BOILER

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 shipservices. Even within the two basic design types, watertube and firetube,a variety of designs and variations exist.A boiler is used to heat feed water 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.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.

Before moving on further about boilers an explaination of water tube and firetube boiler would be helpful for further understanding.

WATERTUBE BOILERS A water tube boiler consists of tubes which are filled with water where the flame in the furnace will directly heat the tube. The water in the tubes absorbs latent heat through conduction,convection and radiation and then produces steam. This steam is then sent to the steam drum and sent to the systems for heating.

Above shows a typical watertube boiler used onboard vessel. This boiler is vertical cylindrical water tube boiler with roof firing burners.

FIRETUBE BOILERS Unlike watertube boilers, firetube boilers doesnt consist of water in the tubes but they surround the outer part of the tubes. The heat/smoke produce from the burner flame will enter the tubes and heat the surrounding water which is outside the tubes. The water outside the tubes receives latent heat through the three heat transfer process and thus produces steam. The most common construction of this kind of boiler is of tank type. This construction is specially provided to this type of boiler to store water in it. The combustion chamber will also be seperated thorugh sealing so that the water in the boiler doesnt enter the combustion chamber which can interrupt the combustion process.

The above figure shows a Scotch boiler(tank type) where the furnace flame pass through a water sealed combustion chamber and pass through the tubes. The water receives latent heat from the tubes and produce steam. This are the most common different between fire tube boilers and water tube boilers. We will come across a few more when we proceed further in this topic of boiler. As we all know that boiler produces steam for heating or for propulsion. In some vessel especially tankers this steam is used to drive a steam turbine or the most common name used is COPT(cargo oil pump turbine) where steam drives the turbine to rotate the pump which is in the pump room beneath the engine room. Other than that in tanker vessel, the flue gas or exhaust gas from the boiler is used as inert gas for inerting cargo tanks to prevent from explosion. We will look further on both mentioned machinery in the following topics. So in tanker vessel, boiler plays a major role in loading and discharging operation of cargo. In order for the boiler to have a longer lifetime it should be operated according to the procedure. Lets look into the procedures:-

STARTING AND STOPPING OF A BOILER STARTING When the boiler is started, the lighten-up rate of the boiler must not be accelerated too much as this might cause an unnecessary overstrain of the boiler material by quick and uneven temperature rises. It might be necessary to perform a number of start/stop sequences to reduce the lighten-up rate. A special attention should be provided at the commissioning start-up of the boiler and after any repair work of the refractory, it is very important to further reduce the lighting-up rate. This is because the new refractory still contains a small amount of water. When heated the water vaporises and expands which might cause fissures and cracks in the refractory. The burner must therefore only be operated at minimum load and in intervals of 1-2 minutes for the first hours. Between each operation interval the burner should remain stopped for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Before commencing starting up procedures, a few general works should be done for safe working operation:1.

Check that the main steam valve, by-pass valve and circulation valves if provided, scum valve, and blow-down valves are closed.

2.

Open the feed water valves and the air valve. Fill the boiler with evaporated water to approximately 50 mm below normal water level. The water level rises due to expansion when the boiler is heated. If the temperature difference between the boiler and feed water exceeds approximately 50C, the boiler must be filled very slowly.

3.

Check the water level in the water level gauges. Check frequently during the complete start-up. The water level gauges should be blown down several times to ensure a correct indication.

4.

Check that the water level control system is connected and operational.

5.

Check the oil system and start the fuel oil supply pump. Pre-heat the fuel oil if the burner should operate on heavy fuel oil.

6.

Check the burner and the safety functions according to the separate instruction.

A special car should provided when filling up a pressure less boiler. The shut of valve after the feed water pump must be throttled to prevent the motor from being overloaded.

STARTING AND PRESSURE RISING