6.

2 Boiler Design
1. General
The purpose of this section is to present some of the problems
encountered in the actual design and to offer approximate solutions.
As a demonstration problem we shall assume that it is desired to find
the efficiency of an oilfired boiler whose plan !iew is shown in "igure 1. An
ele!ation !iew would be similar to the boiler shown in "igure 2 except that
the tube si#e and spacing are different.
$ther data will be assumed to be%
"urnace waterwalls and roof% &in bare tubes
'on!ection section% 2in tubes on (in. centers) diamond staggered
arrangement
*or+ing pressure% 2,- psig
*ater entering% 2-- "
Air entering and room temperature%% .- "
/team lea!ing% saturated
0adiation and unaccountedfor loss% &1
$il heating !alue% 1.),-- Btu per lb
$il analysis% .(1 ') 1&1 2s) 21 /) 11 3
"lue gas% 12.,1 '$2 on dry basis) corresponding to 2-1 excess air
'on!ection section% &2 tubes wide) 126 in. between walls
"urnace section% 1. tubes on front wall) sidewalls) and roofs4 water
screen in path of gases to con!ection #one has tube staggered.
5oad% 22)--- lb per hr of steam
An efficiency of 6,.61 will be assumed and calculations will be made to
chec+ this efficiency.
1
2. "urnace 'alculations.
The first step will be to determine the wall areas and the tube surface. To
simplify the problem) the heat transfer to the floor tubes will be neglected
and the a!erage tube height for the wall will be ta+en as 12 ft. Then the
furnace en!elope surfaces will be as follows%
"ront wall area 7 12 x 1-., 7 126 s8 ft
/ide wall area 7 2 x 12 x 1-.2, 7 2(6 s8 ft
0ear wall area 7 12 x , 7 6- s8 ft
0oof area 7 1-., x 1-.2, 7 1-. s8 ft
/creen tube area 7 1291-., : ,; 7 66 s8 ft
The area of the furnace en!elope bac+ed by refractory is 126 < 2(6 < 6- <
1-. 7 ,(- s8 ft) and the en!elope area represented by the screen is 66 s8 ft.
/ince the waterwall tubes are set immediately in front of the refractory)
called tangent refractory) there is radiation to the bac+s of the tubes from the
refractory. Ad=ustment factors for the furnace en!elope area to account for
the tube arrangement and spacing are gi!en in "igure &. "or the portion of
the furnace en!elope bac+ed by refractory) the tube spacing 9using data for
the front wall; is the distance between the centers of the end tubes 91-., ft :
-.2, ft; di!ided by the tube diameter in feet and di!ided by the number of
spaces between the end tubes) or
( )
. .
. .
diam 41 2
17 3
12 25 0 5 10

2
&
The ad=ustment factor is -..1 from cur!e ,) and the ad=usted surface for
refractorybac+ed tubes is -..1 x ,(- 7 (&6 s8 ft. The water screen contains
1. tubes in a distance of ,., ft4 therefore) these tubes are on approximately
1.2diam pro=ected centers 9assuming 16., spaces;. >sing cur!e &) the factor
is -.?6 and the ad=usted surface us 66 x -.?6 7 6& s8 ft. Then the ad=usted
en!elope surface is (&6 < 6& 7 ,-- s8 ft.
Before the furnace exit gas furnace can be obtained from "igure () it is
necessary to determine the a!ailable energy. "or simplicity) these losses will
be charged to the furnace.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]( )
f ab a ah aa
W C C H t t W Q HHV energy Available + 600 14 9 1040 24 0 1
2 7
) .
*here
Q
7
7 the radiation and unaccountedfor loss expressed as a decimal)
HHV 7 higher heating !alue of the fuel) Btu per lb
W
aa
7 actual air) lb per lb fuel
t
a
7 temperature of air surrounding the boiler) "
t
ah
7 temperature of the air lea!ing the air heater or entering the burners) "
$bser!e that the e8uation is an expression for the lower heating !alue of
the fuel with ad=ustments for preheated air) radiation and unaccountedfor
loss) and the loss due to incomplete combustion.
@t is necessary to use the lower heating !alue of the fuel to determine gas
temperatures) since the latent heat of the water !apor from the combustion
of hydrogen in the fuel does not increase gas temperature. Also) it is
impossible for the boiler to condense this !apor and to ma+e use of it to
e!aporate water in the tubes. "rom the combustion analysis of the fuel we
find that there is 6.,1 water !apor in the gases by weight and on the wet
basis and there is 1..1 lb of wet gas per lb of wet gas per lb of fuel. By using
the higher heating with the assumed boiler efficiency) the fuel consumption is
found to be
( )
hr per lb W
f
1622
500 18 757 0
0 168 7 1201 000 22

) .
. . )
And
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]( )
f ab a ah aa
W C C H t t W Q HHV energy Available + 600 14 9 1040 24 0 1
2 7
) .
W
aa
7 1..1 : 1 7 16.1
H
2
7 -.1&
C- C
ab
7 -..( : -..(
t
ah
7 t
a
7 .- "
(
( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) ( ) [ ]( ) 1622 84 0 84 0 600 14 13 0 9 1040 80 80 1 17 24 0 03 0 1 500 18 . . ) . . . . ) + energy Available
hr per Btu energy Available 000 150 27 ) )
Then the a!ailable energy) the abscissa of "igure () is 26)1,-)--- A ,-- 7
,()&-- Btu per s8 ft per hr of ad=usted en!elope surface. "rom "igure () the
gas temperature lea!ing the water screen and entering the con!ection
section is 166- ".
,
@n order to determine the sensible energy of the gases lea!ing the
furnace) the !alues of constant pressure instantaneous specific heats are
plotted in "igure , by using the flue gas analysis. *ith these data) a cur!e of
sensible energy abo!e .- " can be plotted) "igure 6. *hile these cur!es are
for the particular flue gas analysis of this problem) they would not materially
different for many other flue gas analyses.
6
"rom "igure 6) the sensible energy of the flue gas lea!ing the water
screen is (6. Btu per lb of gas and the energy transferred in the furnace 9Q
f
;
is
hr per Btu Q
f
000 130 13 478 1622 1 18 000 150 27 ) ) . ) )
The amount of water e!aporated in the waterwalls is 1&)1&?)--- A 912-1.6 :
16.; : 12)6-- lb per hr) based on the inlet feedwater temperature.
6
The total pro=ected area of the furnace en!elope tubes is%
ft sq long ft
diam in
tubes all !ront 54 12
12
3
18

.
ft sq alls long ft
diam in
tubes alls "ide 102 2 12
12
3
17

.
ft sq long ft
diam in
tubes all ar #e 21 12
12
3
7

.
ft sq long ft
diam in
tubes #oof 54 12
12
3
18

.
ft sq long ft
diam in
tubes "$reen 46 25 10
12
3
18

.
.
Total pro=ected tube area 7 266 s8 ft
Therefore the radiantheat transfer rate is 1&)1&-)--- A 266 7 (6)(-- Btu
per 9hr;9s8 ft of pro=ected surface;) or (6)(-- A B 7 1,)1-- Btu per 9hr;9s8 ft
of outside tube surface;.
The assumption of boiler efficiency cannot be chec+ed until the
con!ectionsurface calculations ha!e been complete.
&. 'on!ection/urface 'alculations
@nspection of "igure 1 shows that there are (-1 tubes in the con!ection
#one. Assuming an a!erage tube length of approximately 12., ft to account
.
for bent tubes and the longer tubes at the rear of the ca!ity) the con!ection
#one tube surface will be
ft sq A
o
2625 5 . 12
12
2
401
2eat transfer in the con!ection #one ta+es place both by con!ection and
radiation. "or the con!ection heat transfer for boiler tubes it is not unusual to
neglect the resistance of the water film inside the tubes and the resistance of
the metal4 %
o
then becomes e8ual to h from Table 1) C8. ".
The area between tubes that is a!ailable for flow of the gases !aries
throughout the con!ection #one) but at any point the area is the number of
tube spaces times the width and height of each space. Because of the tube
?
bends) the length of the area will be smaller than the tube length4 ta+e 12 ft
as the length of the area. The first con!ection row is , ft , in. long and must
contain 16 tubes or 16 spaces. The area is
ft sq high ft
idth in
spa$es 32 12
12
2
16
.
"or the next to the last row) the area is
ft sq high ft
idth in
spa$es 14 12
12
2
7
.
The a!erage area of 2& s8 ft will be used. A more exact method would be to
design each section separately.
The gas flow is 1622 x 1..1 7 2?)(-- lb per hr and the density is
ft $u per lb
#&
'
0808 0
492 3 53
7 14 144
0
.
.
.

Then the mass flow based on the a!erage flow area is
( ) ( ) sec .
)
sqft per lb ( 356 0
23 3600
400 29

fps
(
V 4 4
0808 0
356 0
0
0
.
.
.

( )
( ) ( ) ( ) F sqft hr per Btu
D
V
h U 41 . 4
12
2
4 . 4 91 . 0 91 . 0
31 . 0
69 . 0
31 . 0
69 . 0
0
0

,
_

The next step is to estimate the final gas temperature so that the )*&+
may be calculated. /ince the furnace was calculated to e!aporate 12)6-- lb
per hr) the con!ection #one should e!aporate 22)--- : 12)6-- 7 ?)&-- lb per
hr. Cach pound of flue gases should then transfer to the tubes in the
con!ection #one by radiation and con!ection.
( )
lb per Btu 328
1 18 1622
0 168 7 1201 9300

.
. .
The energy of the flue gases entering the con!ection #one was calculated
to be (6. Btu per lb. Then the energy lea!ing the con!ection #one will be (6.
: &2. 7 1,- Btu per lb. "rom "igure 6) this would represent a temperature of
66- ".
This flue gas temperature is too high for an economical steam generator
as it is 26( " abo!e the saturated steam temperature of (-6 ". "or typical
conditions) the exit flue gas temperature should be roughly 1-- abo!e the
saturation temperature.
@f the tube temperature is ta+en to be the same as the water temperature
9(-6 ";) in accordance with pre!ious assumptions of negligible resistance
through the water film and the metal) )*&+ is
! )*&+
m
669
406 670
406 1770
670 1770

ln

1-
'on!ection heat transfer is
hr per Btu A % Q
m $
000 740 7 669 2625 41 4
0 0
) ) .
Gases radiate and absorb energy at intermittent wa!elength bands.
0adiation in the infrared band from gases has been recogni#ed as important
to the design of some heattransfer apparatus. *hile the radiation
considered for the furnace is from luminous flames and suspended particles)
the con!ection#one radiation is from inacti!e nonluminous gases that are not
undergoing a chemical change and that carry !ery little) if any) suspended
solids.
$f the constituents in the flue gases) carbon dioxide and water !apor are
the only ones that ha!e sufficiently strong radiating characteristics to merit
consideration. /ulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide ha!e strong radiating
tendencies but usually are present in flue gas in such small 8uantities that
they need not be considered.
The radiation from gases containing carbon dioxide and water !apor may
be approximated by
1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

4
4
100 100
1723 0
s
g
g s r
&
&
A Q .
@n which
Q
r
7 heat transfer by radiation from gases) Btu per hr
A 7 outside tube surface area) s8 ft
,
s
7 tube emissi!ity) -..- for boiler and superheater tubes
,
g
7 emissi!ity of the gases at temperature Tg
&
g
7 absolute gas temperature) 0
A 7 emissi!ity of the gases at temperature Ts
&
s
7 absolute tube surface temperature) 0
*hen the gases are at standard atmosphere) as is the case in nearly all
boilers) the gas emissi!ities can be e!aluated 9other assumptions for these
e8uations are that '
$
) < '

) D -.& and that &

g
E&
s
F 1.2,;
g $g g
C +
And
s $s
C +
@n which

$g
7 emissi!ity of carbon dioxide at temperature &
g
from "igure 6.

g
7 emissi!ity of water !apor at temperature &
g
from "igure ..

$s
7 emissi!ity of carbon dioxide at temperature &
s
from "igure 6.

g
7 emissi!ity of water !apor at temperature &
s
from "igure ..
C

7 correction factor for water !apor emissi!ity from "igure ?.

The a!erage gas temperature may be estimated from the e8uation
11
2
460
2 1
t t
&
m g
+
+ +
*here

m
7 log mean temperature difference between gas and surface) "
t
-
and t
2
7 surface temperature at sections where fluid enters and lea!es
tubes) respecti!ely) ".
12
@n the con!ection #one) water is being e!aporated and therefore the tube
surface temperature is constant throughout the #one. This would not be true
for superheaters or economi#ers. Also) it is sufficiently accurate to say that
the tubesurface temperature is the same as the water and steam
temperature within the tube.
$bser!e that the !alues
$
and

) shown in "igure 6 and "igure .) are

plotted with !alues of ') as parameters. "or each set of cur!es) ' is the
partial pressure of the gas expressed in atmospheres and 5 is the radiant
beam length for the gas) expressed in feet. /ubscripts c and w indicate
1&
carbon dioxide and water !apor) respecti!ely) as before. Galues of ) should
be determined from the expressions gi!en in Table 2.
Harameters of ') are also used in "igure ?. This graph accounts for the
effect of the water!apor partial pressure on radiation.
The tubesurface temperature for our problem is (-6 " and the mean gas
temperature is
# &
g
1535 406 669 460 + +
$r
! t
g
1075
Hartial pressure of gases are proportional to the !olumetric analysis of the
wet gas. @n this case we ha!e 11.21 carbon dioxide and 1-.(1 water !apor.
Therefore) e!aluating ) from Table 2 as 2E12 x 2..) we get
0523 0 8 2
12
2
112 0 . . . ) '
$
And 0486 0 8 2
12
2
104 0 . . . ) '

1(
1,
"rom "igure ?) C

7 1.-.. "or a temperature t) of (-6 " and '

) 7 -.-(.6.

s
is -.-6( from "igure .. "inding other !alues in similar manner) we get)
s $s
C +
( ) 124 0 08 1 064 0 055 0 . . . . +
And
g $g g
C +
( ) 104 0 08 1 039 0 062 0 . . . . +
g

>sing these !alues)

1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

4
4
100 100
1723 0
s
g
g s r
&
&
A Q .
( )( )
1
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

4 4
100
866
124 0
100
1535
104 0 80 0 2625 1723 0 . . . .
r
Q
hr per Btu Q
r
000 835 1 ) )
The total energy transferred for the entire boiler is
r $ f
Q Q Q Q + +
000 835 1 000 740 7 000 130 13 ) ) ) ) ) ) + + Q
hr per Btu Q 000 705 22 ) )
16
And the e!aporation is
hr per lb 950 21
0 168 7 1201
000 705 22
)
. .
) )

This shows that the assumed efficiency was correct. 2owe!er) the
temperature of the gases entering the con!ection #one is low. A more
economical unit would ha!e less waterwall surface and more con!ection
surface to reduce the final fluegas temperature.
$bser!e that the energy transferred by radiation from nonluminous gases
in the con!ection #one amounts to about 2-1 of the heat transfer in this
#one.
(. /econdary /urface
'alculations for surfaces of the con!ection type of superheater)
economi#er) and tubular air heater follow the same procedures that were
used for the con!ection #one. Gas) air) and steam film coefficients may be
determined from Table 1. *ater film coefficients for economi#ers offer only
to+en resistance to the flow of heat and may be neglected for economi#ers.
/imilarly) the metal in the tube walls may be disregarded in calculating the
heat flow.
3onluminous radiant heat transfer from the water !apor and carbon
dioxide in the flue gases will amount to a small percentage of the total heat
transfer for economi#ers and air preheaters.
"or secondary surface) the flow of water) steam) air) or gas is customarily
gi!en as the mass flow in units of pounds per 9hour; 9s8uare feet of flow
area;.
/uperheaters) air heaters) and economi#ers use 2 or 2 1E2 in. $D tubes.
These tubes may be placed on approximately & to ?in. centers in
superheaters. The wider spacing is to reduce the possibility of slag bridging
across the space. *ith either pendent or hori#ontal superheater designs) the
tubes are inline and form se!eral passes. Iass gas flows range from 1,-- to
&--- lb per 9hr; 9s8 ft; while mass steam flows are from 2--)--- to &--)---
lb per 9hr;9s8 ft;. Iass steam flows may be higher) up to 6--)--- or more) for
!ery hightemperature superheaters.
Air preheater tubes should ha!e the air on the outside of the tubes to
pre!ent plugging from soot in the gases. @n this way staggered tubes may be
used effecti!ely. The tubes are of either 3o. 12 or 3o. 1( B*G 9-.1-? in. or
-.-.& in.) respecti!ely; thic+ness and are arranged for at least J in. space
16
between tubes. Iass gas flows are from ,--- to 1-)--- and mass air flows
are from &--- to ,--- lb per 9hr; 9s8 ft;.
Cconomi#ers) being of the continuous tube design) are arranged with
tubes inline) and there are many water passes. The tubes are on centers that
pro!ide 1 J to 2in. lanes for gas flow. The spacing parallel to the gas flow
ranges from 1 to & in. *ater !elocities in the tubes range from & to . fps and
the mass flow of gases is about (--- to 6--- lb per 9hr;9s8 ft;.
,. Assignment
Assume that the pul!eri#ed coal furnace is rectangular in plan and ele!ation
!iews. The waterwalls are of &in. tangent tubes. @nclude floor surface 9assume flat)
hori#ontal floor; and calculate temperature of the gas lea!ing the furnace) the heat
transfer per hour for each s8uare foot of pro=ected surface) the heat release per
cubic foot of furnace !olume) and the steam produced if the downcomers carry
saturated water.
/team pressure) psia 16,-
"uel) 8uantity) tons per hr (?
Kind @ll.l 'hristian
"urnace) height) ft 6-
Depth) ft 26
*idth) ft &1
t
a
) " .-
t
ah
) " ,,-
0adiation and unaccepted for 1..1
Cxcess air) 1 1?
1.