
layout, but certain applications use variations designed with a different number of drums and
banks.

They are mainly used as stationary boilers, owing to their large size, although the large grate
area does also encourage their ability to burn a wide range of fuels. Originally coal-fired in
power stations, they also became widespread in industries that produced combustible waste
and required process steam. Paper pulp mills could burn waste bark, sugar refineries their
bagasse waste.

[edit] Yarrow

End-view of a Yarrow boiler

Named after its designers, Glasgow-based Yarrow Shipbuilders, this type has three drums in
a delta formation connected by water tubes. The drums are linked by straight water tubes,
allowing easy tube-cleaning. This does however mean that the tubes enter the drums at
varying angles, a more difficult joint to caulk. Outside the firebox, a pair of 'cold-leg' pipes
between each drum act as 'downcomers'.[10]

Due to its three drums, the Yarrow boiler has a greater water capacity. Hence, this type is
usually used in older marine boiler applications. Its compact size made it attractive for use in
transportable power generation units during World War II. In order to make it transportable,
the boiler and its auxiliary equipment (fuel oil heating, pumping units, fans etc.), turbines,
and condensers were mounted on wagons to be transported by rail.

[edit] White-Forster

The White-Forster type is similar to the Yarrow, but with tubes that are gradually curved.
This makes their entry into the drums perpendicular, thus simpler to make a reliable seal.[10]

[edit] Thornycroft

End-view of a Thornycroft boiler

The Thornycroft type features a single steam drum with two sets of water tubes either side of
the furnace. These tubes, especially the central set, have sharp curves. Apart from obvious
difficulties in cleaning them, this may also give rise to bending forces as the tubes warm up,
tending to pull them loose from the tubeplate and creating a leak. There are two furnaces,
venting into a common exhaust, giving the boiler a wide base tapering profile.[1Water-tube
boilers differ from shell type boilers in that the water is circulated inside the tubes, with the
heat source surrounding them. Referring back to the equation for hoop stress (Equation
3.2.1), it is easy to see that because the tube diameter is significantly smaller, much higher
pressures can be tolerated for the same stress.

Water-tube boilers are used in power station applications that require:

 A high steam output (up to 500 kg/s).

 High pressure steam (up to 160 bar).
  Superheated steam (up to 550°C).

However, water-tube boilers are also manufactured in sizes to compete with shell boilers.

Small water-tube boilers may be manufactured and assembled into a single unit, just like
packaged shell boilers, whereas large units are usually manufactured in sections for assembly
on site.

Many water-tube boilers operate on the principle of natural water circulation (also known as
'thermo-siphoning'). This is a subject that is worth covering before looking at the different
types of water-tube boilers that are available. Figure 3.3.2 helps to explain this principle:

Fig. 3.3.2
Natural water circulation in a water-tube boiler

 Cooler feedwater is introduced into the steam drum behind a baffle where, because the
density of the cold water is greater, it descends in the 'downcomer' towards the lower or
'mud' drum, displacing the warmer water up into the front tubes.
 Continued heating creates steam bubbles in the front tubes, which are naturally separated
from the hot water in the steam drum, and are taken off.

However, when the pressure in the water-tube boiler is increased, the difference between the
densities of the water and saturated steam falls, consequently less circulation occurs. To keep
the same level of steam output at higher design pressures, the distance between the lower
drum and the steam drum must be increased, or some means of forced circulation must be
introduced.

Top

Water-tube boiler sections

The energy from the heat source may be extracted as either radiant or convection and
conduction.
The furnace or radiant section

This is an open area accommodating the flame(s) from the burner(s). If the flames were
allowed to come into contact with the boiler tubes, serious erosion and finally tube failure
would occur.

The walls of the furnace section are lined with finned tubes called membrane panels, which
are designed to absorb the radiant heat from the flame.

Fig.
3.3.3
Heat transfer in the furnace or radiant section

Convection section

This part is designed to absorb the heat from the hot gases by conduction and convection.

Large boilers may have several tube banks (also called pendants) in series, in order to gain
maximum energy from the hot gases.

Fig. 3.3.4
Heat transfer in the convection section
Water-tube boiler designation

Water-tube boilers are usually classified according to certain characteristics, see Table 3.3.1.

Tab
le 3.3.1
Water-tube boiler classifications

Top

Alternative water-tube boiler layouts

The following layouts work on the same principles as other water-tube boilers, and are
available with capacities from 5 000 kg/h to 180 000 kg/h.

Longitudinal drum boiler

The longitudinal drum boiler was the original type of water-tube boiler that operated on the
thermo-siphon principle (see Figure 3.3.5).

Cooler feedwater is fed into a drum, which is placed longitudinally above the heat source.
The cooler water falls down a rear circulation header into several inclined heated tubes. As
the water temperature increases as it passes up through the inclined tubes, it boils and its
density decreases, therefore circulating hot water and steam up the inclined tubes into the
front circulation header which feeds back to the drum. In the drum, the steam bubbles
separate from the water and the steam can be taken off.

Typical capacities for longitudinal drum boilers range from 2 250 kg/h to 36 000 kg/h.

Fig. 3.3.5
Longitudinal drum boiler

Cross drum boiler

The cross drum boiler is a variant of the longitudinal drum boiler in that the drum is placed
cross ways to the heat source as shown in Figure 3.3.6. The cross drum operates on the same
principle as the longitudinal drum except that it achieves a more uniform temperature across
the drum. However it does risk damage due to faulty circulation at high steam loads; if the
upper tubes become dry, they can overheat and eventually fail.

The cross drum boiler also has the added advantage of being able to serve a larger number of
inclined tubes due to its cross ways position.

Typical capacities for a cross drum boiler range from 700 kg / h to 240 000 kg/h.

Fig. 3.3.6
Cross drum boiler

Bent tube or Stirling boiler

A further development of the water-tube boiler is the bent tube or Stirling boiler shown in
Figure 3.3.7. Again this operates on the principle of the temperature and density of water, but
utilises four drums in the following configuration.

Cooler feedwater enters the left upper drum, where it falls due to greater density, towards the
lower, or water drum. The water within the water drum, and the connecting pipes to the other
two upper drums, are heated, and the steam bubbles produced rise into the upper drums
where the steam is then taken off.

The bent tube or Stirling boiler allows for a large surface heat transfer area, as well as
promoting natural water circulation.
 Fig. 3.3.7
Bent tube or Stirling boiler

Advantages of water-tube boilers:

 They have a small water content, and therefore respond rapidly to load change and heat
input.
 The small diameter tubes and steam drum mean that much higher steam pressures can be
tolerated, and up to 160 bar may be used in power stations.
 The design may include many burners in any of the walls, giving horizontal, or vertical firing
options, and the facility of control of temperature in various parts of the boiler. This is
particularly important if the boiler has an integral superheater, and the temperature of the
superheated steam needs to be controlled.

Disadvantages of water-tube boilers:

 They are not as simple to make in the packaged form as shell boilers, which means that
more work is required on site.
 The option of multiple burners may give flexibility, but the 30 or more burners used in power
stations means that complex control systems are necessary.

Top

Combined heat and power (CHP) plant

The water-tube boilers described above are usually of a large capacity. However, small,
special purpose, smaller waste heat boilers to be used in conjunction with land based gas
turbine plants are in increasing demand.

Several types of steam generating land based gas turbine plant are used:
 Combined heat and power - These systems direct the hot exhaust gases from a gas turbine
(approximately 500°C) through a boiler, where saturated steam is generated and used as a
plant utility.

Typical applications for these systems are on plant or sites where the demands for electricity
and steam are in step and of proportions which can be matched to a CHP system.

Efficiencies can reach 90%.

Fig.
3.3.8
Gas turbine / alternator set

 Combined cycle plant - These are extensions to CHP systems, and the saturated steam is
taken through a superheater to produce superheated steam. The superheater may be
separately fired because of the comparatively low temperature of the gas turbine exhaust.
The superheated steam produced is directed to steam turbines which drive additional
alternators, and generate electricity.

The turndown ratio of these plants is poor, because of the need for the turbine to rotate at a
speed synchronised to the electrical frequency. This means that it is only practical to run
these plants at full-load, providing the base load of steam to the plant.

Because of the relatively low temperature of the gas turbine exhaust, compared to the
burner flame in a conventional boiler, a much greater boiler heat transfer area is required
for a given heat load. Also, there is no need to provide accommodation for burners. For
these reasons, water-tube boilers tend to provide a better and more compact solution.
Because efficiency is a major factor with CHP decision-makers, the design of these boilers
may well incorporate an economiser (feedwater heater).

If the plant is 'combined cycle' the design may also include a superheater. However, the
relatively low temperatures may mean that additional burners are required to bring the
steam up to the specification required for the steam turbines.
 Fig. 3.3.9
A forced circulation water-tube boiler
as used on CHP plant