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Table of contents
Table of contents..................................................................................................................................ii
General design issues ...........................................................................................................................1
Heat transfer modes .........................................................................................................................1
Conduction ...................................................................................................................................1
Convection ...................................................................................................................................1
Radiation ......................................................................................................................................2
Pressure losses..................................................................................................................................2
Definition .....................................................................................................................................2
Gas side pressure drop for inline tube arrangement.....................................................................3
Gas side pressure drop for staggered tube arrangement ..............................................................3
Choice of tube surface......................................................................................................................4
Sizing of heat transfer surfaces ........................................................................................................4
Furnace design .....................................................................................................................................6
General design..................................................................................................................................6
Furnace strain level ..........................................................................................................................7
Tube wall design ..............................................................................................................................8
Load characteristics..........................................................................................................................8
Fuel type effect on furnace size .......................................................................................................8
Typical furnace outlet temperatures.................................................................................................9
Furnace air levels ...........................................................................................................................10
CFB furnace design........................................................................................................................10
BFB furnace design........................................................................................................................12
Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) design.............................................................................12
Furnace dimensioning, stirred reactor............................................................................................14
Superheater design .............................................................................................................................15
General ...........................................................................................................................................15
Design velocity ..............................................................................................................................15
Design spacing ...............................................................................................................................16
Tube arrangement ..........................................................................................................................17
Economizer design.............................................................................................................................18
General ...........................................................................................................................................18
Design method ...............................................................................................................................18
Air preheater design ...........................................................................................................................21
References ..........................................................................................................................................22
ii
General design issues
Heat transfer modes
Conduction
Conduction is the transfer of heat from one part of a body at a higher temperature to another part of
the same body at a lower temperature, or from one body at a higher temperature to another body in
physical contact with it at a lower temperature. The conduction process takes place at the molecular
level and involves the transfer of energy from the more energetic molecules to those with a lower
energy level.
t1 − t 2
Φ = λA (1)
s
Heat power depends on the heat transfer area (A), temperature difference (t1-t2), thermal
conductivity of material (λ) and the thickness of separating wall (s). The thermal conductivity is a
property of the material; metals conduct well heat whereas gases not. An example of thermal
conductivities in various materials is shown in table 1.
Convection
Convection is heat transfer between a moving fluid or gas and a fixed solid. Convection can be
natural or forced: if a pump, a blower, a fan, or some similar device induces the fluid motion, the
process is called forced convection. If the fluid motion occurs as a result of the density difference
produced by the temperature difference, the process is called free or natural convection.
Φ = α c A(t1 − t 2 ) (2)
The heat transfer coefficient αc varies much depending on e.g. flow velocity, type of fluid motion
and pressure. Heat transfer coefficients of liquids are much higher than those of gases, as can be
seen in the comparison presented in table 2.
1
Table 2: Convection heat transfer coefficients for various fluids.
2
Fluid Heat transfer coefficient [W/(m K)]
Steady water 100-500
Water flow 500-10000
Water boiling 1000-60000
Steady air 3-15
Air flow 10-100
Radiation
Radiation, or more correctly thermal radiation, is electromagnetic radiation emitted by a body by
virtue of its temperature and at the expense of its internal energy. All heated solids and liquids, as
well as some gases, emit thermal radiation.
The importance of radiation heat transfer will increase, when the temperature becomes higher.
Radiation heat transfer is the main heat transfer mode for the furnace and radiation superheaters.
where εfw is the view factor between the flame and the water walls:
1
ε fw = (4)
1 1
+ −1
ε f εw
where εf is the emissivity of the flame (typically 0,35-0,85), εw the emissivity of the water walls
(typically 0,6), σ the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5,6787*10-8 W/m2K4), A the effective water wall
surface (m2), Tf the average gas temperature in the furnace and Tw the average water wall surface
temperature surrounding the flame.
Pressure losses
Definition
The difference between pressure gage readings in parts of a system operating with a positive
pressure relative to that of the atmosphere is generally called pressure drop. The pressure drop on
the gas side is equal to the friction losses, according to VDI Wärmeatlas [1]:
∆p gs = ∆p f (6)
2
Gas side pressure drop for inline tube arrangement
For inline tube arrangement the pressure drop coefficient for heat transfer surface with horizontal
tubes is:
∆p = n rζ r ∆p d (7)
where nr is the number of tube rows in the heat transfer unit, ∆pd dynamic pressure calculated at
the gas side using the mean temperature and the smallest area. The single row pressure drop ξr for
inline tube arrangement is calculated as
Re−1000
−
ζ r = ζ l + ζ t (1 − e 2000
) (8)
where
0.5
280π (( s l − 0.6) 2 + 0.75)
ζl = 1.6
(9)
(4s t s l − π ) s t Re
0.94 0.6
(1 - )
sl
ζ t = 10 0.47(s t /s l -1.5)
(0.22 + 1.2 + 0.03( s t − 1)( s l − 1) (10)
(s t - 0.85)1.3
where ζ l is the laminar part of the pressure drop coefficient, ζ t is the turbulent part of the pressure
drop coefficient, s t is the dimensionless transverse pitch (s t = S t / d o ), s l is the dimensionless
longitudinal pitch (s l = S l / d o ) and Re is the Reynolds number, calculated at the gas side mean
temperature and smallest area.
Re − 200
−
ζ r = ζ l + ζ t 1 − e 1000
(11)
(
280π s l − 0.6 + 0.75
0. 5 2
)
ζl = (12)
(4st sl − π )c Re
1.6
where
c = st ; s l ≥ 2s t - 1/2
s 2 (13)
c = ( t ) 2 + s l ; s l < 2 st − 1 / 2
2
3
3 3
1.2 s s
ζ t = 2.5 + + 0.4 l − 1 − 0.01 t − 1
1.08 (14)
(s t − 0.85) st sl
Superheaters and evaporators use unfinned Figure 2: Finned tubes [Vulcan finned tubes].
tubes.
4
Φ = kA∆Tlm (15)
∆Tmax − ∆Tmin
∆Tlm = (16)
∆T
ln max
∆Tmin
∆Tmax = th1-tc2
∆Tmin = th2-tc1 (17)
5
Furnace design
General design
The main parameters for the furnace sizing are furnace dimensions (height, depth, width and
configuration), furnace wall construction and desired furnace outlet temperature.
The heat transfer surface area of furnace consists of sides, base and beak, which is an "L"-formed
bending of the evaporator tubes that protect the superheaters from radiation. Most of utility and
industrial boiler furnaces have a rectangular shape. A large number of package boilers have a
cylindrical furnace. Furnace bottom for typical PCF boiler is double inclined or v-form, as shown in
figure 5. Flat bottom is more typical for grate or bubbling fluidized bed boilers.
m& ash
where Aeff is the effective heat transfer surface,
σ the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, ε w and ε dg Figure 6: Fuel/flue gas side mass balance.
the emissivity of the wall and the (dusty) gas
respectively, α dg the absorptivity of the (dusty)
6
gas, α c the convective heat transfer coefficient,
and Tg and Tw the temperature of the gas and loss exit
Φ pa
qV = (21) Figure 7: Furnace heat balance.
b1b2 h
Φ pa
qF = (22)
b1b2
If the electric power of power plant is known, strain levels for the volume and base area can be
chosen from the graphs in figure 8, and thereby the physical dimensions of the furnace can be
determined.
6 0,25
[MW/m3] [MW/m2]
5 0,20
4 0,15
3 0,10
2 0,05
0 200 400 600 MWe 0 200 400 600 MWe
The effective heat transfer surface area of the furnace, consisting of sides, base and beak, can be
calculated as following (assuming the beak adds 0,4*base area):
7
Aeff = 2lb1 + 2lb2 + 1,4b1b2 (23)
The first two terms forms the effective projected radiant surface (EPRS), which is a widely used
concept.
The diameter of an evaporator tube is usually 30-80 mm and the wall thickness can be calculated
from the following equation:
du ⋅ p
s= + C1 + C 2 (24)
σl
2⋅ − p ⋅ν + 2 ⋅ p
n
where du is the outside diameter of tube, p the design pressure, σ l the design strength, n a safety
factor (usually 1,5), ν the strength factor (usually 1,0), C1 an additional thickness, (normally 10 %
of the wall thickness) and C2 an additional thickness considering corrosion.
Load characteristics
When designing of a steam-generating unit it is necessary to determine the following load
characteristics:
The load factor is the actual energy produced by a power plant during a given period, given as a
percentage (share) of the maximum energy that could have been produced at full capacity during
the same period.
The design will determine the boiler's ability to carry a normal load at a high efficiency as well as to
meet maximum demand and rapid load changes. It will also determine the standby losses and the
rapidity with which the unit can be brought up to full steaming capacity. In smaller boiler sizes it is
possible to select a standardized unit that will meet the requirements; larger units are almost always
custom designed.
8
Firing oil in the furnace produces relatively small amounts of ash. Natural gas produces no ash. For
the same power output, due to the high ash content of coal, coal-burning boilers must have larger
furnaces and velocities of the combustion gases in the convection-based heat exchangers must be
lower. Figure 9 presents an example of the relative sizes of furnaces using three different fuels:
natural gas, oil and coal. The power of the boiler is the same in all three cases.
Coal
Natural gas
Oil
1,5*h
1,2*h
h
b2
b1 1,05*b1 1,1*b1
1,06*b2
1,12*b2
• Ash characteristics; the control of ash behaviour at superheaters is a key design parameter
• Fuel (gas and oil have low ash content and can have higher outlet temperatures)
• Choice of superheater material
• Desired superheating temperature
9
Table 4 presents some typical furnace outlet temperatures:
Excess air reduces efficiency by lowering the furnace temperature and by absorbing heat that would
otherwise be available for steam production.
NOx is formed when nitrogen of air reacts with oxygen of air in high temperature, over 1400 °C.
NOx can be reduced decreasing temperature, decreasing air excess, or using low-nox-burners. In
using low-nox-burner air will be fed into flame in two or three phases.
The furnace of a CFB (circulating fluidized bed) boiler contains a layer of granular solids, which
have a diameter in the range of 0,1-0,3 mm. It includes sand or gravel, fresh or spent limestone and
ash. The operating velocity of the flue gas stream in a CFB boiler is 3-10 m/s. The solids move
through the furnace at much lower velocity than the gas; solids residence times in the order of
minutes are obtained. The long residence times coupled with the small particle size produce high
combustion efficiency and high SO2 removal with much lower limestone feed than in conventional
furnaces. Figure 10 shows a flow chart of a typical CFB boiler.
After the furnace flue gas moves through a cyclone (named compact separator in figure 13), where
solids are separated from the gas and are returned to the furnace. Flue gas from the cyclone
discharge enters the convection back-pass in which the superheaters, reheaters, economizers and air
preheaters are located. A dust collector is separates the fly ash before the flue gas exits the plant.
10
The combustion air from the fan discharges pneumatically transports the solids for creating the
circulating fluid.
Steam Outlet
Steam
Water Foster Wheeler CFB
Steam Drum
Flow Chart
Downcomer
Water
Wall
Compact Economizer
Fuel Limestone Separator
Combustion
Chamber
Fly Ash
Induced Draft
Secondary Air Fan Fan
compact.eng/comflow.ds4/0801/tap Bottom
Ash To Ash Silos Primary Air Fan
The amount of cyclones also has an influence on the shape of furnace. Flue gas must flow to the
cyclone fast enough (20 m/s), and the diameter of the cyclone must be below 8 m in order to get an
efficient removal of solids.
Circulating fluidized bed boilers have a number of unique features that make them more attractive
than other solid fuel fired boilers. Fuel flexibility is one of the major attractive features of CFB
boilers. A wide range of fuels can be burned in one specific boiler without any major change in the
hardware. The combustion efficiency of a CFB boiler is high. It is generally in the range of 99,5 to
97,5 %. Sulphur capture in a CFB is very efficient, due to the possibility to inject sulphur absorbing
limestone directly into the bed. A typical CFB boiler can capture 90 % of the sulphur dioxide. The
low emission of nitrogen oxides is also a major attractive feature of CFB boilers.
11
BFB furnace design
Bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boilers use a low
fluidizing velocity, so that the particles are held
mainly in a bed, which have a depth of about 1
m and a definable surface. Sand is often used to
improve bed stability, together with limestone
for SO2 absorption. As the coal particles are
combusted and become smaller, they are
elutriated with the gases, and subsequently
removed as fly ash. In-bed tubes are used to
control the bed temperature and generate steam.
The flue gases are normally cleaned using a
cyclone, and then pass through further heat
exchangers, raising steam temperature.
The temperature of a BFB furnace outlet is 700-1000 °C, and the air factor is usually 1,1-1,4. Air is
fed in several phases. The temperature of air varies from 20 to 400 °C. The overall thermal
efficiency of a BFB boiler is around 30%.
BFB furnaces with an atmospheric operational pressure are mainly used for boilers up to about 25
MWe, although there are a few larger plants where a BFB boiler has been used to retrofit an
existing unit. There are hundreds of small BFBC units in China.
• the pinch-point of the evaporator and the approach temperature of the economizer
• the pressure drop of the flue gas side of the boiler
• optimization of the heating surfaces
12
The pinch-point (the smallest temperature Flue Gas
OUT
difference between the two streams in a system
of heat exchangers) is found in the evaporator,
Feedwater
and is usually 6-10 °C, which can be seen in Economizer IN
figure 13. To maximize the steam power of the
boiler, the pinch-point must be chosen as small
as possible. The approach temperature is the
temperature difference of the input temperature Evaporator
in the evaporator and the output of the
economizer. This is often 0-5 °C. The pressure
drop (usually 25-40 mbar) of the flue gas side
has also an effect on the efficiency of power Superheater
plant. The heat transfer of the HRSG is HP Steam
OUT
primarily convective. The flow velocity of the
flue gas has an influence on the heat transfer
coefficient. Fuel
IN
Supplementary burner
Heating surfaces of a heat recovery steam generator are usually heat transfer packages, which
consist of spiral-finned tubes. The thickness of the fin is 1-2 mm, the height 8-16 mm and the fin
distance 3,2-8 mm. Tube sizes vary a lot.
700
F lu e g a s s t r e a m
600
Water/steamstream
500
400
Temperature [°C]
300
200
100
Superheater Evaporator Economizer
0
0% 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 %
Share of heat load [%]
13
Furnace dimensioning, stirred reactor
One of the most used furnace dimensioning methods is the stirred reactor model. The furnace is
approximated as being filled with a homogenous three-atom gas and a dust mixture at a uniform
temperature and pressure. At the furnace exit the temperature is decreased by a specified amount.
The typical values of ∆T to use for the different types of furnaces can be seen in table 5. The stirred
reactor model is not optimal for designing a recovery boiler furnace.
14
Superheater design
General
The production of steam at higher temperature than the saturation temperature is called
superheating. The temperature added to the saturation temperature is called the degree of superheat.
Superheated steam has no moisture; hence it is less erosive and corrosive than wet saturated steam
carrying droplets. In order to have a sustainable turbine operation, the steam cannot contain any
moist at all.
The design procedure for a superheater can be divided into the following steps:
Design velocity
Superheaters transfer heat from flue gas to steam. Heat transfer between two gases is not very
effective compared to heat transfer from gas to fluid. For that reason, steam must flow fast enough
(10-20 m/s) in order to give the superheater tubes enough cooling. Lower steam pressure weakens
the heat transfer rate, so with lower pressures, steam must have a greater velocity (15-40 m/s).
When flue gas is cooled, its volume decreases. In order to keep a constant flow rate of the flue gas,
the cross-sectional flow area decreases as well. In the radiant superheater, the velocity of gas is very
small (< 5 m/s). In the convection superheater, the velocity can be quite large (15-30 m/s). The
maximum velocity depends on the fuel used. To limit pressure-part erosion from fly ash, the flue
gas velocity must not exceed certain limits. Depending upon the ash quantity and abrasiveness, the
design velocity is generally 16-18 m/s. A furnace that burns coals yielding a heavy loading of
erosive ash (usually indicated by a high silica/aluminium content) may have a design velocity of
approximately 15 m/s. Such velocities are based on the predicted average gas temperature entering
the tube section, at the maximum continuous rating of the steam generator fired at normal excess-air
percentage.
15
Design spacing
Superheater of boiler consists of banks of tubes. A system of tubes is located in the path of the
furnace gases in the top of furnace. Heat transfer in superheaters is based mainly on radiation, but in
the primary superheaters convection often plays a major role.
A superheater must be built so that it superheats approximately the same amount of steam from low
to high loads. This can be achieved by a proper choice of radiative and convective superheating
surfaces. Changing tube lengths between passes can control temperature differences. The outermost
tube that receives the most radiative flux should be shorter than the rest of the tubes. Proper
superheater arrangement also eliminates much of the problems with uneven or biased flue gas flow.
Figure 14 and 15 shows examples of the arrangement of superheater and reheater surfaces in the
form of a process scheme.
Superheated
Steam OUT
Feedwater
IN
Saturated
Steam IN
Superheater III
Superheater II
Superheater I
Superheated
Steam OUT
Reheated
Steam OUT
Feedwater
IN
Saturated Reheater
Steam IN IN
Reheater II
Superheater III
Superheater II
Reheater I
Superheater I
16
Tube arrangement
Tubes in superheaters can be arranged according to inline or staggered arrangement (figure 16).
Inline tube arrangement is preferred for fouling boilers, PCF, bark and recovery. Staggered
arrangement is preferred for oil, gas and heat recovery steam generator. As free space with
staggered arrangement is much smaller than with inline arrangement the reason for decreased
fouling with inline is evident.
Clear lane
over 500 mm and ‘b’ is approximately the same
as the external tube diameter.
17
Economizer design
General
An economizer consists of an arrangement of tubes through which the feed water is passed
immediately before entering the boiler. The combustion gases leaving the boiler convection
surfaces pass over these tubes. As the entering feed water has a lower temperature than that of the
boiler steam, the heat transfer is more effective at this point than in the convection surfaces of the
boiler. This fact has prompted the present trend in boiler design to increase the economizer surface
and proportionally decrease the generator-heating surface. Economizers can be made of cast iron or
steel tube. Finned tubes are used, unless the flue gases origins from fuels with high ash content.
Design method
• Inside and outside tube diameters di and do, from which we can calculate the wall thickness:
d − di
δ = o (25)
2
• Distance of tubes in direction of flow and in side direction: s1 and s2 (named ‘a’ and ‘b’ in
figure 19)
• The size of flue gas channel: b1 and b2
The number of tubes in one row (counter-flow) can then be calculated as:
b2
M = (26)
s2
The cross-sectional area of the flue gas channel can then be calculated from equation 27.
4 ⋅ A fg
dh = (30)
U
T fg sup + T fgeco
Tf = (31)
2
18
The outside convection heat transfer coefficient is calculated from the following equation (turbulent
gas flow):
α oc d h
Nu = = C ⋅ Re m ⋅ Pr 0,31
λ fg
λ fg
-> α oc = ⋅ C ⋅ Re m ⋅ Pr 0,31 (32)
dh
where λfg is the thermal conductivity of the flue gas, Pr is Prandtl number, of flue gas, αo the
outside convectional heat transfer coefficient and Re Reynolds number, which can be calculated as:
d h ⋅ w fg
Re = (33)
ν
where wfg is the flue gas velocity in the flue gas channel, dh the hydraulic diameter of the channel
and ν the kinematic viscosity of flue gas.
The needed tube surface area in the economizer can then be calculated as:
G
A= (34)
k
where G is the conductance (kW/K) and k the heat transfer coefficient, which can be calculated
according to equation 35:
1 d 1 δ
= o + + + mdirt (35)
k d iα i α o δ
1 − ⋅ λ
do
where di and do are the inside and the outside tube diameter [m] respectively, αi and αo the inside
and outside heat transfer coefficient respectively, δ the tube wall thickness, λ the thermal
conductivity and mdirt the heat transfer resistance of a tube with a dirt layer on its surface. The
outside heat transfer coefficient is the sum of the outside radiative and convective heat transfer
coefficients:
At = π* do*b1 (37)
A
N= (38)
At ⋅ M
19
And the depth of the economizer is:
he = N* s1 (39)
20
Air preheater design
The air preheater is design similarly to other heat transfer surfaces. The tubes of air preheaters are
larger than the tubes of superheaters and economizers: the diameter is about 50-80 mm.
Wall thickness is sized according to the strength of the construction, because the pressure difference
between air and flue gases is small. The lue gas velocity in the air preheater is 10-14 m/s in the
tubular heat exchanger type, 9-13 m/s in the plate heat exchanger type, 10-11 m/s in a finned tube
heat exchanger, and 13-15 m/s if both sides of the heat exchanger are finned.
In a vertical tube heat exchanger flue gas flows inside tubes and number of tubes can be chosen
according to the flue gas velocity and volume flow. By choosing suitable tube divisions, dimensions
of horizontal cross section of heat exchanger can be calculated. Air is flowing horizontally outside
tubes. By choosing air velocity height of heat exchanger can be calculated. According thermal
sizing length of heat exchanger can be found. In horizontal tube heat exchanger air flows inside
tubes and number of tubes can be chosen according to the air velocity and volume flow.
21
References
1. VDI Wärmeatlas
2. (Alvarez: Energiteknik, p. 368)
3. M. Huhtinen, A. Kettunen, P. Nurminen, H. Pakkanen, Höyrykattilatekniikka, Oy Edita Ab,
Helsinki 1994, ISBN 951-37-1327-X
4. Opetusmoniste kevät 2000: Ene-47.110 Yleinen energiatekniikka, erä 1, HUT
5. Opetusmoniste kevät 2000: Ene-47.124 Höyrykattilatekniikka, erä 1, HUT
6. Opetusmoniste kevät 2000: Ene-47.124 Höyrykattilatekniikka, erä 2, HUT
7. V. Meuronen, 4115 Höyrykattiloiden suunnittelu, Opetusmoniste 1999, LTKK, ISBN 951-
764-382-9
8. Combustion Fossil Power Systems
9. E.Vakkilainen, Steam boilers – Thermal design of boiler parts, lecture notes
22