STEAM ENGINEER'S CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY PART B ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE PAPER I 1st Grade 27 June 1995 1st Grade 19 December

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Steam Engineer's Certificate of Competency 101 Practical Knowledge of Steam Boilers 2010

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STEAM ENGINEER'S CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY PART B ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE PAPER II 1st Grade 18 June 1994 1st Grade 03 December 1994 1st Grade 03 June 1995 1st Grade 19 December 1995 1st Grade 03 December 1996 1st Grade 17 June 1997 1st Grade 17 December 1997 1st Grade 16 June 1998 1st Grade 08 December 1998 1st Grade 12 June 1999 1st Grade 12 December 2000 1st Grade 12 June 2001 1st Grade 09 December 2001 1st Grade 09 December 2002 1st Grade 09 December 2003 1st Grade 15 June 2004 1st Grade 07 December 2004 1st Grade 13 June 2006 1st Grade 12 June 2007 1st Grade 17 June 2008 1st Grade 15 June 2009 1st Grade 15 December 2009 1st Grade 15 June 2010 1st Grade 15 December 2010 2nd Grade 06 June 2000 2nd Grade 16 December 2008 2nd Grade 17 June 2008 2nd Grade 13 June 2006 2nd Grade 14 June 2005 2nd Grade 16 December 2008
Steam Engineer's Certificate of Competency 101 Practical Knowledge of Steam Boilers 2010

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2ND GRADE EK P1 03 DECEMBER 1996

101 Q&A: PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE OF STEAM BOILERS 3RD EDITION

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Sketch and describe an Economic Package Boiler of the wet-back type showing the path of the flue gases. State the advantages and disadvantages of such a boiler. 03 Dec 1996 Q1 Describe the importance of water circulation in a steam boiler and explain how circulation is achieved in the case of a watertube boiler. 03 Dec 1996 Q2 What is furnace explosion? 03 Dec 1996 Q3(a) Describe the common types of furnace explosion including the factors which lead to the explosion. 03 Dec 1996 Q3(b) Explain the measures required to be taken in order to prevent such occurrences. 03 Dec 1996 Q3(c) Write short notes describing the characteristics as well as the problems caused by the following deposits in a boiler. 03 Dec 1996 Q4 a) b) c) d) e) Phosphate deposits Carbonate deposits Sulfate deposits Silica deposits Iron deposits

From the above, identify two welding processes commonly used in the fabrication of steam boilers and identify the parts or joints where the processes are used. 03 Dec 1996 Q5 Briefly describe submerged arc welding (SAW) 03 Dec 1996 Q5(a) Briefly describe the following welding processes: Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) 03 Dec 1996 Q5(b) Briefly describe gas metal arc welding (GMAW) 03 Dec 1996 Q5(c)

Briefly describe electroslag welding 03 Dec 1996 Q5(d) Cracks may develop on the tube-plates of multi-tubular boilers. What are the possible causes of these cracks 03 Dec 1996 Q6 Describe three (3) methods of detecting the cracks. 03 Dec 1996 Q6(a) Suggest the method of repair 03 Dec 1996 Q6(b) Recommend the measures required to be taken in order to prevent recurrence. 03 Dec 1996 Q6(c) What are the different methods of reducing rotor speed in the steam turbine? 03 Dec 1996 Q7(a) Explain with sketches the variation of velocity and pressure as the steam flows through the turbine for all cases identified above. 03 Dec 1996 Q7(b)

Question 1 Sketch and describe an Economic Package Boiler of the wet-back type showing the path of the flue gases. State the advantages and disadvantages of such a boiler. Answer

Question 2 Describe the importance of water circulation in a steam boiler and explain how circulation is achieved in the case of a watertube boiler. Answer Importance of water circulation: 1. 2. 3. 4. Heat transfer for steam generation Cooling of tubes, furnace walls Better chemical reaction Better blowdown

Question 3(a) What is furnace explosion? Answer The basic cause of furnace explosions is the ignition of an accumulated combustible mixture within the furnace chamber and/or the associated ducts that exhaust combustion products to the stack. This entire volume can conveniently be referred to as the furnace enclosure or setting. A dangerous combustible mixture within the furnace enclosure consists of the accumulation of a quantity of combustibles mixed with air in proportions that will result in rapid or uncontrolled combustion when an ignition source is supplied. A furnace explosion can result from ignition of this accumulation. The magnitude and intensity of the explosion depends on both the relative quantity of combustibles and the air-to-fuel ratio at the moment of ignition.

Question 3(b) Describe the common types of furnace explosion including the factors which lead to the explosion. Answer The common type of furnace explosions are: 1. Small explosion in the furnace or puff back 2. Major explosion that destroys the furnace and boiler setting severely Small explosion or puff backs occurs when an oil-burning furnace doesn't ignite when it should. Oil vapors build up in the ignition chamber, causing an explosion when the igniter finally triggers. The explosion blows soot and other debris through the furnace's stack uptake. Puff backs are caused by problems with the furnace, which leave oil in the ignition chamber that doesn't get burned. This can be caused by leaks in the oil system, bubbles in the oil line which expand and press oil out of the oil burner nozzle, the shutdown valve on the oil burner nozzle not working properly or a clog in the nozzle. Each of these problems can result in oil leaking out of the nozzle and into the combustion chamber when it isn't in operation. Oil will accumulate in the chamber until it finally ignites with a puff back explosion. Major explosion occurs when the accumulated gas or oil vapor is in explosive mixture. Causes of major furnace explosion are: 1. Accumulation of unburned fuel or flammable gases in the boiler furnace due to: a) Loss of flame b) Unsuccessful attempts to relight the boiler c) Delayed ignition: due to inadequate pilot to ignite main flame, defective igniter, low oil or gas pressure, insufficient fuel rate, low oil temperature, insufficient or excessive combustion air, or water in fuel. d) Unstable fuel control system due to instability of gas or oil pressure e) Incorrect fuel gas flow control valve setting f) Leaking fuel shutdown valves and pipe connections

g) Tube leak can extinguish fire but there will be unburned fuel in the furnace h) Poor combustion due to oil not at correct viscosity and temperature therefore oil fails to atomize

properly. If poor combustion occurred, some of the oil is not burned. i) j) k) 2. 3. Wet atomizing steam causing sputtering fire Atomizing steam pressure is too low Failure to open air register immediately after burner ignition

Ineffective purging of the furnace and gas passages with air will result in pockets of combustible mixture remaining in the system. Poor combustion due to incorrect burner setting, worn atomizers, and insufficient or excessive air. An explosion can occur if the percentage of fuel in a fuel-air mixture (by volume) falls between lower explosive limit (LEL) and upper explosive limit (UEL). The LEL is 0.6% by volume vapor to oxygen and the UEL is 4.0% by volume vapor to oxygen. Maximum explosion can occur at 2.0% by volume vapor to oxygen.

Question 3(c) Explain the measures required to be taken in order to prevent such occurrences. Answer 1. Deliberate tempering and negligence of burner safety control by personnel due to lack of knowledge can cause furnace explosion. The owner must ensure that burners operation instructions to be strictly followed and understood, and prevent unauthorized adjustment to burner control system. Manual overriding must be done by authorized personnel only. Such overriding must be used only with great care and with an awareness of the consequences. The operator must be fully trained to recognize potential hazard of explosion by recognizing all the safety controls and interpretation of fire and smoke color. For example, bright white indicates too much combustion air while black smoke indicate poor or insufficient combustion which could lead to oil entering the furnace in unburned state. Purging time must be sufficient to drive combustible and explosive gases out through the uptake. As a general rule: 5 times displacement of air volume of the combustion chamber at 25% of normal full load air. Repeated unsuccessful light-off attempts is prohibited without sufficient purging after each try. Any interruption of the purge airflow or timing cycle should cancel purge and require a new, full purge. Oil must be made sufficiently thin to optimize atomization (refer burners specifications); therefore viscosity of oil should be in the range of 200 to 250 SUS. This means that light oil must be heated up to 70oC while for heavy oil, the oil must be heated up to 105oC (dependent on the burners manufacturer). Make sure that the steam traps on the steam atomizing line are in good condition and the line is fully insulated to prevent condensation which could result in wet atomization thereby loss of atomization. The burner must be correctly tuned to ensure correct balance of fuel to air ratio. Watch the fires so that the fuel may be shut off without delay if extinguished unexpectedly. Purge the furnace for several minutes with the FD fan before relighting. In starting up, if ignition is not established in a few seconds, purge the furnace before trying again. Repeated trials of igniters without investigating and correcting the cause of the malfunction are strictly prohibited. Maximum three attempts are allowed with each followed by sufficient purging. Automatic fuel oil shutoffs should be routinely tested to ensure that the fuel valves operate efficiently for fault conditions (e.g. flame failure and combustion air failure).

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10. Be sure that the fuel inlet valves in idle burners and igniter are closed tightly and not leak. The furnace must be free from any accumulation of oil. 11. Replace leaking and worn out atomizers, valves and parts immediately.

12. Establish procedures to proof check interlock for the burner flame safeguard controls, such as the interlock system of the flame scanner. Broken flame scanners must be replaced immediately. 13. Since most furnace explosions occurred during boiler startup, never leave the boiler during startup cycle to perform other duties.

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