A. Kaupp, e-mail: webmaster@kaupp.

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Boiler specifications
Issue
Boilers are sold with a guaranteed design efficiency and capacity.

Learning Objectives

Understanding name plate information Knowing how to convert from one unit to the other Developing of skills to estimate the true capacity of the boiler Reporting boiler operating hours correctly Assessing to what extend a boiler is overloaded or underloaded Developing a proper boiler hour reporting sheet.

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1. Boiler capacities
Operating an oversized boiler increases fuel consumption, while operation of an undersized boiler also increases fuel consumption and in addition causes increased repair and maintenance as well as capacity problems. Selecting the correct boiler size and minimizing investment life cycle costs is the objective. It is sometimes difficult to understand boiler capacity terminology because not all manufacturers stick to norms when advertising boiler capacities. In the literature, sales brochures, tender documents, and on boiler name plates you may find the following references to boiler capacity: The boiler has 180 b.h.p Capacity is 15 tons/hour Nutzwrmeleistung 15 MW Heat output 15 Million BTU/hour Rated output equals ... Nominal output equals ...

Understanding the true meaning of these terms helps to ask the right questions if one is not so sure about the real output of the boiler.

2. The concept of boiler horsepower (bhp)

This term is very old (100 years) but still used and found on name plates of boilers. One bhp is the evaporation of 34.5 pounds (= 15.648 kg) of water per hour from a temperature of 212oF (=100oC) into dry saturated steam at the same temperature. Equivalent to 33,472 BTU/h (= 35.291 MJ/h). A boiler rated 1,000 bhp has therefore enough heating surface to adsorb 1,000 * 35.291 = 35,291 MJ/h of energy to the steam-water circuit. The steam-water circuit includes the heat adsorbed by the blowdown, according to the American and German norm. A boiler rated at 30 bar and 1,000 bhp will not have a guaranteed generation of 1,000 * 34.5 / 2,204.75 = 15.6 tons of steam per hour because as stated, the term bhp refers to heating water from and at 100 oC.

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Boiler horsepower ratings are rapidly phased out and rarely found in new boiler installations, except for American boilers.

3. The concept of tons of steam/hour

This term is the most informative and easiest to understand if it refers to steam properties the boiler is designed for. However one better asks whether the capacity refers to tons of steam/hour from and at 100 oC, or to tons of steam/hour at say 30 bar and 350 oC at nominal output and standard operating procedures.

4. The concept of heat output

This term is normed and the same in the American and German norm (Nutzwrmeleistung). It means the adsorbed heat in the steam-water circuit at specific operating conditions. The only difference are the units. Countries that have adapted the SI unit express the heat output in MW, others refer to BTU/hour. The official conversion is 1 BTU = 1,054.35 Joule and 1 MW = 3,600 MJ/h In practice the rated or nominal heat output is the continuos maximum heat adsorption capacity of the boiler. To what extend all this heat is used to generate steam or some is discharged through blowdown depends on the operation. Boiler rated heat output selection is done much more generous than electric motor or combustion engine output selection, since marginal costs of boiler capacity are small. In fact there is more concern that boilers are oversized to cope with large fluctuating steam demands.

5. Pressure ratings
On the name plate of boilers you may find its pressure rating in either bar, kPa, or psi. The pressure rating refers to the highest boiler drum pressure (= steam pressure) the boiler should be operated. The conversion factors are

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1 psi = 6,894.8 Pa

= 6.8948 kPa 100 kPa

1 bar = 100,000 Pa =

The above units bar, kPa, and psi are also found on steam pressure gages. In addition the unit kp/cm2 (or kg/cm2) is occasionally found on gages. 1 kp/cm2 = 0.9807 bar 1 kg/cm2 = 1 atm Depending on the type of gage, the steam pressure is either measured in absolute terms, that means the instrument measures the true pressure of the steam against the steam drum and pipe walls, or the differential pressure between steam pressure and ambient pressure is shown. To know which pressure is shown by the instrument is important for steam calculations.

6. Definition of parameters of boiler operation

One of the less pleasant situations in boiler efficiency testing is the lack of vital information in boiler logbooks. Often a logbook doesnt exist at all. Efficiency testing is also a first step to advise on other equally important issues such as boiler maintenance and fine tuning as well as investment in a new boiler, or the need for capacity expansion. These additional tasks are difficult to accomplish without a documented history of the boiler performance and utilization. We have adapted a few terms common in the operation of power plants to get a better overview about existing problems with a boiler that are hidden to an occasional visitor. The Dependable Capacity of a boiler is the maximum heat output under specific conditions for a given time interval (day, month, year). The Average Load is defined as Average load = Actual heat output Operating hours

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The Average Load shows how much of the Dependable Capacity is being utilized by the boiler. Average Load equals Dependable Capacity, means 100 % utilization. The Availability is defined as FOH + MOH + POH Availability = 1 100 Period hours The higher the percent Availability, the more the boiler is available to supply steam where
FOH = Forced outage hours (boiler or downstream failures) MOH = Maintenance outage hours (scheduled repair) POH = Planned outage hours (non operation due to events such as Sundays, two shifts, etc.)

The Capacity Factor is defined as Capacity Factor = Actual heat output 100 Rated heat output Period hours

The higher the Capacity Factor, the longer the unit is being used. Period hours may refer to any time frame from one day, a week, months, a year or time since commissioning of the boiler. For accounting purposes we assume 8,760 hours/year and 365 days/year. The rated heat output of the boiler is defined as given by the American or German norm. Several exercises deal with this subject.

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7. Data collection issues

The rated heat output of the boiler can be obtained from the manual, or even boiler plate. How to derive tons of steam/hour is shown in task 2. Recording FOH, MOH, and POH is a management matter. The only complication is therefore to record the Actual heat output of the reporting period. In the case of accumulating steam meters or accumulating feedwater meters there is no problem. In the latter case a reasonable percentage is subtracted from the feedwater flow to account for blowdown. If neither feedwater nor steam metering is available one needs to assess the output based on the fuel input adjusted by the boiler efficiency. One is mostly interested to quickly detect any serious inconsistencies of the reported fuel consumption versus boiler capacity as well as to judge the boiler management based on Average Load, Availability and Capacity Factor. Any inaccuracy in the boiler efficiency entering the calculation of the above terms doesnt matter. Often one can reduce operational costs of boiler operation by increasing the Availability and Capacity Factor rather than reducing thermal losses through retrofitting and improved monitoring.

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EXERCISES
Task 1
Convert the following pressure units: kp/cm2 16 bar 200 psi 993 kPa = _______ psi = ________ kPa = ______ = ________ bar = ________ kPa = ________ psi

1 atmosphere = __________ bar

State the difference between 15 bar absolute and 15 bar gauge pressure. _______ bar

Task 2
Assume there was an error in the pressure reading of saturated steam. A value of 45 bar was mistakenly recorded as absolute pressure although the instrumentation measures the gauge pressure. Repeat this exercise with saturated steam at 5 bar.
Results 45 bar The incorrect steam enthalpy is The correct steam enthalpy should be The error equals The incorrect steam temperature is The correct steam temperature should be The error equals
MJ/kg MJ/kg %
o

5 bar
MJ/kg MJ/kg %
o

C C

C C

Task 3

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Consider a boiler of a small power plant. Steam properties are 40 bar and 450 oC. Convert the statement The boiler has a heat output of 40 MW into The boiler has _________ bhp The capacity is ________ tons/h from and at 100 oC The capacity is ________ tons/h of life steam The unit has an electrical power output of about ______ MW

Feedwater input conditions are 125 C and 50 bar. Calculate first the adsorbed heat.

Task 4
Plant operators insist that a boiler generates 25 tons of steam (15 bar, saturated) per hour. The available boiler documentation indicates that the boiler has a guaranteed rating of 13 MW. Do you believe what you were told? Justify your answer. The information is correct false, because

_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Task 5
How large is the error if we assume a boiler has a capacity of 25 ton/hour of steam at and from 100 oC instead of 25 ton/hour life steam at 10 bar saturated. The error is _________ % at most Repeat the exercise for steam at 40 bar and 480 oC. The error is _________ % at most

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Task 6
Making sense of information provided by boiler owners about fuel consumption, operating hours and nominal capacity is sometimes not easy and requires detective skills to identify possible inconsistencies. In the first part of this exercise we explore the concepts of Average Load, Availability and Capacity Factor. In the second part examples of inconsistencies are discussed. (1) The attached sheet of a boiler logbook shows a monthly record of a 12 t/h boiler that generates saturated steam at 10 bar in a soap factory. The operator has recorded the forced, maintenance, and planned outage hours. Also recorded is the daily fuel consumption. The daily fuel consumption is obtained from measuring the fuel level in the day tank. The fuel is Bunker C oil. Assume a feedwater temperature of 80 oC and blowdown of 10 % of feedwater input. The rated heat output is ____________MJ/h or _____MW (2) Analyze the boiler logbook and point out inconsistencies and critical areas, where you could perhaps reduce energy consumption by changing operational procedures. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________