Design Aspects of Steam Generators and

Pressure Parts Integrity

N. Ayodhi & P.S. Biruli

SYNOPSIS:
Coal fired utility steam generators have become very popular world
over due to abundance of cheaper fossil fuel compared to oil and
gas. The hydro and nuclear projects require long gestation period
and initial cost is prohibitive. Design of fossil boilers have been
influenced by combustion characteristics of the fuel being fired in
the boiler. The characteristics of fuel, environmental requirements
and the need for cost economic generation have forced the boiler
manufacturers to design boilers of better efficiency with high
pressure and temperature at boiler outlet. Advancement in material
properties and incorporating design improvements to ensure better
availability of plant are also taken care to meet the above.

Steam generators meant for process industries like sugar and paper
industry are designed to fire low grade fuels like bagasse, rice
husk, coconut shell and very high ash coals including Lignite.
Fluidized bed combustion technology is most suitable for burning
high ash content coals and washery rejects.

This paper covers in general the different types of boilers

designed for various applications and effect of critical parameters
on pressure part integrity.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF BOILERS:

Boilers are generally classified as follows:

a) Utility boilers for power generation

b) Industrial boilers for process industries.
Based on fuel firing system, industrial boilers are further
classified into following categories:

I. Stoker fired boilers

II. Chemical recovery boilers

III. Fluidized bed boilers

UTILITY BOILERS:
Over the years the steam generating capacity has grown in size to
match with the requirement from 30 MW to present 800/1000 MW
capacity. Many 500 MW units are in operation for more than ten
years. Utility boilers employ high steam temperature and pressure
as compared to industrial boilers.

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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General arrangement of a typical 500 MW boiler is illustrated in
fig.1 below:

Fig.1

A typical steam generator of high pressure and temperature consists

of following.

Furnace and circulation system

Super heaters
Re heaters
Economizer
Air Pre heaters
Forced draft fans
Primary air fans
Induced draft fans

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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 Fuel firing equipments
Pulverizers
Dust collectors
Feed pumps

FUEL FIRING SYSTEM:

Utility boilers are generally designed for 100% coal, oil, gas or
combination firing. In most of the cases oil firing is given for
stabilization (starting fuel only) and coal is used for load
carrying purpose
The firing system consists of burners located in front, rear or at
corners of the furnace. Coal fired boilers of tilting tangential
type are quite popular due to better operational flexibility.
In tangentially fired boilers, the burners are located in four
corners of the boiler at certain angle such that the firing is done
at tangent to the imaginary circle at the center of the furnace.
Turbulent & cyclonic mixing of air and fuel results in intensive
combustion of fuel in suspension. The combustion air consists of
preheated primary and secondary air. The primary air is used to dry
the coal and transport the pulverized coal from the mills to the
burners located at the corners of a furnace. The secondary air is
admitted at the surrounding ports of the fuel burners. The
Secondary air is supplied by FD fans through APH and enters the
boilers through wind boxes located at the furnace at firing zone.
The secondary air distribution is achieved by modulation of wind
box dampers. The burners and air nozzle can be tilted up/down by
30 for steam temperature control. Based on the firing elevations,
coal characteristics and load conditions, these dampers are
modulated to achieve optimum combustion in the furnace. The oil
burners are provided for stat up and stabilization and are
generally located in between the coal burners. Over fire air is
supplied at the top of the burners for NOX control. A typical
arrangement of wind box with burners is illustrated in the
following fig.2.

Fig.2

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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INDUSTRIAL BOILERS:
Industrial boilers are normally designed for low steam temperature
and pressure for process industries like sugar and paper plants.
Generally following two types of boilers are more popular in the
industries.

STOKER FIRED BOILER:

In stoker fired boilers fuel with very low calorific value like
baggasse, rice husk, coconut shell etc can be fired. The fuel is
burnt in the moving grates and major portion of the air is supplied
through bottom of the grates. Over fire air is tangentially
admitted into the furnace above the fuel injectors to achieve
turbulence and to ensure complete combustion. Cinder re-injection
system is used to send back the ash (containing high unburnt)
collected at the economizer hopper to furnace for re-burning to
increase efficiency. A typical stoker fired boiler & stoker grate
are illustrated in fig.3 & 4.

Fig.3

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
4/12
The stoker fired boiler consists of following components:

I. Stoker grate
II. Fusion welded furnace
III. APH
IV. Superheaters
V. Drum
VI. Economiser
VII. FD fans
VIII. Dust collector
IX. ID fans
X. Screw conveyor and spreader for feeding

Fig-4

CHEMICAL RECOVERY BOILER:

Chemical recovery boiler is exclusively used in pulp and paper
industry. The black liquor produced in the digester where raw
material (chipped wood) in the presence of chemicals is cooked in
process steam is fired in the boiler to generate steam. The steam
thus generated is used for process as well as producing power. The
chemical cycle flow diagram of the recovery system is illustrated
in fig.5 below.

Fig.5

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
5/12
Chemical recovery boiler mainly consists of following components:

I. Fusion welded furnace

II. Boiler bank with upper and lower drum
III. Down comers
IV. Furnace screen
V. Super heaters
VI. Economizer
VII. Cascade evaporator
VIII. Smelt spouts
IX. Main dissolved tank
X. Starting burners
XI. Electrostatic precipitator
XII. Soot blowers
Cross section of a typical chemical recovery boiler is given in
fig.6.

Fig.6
Burning of black liquor:
The main purpose of recovery boiler is

a. To recover inorganic chemicals from the black liquor

in a form in which they can be recycled in the pulping
process, and

b. To combust the organic constituents in the black

liquor to produce steam, which can be used for
generating power as well as for process.

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
6/12
The chemical recovery efficiency (reduction efficiency) is measured
in the smelted chemicals, which leave the boiler from the bottom of
the furnace.
This efficiency is measured in terms of conversion of sodium
sulfate to sodium sulfide before the chemical recovery.

Firing system: Burners are provided at the furnace bottom to start

initial firing of black liquor. The liquor is ignited with eddy
plate igniters. Once the sufficient amount of liquor is fired, the
igniters will be cut off and black liquor will sustain stabilized
combustion.
The primary air is admitted at the bottom of the furnace at bed
level. Secondary air is admitted just above the bed and tertiary
air is admitted above the black liquor spray guns. The process zone
in chemical recovery boiler is illustrated in fig.7 below.

Fig.7
The combustion of black liquor involves 3 stages (drying, reduction
and oxidation). The black liquor is sprayed into the furnace at a
pressure of 1 kg/sqcm and 120 C through guns, which oscillate in a
vertical plane. The coarse particles get dried by the time they
settle at the furnace bottom. The dried particles form a bed and
burn to form smelt. The volatile content escaping in drying zone is
burnt in the secondary and tertiary air level to complete
combustion.

The flue gas is generally laden with large quantity of sticky

particles. Soot blowers are provided in the super heater, boiler

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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bank tubes and economizer area to keep the heat transfer surfaces
clean.

FLUIDISED BED BOILERS:

Fluidised bed boilers find application in industrial/utility,
retrofits and co-generation plants.
In fluidized bed boilers, fuel is burnt in a bed of hot
incombustible particles suspended by an upward flow of fluidizing
medium. The fluidizing medium is generally the combustion air and
the gaseous products of combustion.
It has got the ability to burn very low grade coals (high ash
content), High Sulphur coals, Bio-mass, Lignite and waste/difficult
fuel etc. which cannot be efficiently burnt in conventional
boilers.
In these boilers pulverization of the fuel is not required.
Crushing of fuel is sufficient for combustion. Since combustion
temperature is low, Nox formation does not take place. Fouling and
slagging is minimal due to low temperature combustion. Boiler
efficiency of 86% and above can be easily achieved. Since there is
no complex combustion system, sophisticated burner management
system is not required.
Based on fuel burning system fluidized bed boilers can be
classified as follows:

Circulating fluidized bed combustion boilers

Atmospheric fluidized bed combustion boilers

Fluidized bed boilers of capacity up to 210 MW have been designed

and are in operation. The flow diagram of circulating fluidized bed
boiler is illustrated in fig.-8 below.

Fig.8

Combustion optimization and boiler performance:

Boiler performance depends on fuel combustion and surface
effectiveness factor of the heat transfer surfaces. Fuel
characteristics play a major role in clinkering and fouling of heat
transfer surfaces. Improper combustion adjustments can lead to

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
8/12
clinkering, secondary combustion, change in heat absorption pattern
and high emission of green house gases. Heat transfer in furnace
and furnace absorption has an effect on heat transfer duty of
SH/RH. By optimization of combustion and ensuring cleanliness of
pressure part components, optimized performance of the boiler can
be ensured.

Pressure parts integrity:

Pressure parts integrity is vital to ensure reliability and
availability of steam generator. Tube leaks contribute to reduction
in availability and all out efforts are to be made by any utility
to minimize tube leaks.
Tube failure in a steam generator can be attributed to design,
manufacturing, operational, maintenance and ageing. The assumptions
made during design may vary to a larger extent in actual service
and such changes will influence in reduction of useful life. It is
necessary to have periodical checks on such critical aspects to
ensure better availability.

Tube failure mechanisms:

The material damage mechanism in tube failures can be broadly

classified as mechanical, chemical, metallurgical and due to lack
of quality control.
Mechanical:

Mechanical damage of the tubes takes place by external erosion by

fly ash, steam from soot blower, falling slag and coal particles.
The material wastage caused by the above phenomena will increase
the actual stress level and ultimately the tube will fail. Some of
the tube failures by this mechanism are illustrated below:
FLY ASH EROSION STEAM EROSION

Chemical:

Water-side and fire-side corrosion failure of the tubes come under

this category. Water-side chemical damage of the inside surface of
the tubes occur due to Caustic corrosion, Hydrogen damage, Pitting
and stress corrosion cracking. Such failures can be minimized by
strictly maintaining the water chemistry as per the O&M guidelines.
The tube failures due to chemical damage are illustrated below.

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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Fire-side corrosion can be due to high temperature corrosion as
well low temperature corrosion.

Metallurgical:

The phenomena like creep, fatigue, micro structural changes and

creep fatigue interaction also cause tube failures in boilers.
In high temperature components like SH/RH creep damage occur by
long term or short term overheating. Under creep the material
looses its strength and the failure occurs by stress rupture.
Typical short/long term overheating failures are illustrated in the
following figures.

SHORT TERM OVERHEATING LONG TERM OVERHEATING

In dissimilar weld joints due to migration of carbon particles from

lower to higher grade material at the heat affected zone strength
of the tube reduces and failure occurs by cracking. A typical
failure of dissimilar weld joint is shown below.

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
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Fatigue failures are caused by vibration, thermal and corrosion
phenomena. Generally attachment welds are susceptible for such
failures. Adhering to cold and hot start up procedures and avoiding
rapid parameter excursion can minimize such failures.

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
11/12
Lack of quality control:
Tube failures also occur due to lack of quality control. Failure
due to chemical excursion damages, material defects, material mix-
up and shortcoming in weld quality come under this category.
Adhering to proper quality assurance procedures during
manufacturing, operation and maintenance will help in minimizing
tube leaks during service.

Design improvements:
Following design improvements have been considered based on feed
back from sites to minimize failures.

Lower flue gas velocity over tube banks

Plain tube in-line arrangement for economizer.
Optimum end gap to avoid preferential gas flow
Erosion shields/cassette baffles
Erosion allowance for leading tubes
Higher flexibility in SH/RH nipples
Redesigned flexible connectors for pendant type SH coils
Improved supports for LTSH/Economizer Coils
Improved seal plate connection for bottom hopper
Wear bar in bottom s-panel tubes to avoid erosion by falling
slag
Coating of wear resistant material in erosion prone areas

CONCLUSION:

Boiler design considers the application requirement and type of

fuel considered for use. Though design improvements are being
incorporated based on feedback, service factors have definite
influence on useful life of components. It is necessary to carry
out detailed inspection during planned shutdown to ascertain the
degradation trend. Deviations in operating parameters and service
environment if any experienced are to be suitably accounted in
corrective measures planned.

The characteristics of fuel influence design and performance of the

boilers. It is necessary to study and understand the effect of
change in fuel characteristic if fuel used is different from what
has been envisaged in design. Trials with fuel quality change will
help in better understanding the performance aspects and changes to
be adopted in regular operation to enhance the life of the pressure
part components.
References:
1. Combustion Fossil boilers published by CE,inc.
2. O&M manuals of steam generators
3. Boiler and Auxiliaries hand book

Design Aspects of Steam Generators and Pressure Parts Integrity by

N.Ayodhi,DGM/FES & P.S.Biruli,SM/FES (BHEL, Trichy-62014)
rd
Presented in National Productivity Council conference on 2/3 February06 at Bangalore
12/12