BACKGROUND ON BOILER CIRCULATION

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Background on Boiler Circulation

The flow of water and the water/steam mixture through the boiler circuits is produced naturally by the force of gravity. The water density in the downcomers provides the driving force that pushes up the less dense water/steam mixture in the risers. Adequate water flow through the boiler's heat absorbing circuits is necessary to cool the tubes. Under normal circumstances, steam is generated by the process of "nucleate boiling." Steam bubbles are formed and rapidly released on the inner tube surface. The tube surface is maintained continuously wetted, allowing high heat transfer rates between the tube and the circulating steam/water mixture. Tube metal temperatures are typically maintained 10F to 50F (6C to 28C) above the saturation temperature. At certain conditions, with a relatively large steam fraction and at a high heat transfer rate, a departure from nucleate boiling (referred to as DNB) may occur. DNB is characterized by "film boiling" during which a thin film of steam remains on the inner tube surface, insulating the tube metal from the cooling effect of the steam/water mixture. The tube metal temperature increases rapidly to near the local flue gas temperature, exposing the tube to potential failure. In addition, such conditions can accelerate the formation of heavy deposition of boiler water chemicals in these regions. Figure 1 shows the relationship between the boiling regimes and tube metal temperatures that may exist in a boiler tube. In order to predict conditions that will produce DNB, heat transfer rates and steam conditions must be calculated in each of the boiler circuits. Circulation Analysis Criteria The calculated boiler circulation rates can be compared with three general criteria to assess the safe operation of an individual circuit. These include: The incoming flow velocity or mass flux at the riser entrance, The steam content in the riser discharge, and The stability of the boiler circuits.

Flow Velocity Velocity criteria are based on the saturation density of the incoming fluid and are thereby termed the "saturation velocity." General velocity requirements are set by the orientation of the tubes. Vertical riser tubes require relatively low entering velocities, whereas horizontal or inclined tubes, such as nose arch tubes, require much higher flow velocities. The higher velocity for inclined tubes is due to the tendency of the steam bubbles to accumulate on the top inner tube surface due to buoyancy, as illustrated in Figure 2. The higher flow velocities are needed to maintain turbulent flow conditions that act to break down the formation of a persistent steam film on the upper surface. Minimum velocity criteria for inclined tubes with angles of 60 or smaller to the horizontal position are established in the literature, and apply to tubes that are heated from above. Criteria depends on angle of inclination, operating pressure, tube diameter, and heat flux.

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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BACKGROUND ON BOILER CIRCULATION

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STE /W ER AM AT M IXTU RE

F ilm B iling o T n ra sitio n B iling o N cle u ate B iling o

D NB

Safe M etal Tem perature Tube M etal Tem perature

W TER A

Figure 1. Effect of Boiling Conditions on Tube Metal Temperatures

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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BACKGROUND ON BOILER CIRCULATION

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H A E T P otential for D B N

F W LO H A E T

Figure 2. Steam Bubble Formation in Horizontal Tubes

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For heat fluxes and tube sizes that are typical in chemical recovery boilers, general guidelines for minimum saturated velocities in the generating bank riser tubes should be at least 0.15 ft/s, 1.0 ft/s in vertically oriented tubes with high heat fluxes such as furnace wall tubes, and 2.5 ft/s in inclined tubes such as the rear wall tubes forming the nose arch baffle. Circulation Ratio Minimum circulation requirements to prevent DNB can also be based on the maximum total volume of steam that can be present at the riser discharge. At lower heat fluxes, higher ratios of steam to water can be tolerated. Since the relative volume of the steam is dependent on pressure, the maximum steam content in the water/steam mixture to prevent DNB is dependent on the boiler operating pressure. Boilers operating at higher pressures can generally have higher steam qualities (i.e., lower circulation ratios). Steam quality (SQ) is defined as the mass fraction of steam in a steam/water mixture as shown below:
SQ = ms ms + mw mw = mass flow rate of water

where: ms = mass flow rate of steam

For purposes of circulation analyses, the maximum steam content is expressed as the reciprocal of the SQ, termed the "circulation ratio." The appropriate minimum circulation ratio is a function of the boiler operating pressure, as shown in Figure 3. Circuit Stability In addition to the above requirements, there are other criteria to determine if the flow in a particular circuit will be stable. One criterion is related to flow stability in the parallel riser tubes of a circuit, and the second is related to changes in the flow as the result of disturbances in the rest of the system (i.e., changes in heat flux or in the steam drum pressure). Flow instability in parallel circuits can be estimated as described in the following section, and changes in flow due to disturbances can be evaluated using the Ledinegg instability criteria. Flow Instability in Parallel Circuits When a heated boiler circuit is made up of parallel tubes, then there may be the possibility of either upflow or downflow in the tube. If the tube is configured as a riser, then downflow is generally not desired as this may affect other tubes in the circuit. Also, if some tubes in the parallel circuit act as downcomers and others as risers, there may be tubes in the middle with stagnant flow. And finally, if the direction of flow in a tube depends on the local heat fluxes, then normal changes in boiler operation may cause the flow to oscillate between upflow and downflow, with stagnant periods in between. The classic method of determining this type of stability is to first determine the circuit pressure difference that is, the difference between the available head in the circuit and the available head minus or plus the flow losses, depending on the direction of the flow. The circuit pressure difference can be plotted for a range of flow rates with the tube acting either as a riser or a downcomer. This type of analysis is illustrated graphically in Figure 4.

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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BACKGROUND ON BOILER CIRCULATION

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MINIMUM RECOMMENDED CIRCULATION RATIO

20

18

16

14

12

10

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

DRUM PRESSURE (psia)

Figure 3. Effect of Steam Drum Pressure on Minimum Circulation Requirements

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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Pressure Difference

Circuit Pressure Difference II Stability Limit A Circuit Pressure Difference I B

Downflow

Upflow

Mass Flow

Figure 4. Potential for Instability in Riser Tubes

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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Figure 4 shows an example for two circuit pressure differences (i.e., circuit P). For circuit P I, this line intersects the downflow curve at Point A and the upflow curve at Point B. Consequently, this is an unfavorable point to operate at since the flow may change between downwards and upwards. A change to circuit P II could be achieved by reducing losses in a circuit (for example, by adding more downcomers or more relievers). Inspection of the graph in Figure 4 shows that the line only intersects the upflow curve, so downflow is not mathematically possible. Ledinegg Instability The instability of two-phase flow, such as steam and water mixtures, was described in the late 1930s by Ledinegg. In a simple system driven by a pump with only water flow, the pressure loss in a particular section of pipe will increase as the flow rate increases. However, for natural circulation, the driving force is the difference in density between the pure water in the downcomers and the steam and water mixture in the riser tubes. For some conditions, there can be a case when an increase in the flow rate actually results in a decrease in the pressure losses since a higher flow rate will result in less steam formation with lower friction losses. This type of flow instability does not occur under typical conditions in a recovery boiler. Criteria are available for determining conditions that may lead to flow instability. However, these rely on empirical data and calculated parameters. In cases where the flows are critical, it is often more practical to install a system to monitor circulation rates in the boiler, and to determine when potentially unsafe conditions are occurring.

JANSEN COMBUSTION AND BOILER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

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