MARINE BOILERS

BY: SEMIN, PHD

Dept. Marine Engineering
Faculty of Marine Technology
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS)
Surabaya Indonesia
APPLICATION IN SHIPS
OUTLINE:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. MARINE BOILERS
3. MAIN COMPONENTS OF BOILER
4. TYPES OF BOILER
1.1 INTRODUCTION
BOILER:
BOILER or steam boilers are heating units that hold
water, wood, oil or coal to create steam.
This steam is transferred for purposes of heating,
mover, locomotion and cleaning.
Steam boilers are common found in the home, where
water is converted to steam. This is transferred from
the unit to radiators for heating comfort.
BOILER:
BOILER:

Generally, steam boilers break down into two categories:

There is a "closed" system steam boiler in which the unused

steam, which has now condensed, is recycled back into the
system and reheated for further use.

If you are concerned about contamination, you can obtain an

"open" system steam boiler, in which the steam boiler
evacuates the unused condensed liquid out of the system. This
may require a continuous flow of water to the boiler.
BOILER:
A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam
by applying heat energy to water. Although the definitions are
somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam generators
were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium
pressure (1–300 psi/0.069–20.684 bar; 6.895–2,068.427
kPa), but at pressures above this it is more usual to speak of a
steam generator.

A boiler or steam generator is used wherever a source of steam

is required. The form and size depends on the application:
mobile, industrial installations and power stations will usually
have a larger separate steam generating facility connected to
the point-of-use by piping.
STEAM PLANTS:
Water in the form of steam has the ability to store great amounts of
energy. With it's ease of control and delivery, steam brought the
advent of power to the shipping world.
There are still some steam powered vessels such as ULCC (Ultra
Large Crude Carrier) where steam turbines can provide the
necessary, high power shaft requirements to propel the ship.
However it's time as passed, most ships nowadays use the more
economical diesel burning heavy fuels.
Although boilers may no longer be commonplace for ship propulsion
they are almost guaranteed to be one boiler for various duties on
board a ship. Duties like heating cargo, fuel, and accommodations.
Some ships also use boilers for auxiliary power. Such as deck
winches and pumps, where electrical machines would prove to be a
hazard as in the oil industry.
STEAM THEORY:

Within the boiler, fuel and air are force into the furnace by the
burner. There, it burns to produce heat. From there, the heat (flue
gases) travel throughout the boiler. The water absorbs the heat,
and eventually absorb enough to change into a gaseous state -
steam.

The figure below are shown the basic theoretical design of a

modern boiler. Boiler makers have developed various designs to
squeeze the most energy out of fuel and to maximized its
transfer to the water. But it all boils down, pardon the pun, to the
basic design shown here.
STEAM THEORY

Figure: Basic theoretical design

of a modern boiler
STEAM THEORY

Figure: Basic design of a

modern boiler
STEAM THEORY:

Steam boilers are used to produce saturated or superheated

steam, which is then put to work in a variety of ways.

Steam is used for its heat energy in heating, cooking and

reboiling operations. It also is used for its pressure energy in
reciprocating steam engines and steam turbines.

Steam boilers create the steam by converting heat energy

from fuel combustion, nuclear reactors, concentrated sunlight or
waste heat from other processes.
2. MARINE BOILERS

A boiler in one form or another will be found on every type of

ship. Where the main machinery is steam powered, one or more
large watertube boilers will be fitted to produce steam at very
high temperatures and pressures.

On a diesel main machinery vessel, a smaller (usually firetube

type) boiler will be fitted to provide steam for the various ship
services. Even within the two basic design types, watertube and
firetube, a variety of designs and variations exist.
MARINE BOILER DESIGN:

 Reliability
 Flexibility

 Wide range of steam loads

 Rapid changes
 Responsive to automatic controls
 Relatively compact
MARINE BOILER DESIGN:
 Efficient operation
 5 different heat exchangers
 Combustion air
 Economizer
 Furnace
 Superheater
 Desuperheater
 Accessability for cleaning and repair
Figure: Simplified marine boiler arrangement
1.3 MAIN COMPONENTS of BOILER
 ECONOMIZER
 FEED WATER INLET PIPE
 DOWNCOMERS
 WATER DRUM
 GENERATING TUBES
 SUPERHEATER
 DESUPERHEATER
ECONOMIZER:

The economizer is a feed water heater deriving heat from

the flue gases discharged from the boiler. The justifiable
cost for economizer depends on the total gain in efficiency.
In turn, this depends on the gas temperature out of the
boiler and feed water temperature to the boiler.
FEET WATER INLET PIPE:

These pipes are used for supplying boilers with hot

feed water. An important benefit of these pipes is
that most of the dissolved gases are liberated before
the feed water enters the boiler.

The feed water flow passes through tubes which are

exposed to partially expanded steam brought from,
typically, one or more points in the turbine system.
The turbine exhausted steam is thus used to some
advantage.
In the steam generation process the feedwater enters the boiler
where it is heated and becomes steam. The feedwater circulates
from the steam drum to the water drum and is heated in the process.

Some of the feedwater passes through tubes surrounding the

furnace, i.e. waterwall and floor tubes, where it is heated and
returned to the steam drum. Large-bore downcomer tubes are used
to circulate feedwater between the drums. The downcomer tubes
pass outside of the furnace and join the steam and water drums.
A boiler is used to heat feedwater in order to produce steam. The
energy released by the burning fuel in the boiler furnace is stored
(as temperature and pressure) in the steam produced. All boilers
have a furnace or combustion chamber where fuel is burnt to release
its energy. Air is supplied to the boiler furnace to enable combustion
of the fuel to take place. A large surface area between the
combustion chamber and the water enables the energy of
combustion, in the form of heat, to be transferred to the water.
SUPERHEATER:

Steam that has been heated above the saturation

temperature corresponding to its pressure is said to be
superheated.

This steam contains more heat than does saturated steam

at the same pressure and the added heat provides more
energy for the turbine for conversion to electric power, or
in the case of process steam, more energy contained in a
pound of steam for a more efficient process.

The convection superheater is placed somewhere in the

gas stream, where it receives most of its heat by
convection.
The hot gases produced in the furnace are used to heat the
feedwater to produce steam and also to superheat the steam from
the boiler drum. The gases then pass over an economiser through
which the feedwater passes before it enters the boiler.

The exhaust gases may also pass over an air heater which warms the
combustion air before it enters the furnace. In this way a large
proportion of the heat energy from the hot gases is used before they
are exhausted from the funnel.
The steam is produced in a steam drum and may be drawn off for
use from here. It is known as 'wet' or saturated steam in this condition
because it will contain small quantities of water, Alternatively the
steam may pass to a superheater which is located within the boiler.

Here steam is further heated and 'dried', i.e. all traces of water are
converted into steam. This superheated steam then leaves the boiler
for use in the system. The temperature of superheated steam will be
above that of the steam in the drum. An 'attemperator', i.e. a steam
cooler, may be fitted in the system to control the superheated steam
temperature.
Figure: Superheater
DOWN COMER:
A tube or pipe in a boiler or water wall circulating system
through which fluid flows downwards.

GENERATING TUBES:
A tube in which steam is generated.

DESUPERHEATER:
Apparatus for reducing and controlling of temperature of a
superheated vapour or of a fluid.
A drum must be provided where steam and water can separate.
There must also be a variety of fittings and controls to ensure that
fuel oil, air and feedwater supplies are matched to the demand for
steam. Finally there must be a number of fittings or mountings which
ensure the safe operation of the boiler.
4. TYPE OF BOILERS
 Boilers can be classified in various ways depending
on firing method used, fuel fired, field of
application, type of water circulation employed,
and pressure of steam etc.

 In general there are two principle types of boilers.

A. Water tube boilers.
B. Fire tube boilers.
C. Auxiliary boilers.
 A. 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.
 A. WATER TUBE BOILER:

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 and pressures above 350 psi
(2.4 MPa).
Figure : Water tube boiler schematic
 A. WATER TUBE BOILER…Contd:

As you can see, the Babcock Marine

Water Tube Boiler in below is looks
very complicated. Thousands of tubes
are placed in strategic location to
optimize the exchange of energy
from the heat to the water in the
tubes. These types of boilers are most
common because of their ability to
deliver large quantities of steam.

Figure: Babcock Marine Water Tube Boiler

 A. WATER TUBE BOILER…Contd:

The large tube like structure at the

top of the boiler is called the
steam drum. You could call it the
heart of the boiler. That's where
the steam collects before being
discharged from the boiler. The
hundreds of tube start and
eventually end up at the steam
drum.

Figure: Foster Wheeler D-Type boiler

 A. WATER TUBE BOILER……Contd:

Water enters the boiler, preheated, at the top. The hot water naturally
circulates through the tubes down to the lower area where it is hot. The
water heats up and flows back to the steam drum where the steam
collects. Not all the water gets turn to steam, so the process starts
again. Water keeps on circulating until it becomes steam.

Meanwhile, the control system is taking the temperature of the steam

drum, along with numerous other readings, to determine if it should
keep the burner burning, or shut it down.

As well, sensors control the amount of water entering the boiler, this
water is know as feed water. Feed water is not your regular drinking
water. It is treated with chemicals to neutralize various minerals in the
water, which untreated, would cling to the tubes clogging or worst,
rusting them. This would make the boiler expensive to operate because
it would not be very efficient.
Figure: Detail of Martin Boiler
 A. WATER TUBE BOILER….Contd:

On the fire side of the boiler, carbon deposit resulting from

improper combustion or impurities in the fuel can accumulate on
the outer surface of the water tube. This creates an insulation
which quickly decrease the energy transfer from the heat to the
water. To remedy this problem the engineer will carry out soot
blowing.

At a specified time the engineer uses a long tool and insert it into
the fire side of the boiler. This device, which looks like a lance,
has a tip at the end which "blows" steam. This blowing action of
the steam "scrubs" the outside of the water tubes, cleaning the
carbon build up.
A. WATER TUBE BOILER…..Contd:
 A. WATER TUBE BOILER…..Contd:

Water tube boilers can have pressures from 7 bar (one bar =
~15 psi) to as high as 250 bar. The steam temperature's can
vary between saturated steam, 100 degrees Celsius steam with
particle of water, or be as high as 600 - 650 degrees Celsius,
know as superheated steam or dry steam (all water particle have
been turn to a gaseous state).

The performance of boiler is generally referred to as tons of

steam produced in one hour. In water tube boilers that could be
as low as 1.5 t/hr to as high as 2500 t/hr. The larger boilers
would be land based, your local power company would most
likely operate one. In British Columbia, large boilers are most
common at Pulp and Paper plants.
 B. FIRE TUBE BOILER:

A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire

pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of
water. The heat energy from the gases passes through the sides of the
tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating
steam.

The fire-tube boiler developed as the third of the four major historical
types of boilers: low-pressure tank or "haystack" boilers, flued boilers
with one or two large flues, fire-tube boilers with many small tubes, and
high-pressure water tube boilers.

Their advantage over flued boilers with a single large flue is that the
many small tubes offer far greater heating surface area for the same
overall boiler volume. The general construction is as a tank of water
perforated by tubes that carry the hot flue gases from the fire. The
tank is usually cylindrical for the most part – being the strongest
practical shape for a pressurized container – and this cylindrical tank
may be either horizontal or vertical.
 B. FIRE TUBE BOILER……Contd:

This type of boilers started it all. This is the original design of

boiler which brought the tide of power to the marine world. If
you are ever in Vancouver, BC, the SS Master, a turn of the
century tugboat, is open for the public to view at the Vancouver
Maritime Museum. It is operational, and a fine example of ship
using a fire tube boiler.

On a modern ship, the fire tube boiler meet the ship's heating
needs and is generally not used for deck machinery. The steam
produced will circulate through coils in the cargo tanks, fuel tanks,
and accommodation heating system. They are generally supplied
as a complete package, such as the one pictured in figures below.
Figure: Fire tube boiler schema
Figure : Fire tube boiler
Figure: Fire tube boiler construction
 B. FIRE TUBE BOILER……Contd:

This is a single furnace, three pass type fire tube boiler. Heat - flue gases - travels
through three different sets of tubes. All the tubes are surrounded by water which
absorbs the heat. As the water turns to steam, pressure builds up within the boiler,
once enough pressure has built up the engineer will open main steam outlet valve
slowly, supplying steam for service. Fire tube boilers are also known as "smoke
tube" and "donkey boiler".

Figure:
Detail of
fire tube
boiler
 B. FIRE TUBE BOILER……Contd:

A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire

pass through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of
water. The heat energy from the gases passes through the sides of the
tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating
steam.

The fire-tube boiler developed as the third of the four major historical
types of boilers: low-pressure tank or "haystack" boilers, flued boilers
with one or two large flues, fire-tube boilers with many small tubes, and
high-pressure water tube boilers. Their advantage over flued boilers
with a single large flue is that the many small tubes offer far greater
heating surface area for the same overall boiler volume. The general
construction is as a tank of water perforated by tubes that carry the
hot flue gases from the fire. The tank is usually cylindrical for the most
part – being the strongest practical shape for a pressurized container –
and this cylindrical tank may be either horizontal or vertical.
 C. AUXILIARY BOILER:

On smaller ships the auxiliary

boiler can be a stand alone unit
and would most likely be of the
fire tube boiler arrangement as
described above.

But on a larger vessel it is more

efficient for the auxiliary boiler
to take advantage of the main
engine's flue gases to heat the
water. Basically this means that
the hot gases from the main
engine must pass through a heat
exchanger (the auxiliary fire
tube boiler) before exiting to the
atmosphere.
Figure: Auxiliary boiler
Figure: Cargo heating boiler

On this diagram, look for it above, and just aft of the main engine, near
the exhaust stake of the ship. It is called the "cargo heating boiler".
THANK YOU
Q AND A