INDIABOILER DOT COM

TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
CHAPTER – 18
BOILER CONTROLS
1. Introduction
Instrumentation and controls, which server to assure safe, economic, and reliable
operation, and essential part of all boiler installations and range from simple
manual devices to the complete automatic control of boiler and all associated
equipment. Fire tube and water tube boilers require different aspects to be
monitored for safe and efficient operation and require different instrumentation
and control schemes and sub systems due to the size of the plant and costs
involved.
They can be classified under four categories (a) Safety and Interlock System, (b)
Online Operation and Control Systems (e.g., fuel flow, combustion air flow, feed
water flow, furnace draft, steam temperature, regulation of aux. Firing, gas re-
circulation and air heater protection), (c) Monitoring and Alarm Systems, and (d)
Controls Required for Efficient Management of Plant (e.g., Data Acquisition
Systems (DAS), Efficiency and Condition Trend Monitoring Systems).
2. Boiler Controls
The Boiler Control System is the algorithm and logic through which the Mass and
Energy Balances are managed. In boiler system, basically input feed is fuel, air
and water, whereas, the resultant output is Steam, Hot Flue Gas and Blow-down
Water. The balance between Input and Output is maintained by Boiler Control
System, each Input being controlled for getting desired Output. The ratio of Heat
Output to Input is called Efficiency of Boiler. The major losses of boilers which
reduces the efficiency of boilers are:
(1) Heat loss is dry flue gas,
(2) Heat loss due to formation of H2O in flue gas on account of Hydrogen in fuel
and free moisture in fuel gas and air,
(3) Loss of fuel due to unburnt carbon, or unburnt combustible gas in flue and
(4) Heat loss from radiation due to exposure of hot surface to atmosphere.
The control system for efficient and safe operation of Boiler consists of following:
i Firing Rate Demand Control,
ii Steam Temperature Control,
iii Feed water Deaeration, Supply Feed Water Control and Drum Level Control,
iv Control of Furnace Draft,
v Combustion Control and Oxygen Control,
vi Burner Management System,
vii Analysis of Steam, Feed water and Blow Down water and
viii Boiler Safety Interlocks.

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
2.1 Master demand signal control for maintaining the state of the system under
fluctuating supply and demand situation for continuous operation as well as
loading/ unloading of boilers:
Available control Methods are:
(i) Steam Pressure,
(ii) Steam Flow,
(iii) Steam pressure plus steam flow,
(iv) Load Sharing of multiple boilers and
(v) Boiler loading through energy management control based on Digital computer
2.1.1 Steam Flow Or Steam Pressure Based Loading:
2.1.1.1 Use of Steam Pressure
Steam Pressure is used as ‘Demand Signal’, which indicates the loading/unloading
index. When the demand of steam increases, the steam pressure inside
drum/header outlet will drop, as net available volume of steam is lesser than the
demand of steam. If the Steam Demand decreases the steam pressure increases
since the available volume of steam is more than the demand. Hence sensing of
Steam Pressure can be considered as Demand Steam Signal. The variation of
steam pressure signal can be manipulated for varying the fuel rate and
subsequently airflow rate. When steam flow requirement is constant at constant
pressure, there is balance between energy supply and demand. Thus steam demand
signal is used for controlling fuel, air, drum level, steam temperature and oxygen.

The following diagram depicts such control system:

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001

2.1.1.2 Use of steam flow signal for loading

In some applications, where maintaining the Steam Flow is required for one
or more boilers, the ‘Steam Flow’ can also be taken as the basis for generation
of ‘Boiler Loading’ signal, as depicted in the following diagram:

2.1.1.3 Combination of Steam ‘Pressure’ and ‘Flow’ in controls

Both the methods, described above, can also be incorporated together by way
of provision of Selector Switch, since a particular boiler can be switched
between ‘Steam Pressure’ and ‘Steam Flow’. The transfer will be through a
manual selector for ensuring bumpless transfer from ‘Steam Flow’ to ‘Steam
Pressure’ and vice versa.
In case of ‘Steam Pressure’ being selected as the ‘Demand Signal’, it is
possible to obtain improved steam pressure control at cost of boiler operating
efficiency by optimum tuning of the controller on the basis of the operator’s
experience and judgment.

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
2.1.2 Steam Flow and Steam Pressure Control Based Master Demand Signal:
In this scheme ‘Steam Flow’ is ‘feed forwarded’, where as, ‘Steam Pressure’ acts
as adjustment of demand signal flow over or under injection of fuel. The basic
scheme is as described below. It is assumed that C.V. of fuel remains constant
over period of operation and if the C.V. of fuel changes, the bias value can be
manually corrected to get less/more signal as required. Introducing digital
computer based controls bias on Calorific Value of Fuel can also change
automatically.

2.1.3 Boiler Load Sharing based on Energy Management Control:

This type of control is based on controlling the Fuel Input to various boilers as
their ‘Steam Flow’ changes. The Scheme adopted is as shown below:

2.2 STEAM TEMPERATURE CONTROL:

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
Basically boilers have control system such that for all loads, the steam temperature
remains constant. The following methods can be employed in control system.
(a) Normally the superheated steam outlet temperature depends on the exposure
of superheater with hot gases. If the hot gas temperature were high then the
steam temperature would also be high. Altering the position of the imaginary
Fire Ball inside the furnace can change the hot gas temperature by changing
the direction of jet of flame or type of fuel injected. For this purpose, tilting
type of burners are provided in the boiler and their tilt is to be varied for
changing the direction of flame for shifting the position of Fire Ball, either
close to the Superheater Coils or far from them. In boilers with industrial
fixed type of burner, the burner location is fixed but the burners are
distributed between different elevated positions. Upon more firing on top
burners, to bring the hot gases nearer to the Superheater can result in increase
of the temperature of steam.
(b) Steam temperature can also be controlled by proper balancing of heat energy
and increasing/decreasing the airflow at cost of boiler efficiency. But airflow
signal could be incorporated in spray water injection control.
(c) Normally when Boiler is to be loaded/unloaded, the airflow along with fuel
flow also gets changed. In mixed fuel firing, we have to consider quantitative
firing of all fuels such as oil, fuel gas, LDO and coal and their feed rate is to
be varied together for deriving fuel signal. This is likely to make the control
system too complicated. Therefore, instead of taking total fuel flow, it is
considered better to consider airflow signal as Load Sensing Signal, for
correction of Steam Temperature V/s Boiler Load.
Here the disadvantage is that the air flow signal is delayed signal if boiler is
downloaded and forward signal if boiler is to be uploaded but by incorporating
lead-lag network control strategy, we can manipulate the air flow signal as load
sensing signal. The typical control loop is as depicted below:

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
If boiler manufacture has given data of Boiler Load V/s Airflow then the ‘Set
Point’ of controller can be hooked up with proper control logic to that Automatic
Temperature Control for various loads can be achieved.
2.3 Feed Water Flow/Drum Level Control:
In Single Element Drum Level control technique Level Transmitters on both ends
of the boiler drum (LHS/RHS) are used. This control is used for small boiler
where load variation is not much. No feed back signal of steam flow or feed water
flow is incorporated. To avoid this unsatisfactory condition, feed forward plus
feedback is to be incorporated by integrating the steam flow signal. This 2 nd
technique is called Two Element drum level control. There is no feedback signal
of feed water flow, hence during loading unloading condition of boiler where
shrink and swelling effect persists frequently, Three Element Feed Water Flow is
incorporated and this technique is called three element drum level control. This is
now being used in most of the boilers. Since feed water control valve is
functionally important in this type of scheme, proper selection of the same is
important.
Criteria for selection of feed water flow control valve.
1. Pressure drop across the valve should be less than 3.5 Kg/cm 2 to assure
responsive control.
2. Valve capacity should be designed keeping all loses, overloading and
attemperator water requirement.
3. Valve should be designed as per ASME boiler code.
4. Fast response.
The control scheme adopted is as shown below:

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
2.4 Combustion Control (With Oxygen Trimming)
Based on master demand signal for loading and unloading of the boiler, the signal
is the set point of each controller of fuel, the signal ratio distribution among all
fuel controllers is decided by the boiler operator, as per the availability of different
fuels. Each controller of fuel changes the rate of fuel flow. The same master signal
becomes set point of airflow controller. The trimming of excess oxygen in flue gas
is brought down through Oxygen controller. The amount of Excess Air V/s Boiler
Load pattern is different for each boiler manufacture. This graph is fed into excess
oxygen controller. Hence based on various load conditions the excess oxygen is
controlled by oxygen control by generating its output to make set point of airflow
controller.

Hence during change over of boiler load the master signal give command to (1)
Fuel Controller and (2) Airflow Controller. During ‘increasing’ trend of Boiler
Load, Air Flow is increased first and after actual increase of Air Flow the Fuel
Flow is increased. This is done for assuring that sufficient air in furnace is
available before injection of extra quantity of fuel. Similarly when the boiler load
is decreasing the fuel is decreased first and Air Flow reduced later. This control
system has been designed by introducing feed back/feed forward or lead-lag net
after master signal.
2.5 FURNACE PRESSURE CONTROL:
The furnace pressure is being controlled by way of changing rate of flow of air to
furnace and is achieved through FD/ID Fans Damper Control or Speed Control or
a combination of both. Basically, O2 and CO2 in the flue gas are measured by
means of respective Gas Analysers and Furnace Pressure is measured by means of
Pressure Transmitter. As fuel input to furnace changes the Air Flow is varied by
means of controls explained above and their finer control is achieved by means of
Gas Analyser Signals. Taking these signals as the base signals, the furnace
pressure is maintained by changing the flow of air through FD fans and that of
Flue Gases through the ID Fans.

3. Boiler Safety Interlock

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION
DLP/BOE-II/ 1- 01092001
The tripping of boiler means no fuel inside furnace i.e. Fuel injection to be ceased.
All final tipping of boiler signal goes to fuel trip valves.
Total Tripping of Boiler
The operation of boiler is being suspended if following parameters are beyond the
designed for safe operation of boilers.
(1) Drum level very low
(2) Drum level very high
(3) Furnace pressure very high
(4) Airflow very low.
(5) Burner management system failures.
Partial Tripping of Boiler
(1) Fuel oil Firing can be ceased if
(a) Fuel oil temperature is very low and beyond alarm set points
(b) Fuel oil pr. very high and low
(c) Fuel oil pumping failure.
(d) Fuel oil main flame off.
(2) Fuel gas firing can be suspended if
(a) Fuel gas main flame off
(b) Fuel gas pressure very low and high
(3) LDO and Coal Firing will stop if.
(a) LDO main flame off.
(b) LDO pressure very low and high
(c) Coal stoker unit problem.
4. Burner Management System:
The basic role of this system is
(1) To protect the boiler against abnormal rise of parameter
(2) To assure the flame Ignition, flame monitoring in side the furnace
(3) Fair safe tripping of boiler
(4) Equipment change over and protection
(5) To generate Alarm list & annunciation
(6) Management & distribution of different fuel, based on availability of fuel
(7) To diagnosed the falls or actual tripping of system.
The burner management system is very much critical for boiler operation point of
view. Hence 100% redundancy & reliability shall be assured. The logics can be
developed through relay or PLC. New trend is mixed type PLC + relay. Relay
system shall be such that if PLC fails relay system is available in standby for
tripping of boiler.