AD353-132
Rev 1
March 2006
SteamDrum
Windbox
Feedwater
Feedwater
Flue
Fuel Stack
Furnace
Air
Flue Gas ID Fan
Mud Drum
Air
FD Fan
Figure 1 Basic Water Tube Boiler
Improve Boiler Performance Maintain a High Level of Boiler Safety
A boiler operation must maximize boiler uptime and A modern control system will provide tight integration
performance. Upgrading the boiler control system is with the flame safety or burner management system
an inexpensive way to improve boiler efficiency and to improve safety. Having access to field data,
reliability. Modern controls can provide a quick diagnostics, and alarms, coupled with modern
electronic controls, can achieve the desired level of
1
See Applications Support at the back of this publication safety and security. Password security of
for a list of controllers. configuration software also assures no unintended
AD353-132
changes are made which could endanger site The boiler control system manipulates the firing rate
personnel and equipment. so that the supply of steam remains in balance with
the demand for steam over the full load range. In
Reduce Boiler Operating Costs addition, an adequate supply of feedwater must be
maintained, as must the correct air/fuel mixture for
A modern boiler control system can: safe, economical combustion.
• Improve combustion efficiency to reduce fuel
consumption by reducing excess air In the following sections, boiler control subsystems
• Reduce engineering , installation, and start-up will be discussed. This publication shows basic boiler
costs control diagrams applicable to most boiler control
• Reduce maintenance costs associated with older, systems.
less reliable equipment
• Reduce manpower requirements by automatically PLANT MASTER CONTROL
responding to load changes
• Allow creation of a flexible control strategy to Steam pressure is the key variable that indicates the
reduce or eliminate process upsets state of balance between the supply of steam and the
• Readily make data available for remote demand for steam. If supply exceeds demand, the
monitoring to determine process unit pressure will rise. Conversely, if demand exceeds
optimization, boiler efficiency, and load allocation supply, the pressure will fall. Figure 2 shows a single
loop control diagram that manipulates the firing rate
BOILER OPERATION demand to control steam pressure at the desired
setpoint.
The drum-type watertube boiler is the fundamental
Steam Header Pressure
steam generator for many industrial and utility
applications. The steam generated by a boiler may
PT-15
be used as a heat transfer fluid for process heating,
or it may be expanded in steam turbines to drive
rotating machinery such as fans, compressors, or
electric generators.
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A T A
f(x)
Fuel Valve
(jackshaft to air)
A T A A T A A T A
3
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T A T A O2 Trim Control
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PT-26 FT-27
Firing Rate Air/Fuel
Demand Ratio
f(x)
P I P I
T A Low Limit T A
A T Purge
FCV-26 f(x)
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The force driving this flow is the differential pressure speed or damper operation. This type of furnace is
between the gases inside the furnace and those operated slightly above atmospheric pressure.
outside the furnace. Furnace pressure is commonly
referred to as draft or draft pressure. The draft is Balanced Draft
maintained slightly negative to prevent the
combustion products and ash from being discharged Furnaces equipped with both FD and ID fans are
from the furnace into surrounding areas through called balanced draft systems. To control furnace
inspection ports, doors, feeders, etc. For greatest pressure, it is necessary to maintain a balance
efficiency, the controlled pressure should be as close between the flow in and the flow out of the furnace.
as possible to atmosphere thereby minimizing the Balanced draft furnaces operate at slightly negative
ingestion of “tramp air” or excess air drawn through pressures to prevent flue gas leakage into the
the openings in the furnace duct work that cool surroundings. However, too low a pressure must
combustion gases. also be avoided to minimize air leakage into the
furnace and, in the extreme, to prevent furnace
Furnaces are classified by the method for moving air implosion.
and other gases through the system.
As shown in Figure 9, the FD fan is generally
25% manipulated by the air flow controller, and the ID fan
damper is manipulated by the furnace pressure
controller. When the air flow controller manipulates
the flow into the furnace, pressure will be disturbed
unless there is a corresponding change to the flow
Flue Gas O2
Natural Draft
Air Flow Furnace
A natural draft furnace uses the stack (chimney) Controller Pressure
effect. Hot gases inside the stack are less dense
than those outside the chimney and will rise, creating FT-27
a vacuum (suction) which will draw combustion air
into the furnace. Natural draft furnaces naturally
operate below atmospheric pressure.
T A A
Induced Draft P I
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Boiler drum level control provides two benefits. It The single-element system is the simplest type used
maximizes steam quality and it maintains proper for controlling packaged firetube and watertube
drum level to prevent damage to the boiler. boilers. In this strategy, control is based on the boiler
drum level measurement only. This does not allow
The cylindrical vessel where the water-steam for compensation of shrink or swell and, therefore, is
interface occurs is called the boiler drum or steam an acceptable control strategy only for small boilers
drum. Boiler drum level is a critical variable in the with slow load changes.
safe operation of a boiler. A low drum level risks
uncovering the watertubes and exposing them to Two-Element Drum Level Control
heat stress and damage. High drum level risks water
carry over into the steam header and exposing steam In two-element control, steam flow and boiler drum
turbines or other equipment to corrosion and level are measured. The steam flow signal is used in
damage. The level problem is complicated by a feedforward control loop to anticipate the need for
inverse response transients known as shrink and an increase in feedwater to maintain a constant drum
swell. level. This strategy requires that the open loop
relationship between the steam flow transmitter
Simply put, shrink and swell refer to a decreased or signal and the feedwater flow remain constant.
an increased drum level signal due to the formation Boilers with moderate load changes can usually be
of fewer or more vapor bubbles in the water without a controlled with this strategy.
change in the amount of water in the drum. This
condition produces level changes during boiler load Three-Element Drum Level Control
changes in the opposite direction of what is expected
with a particular load change. Although only Three-element drum level control adds a feedwater
temporary, these changes can cause severe control flow signal to the steam flow and boiler drum level
system overshoot or undershoot. signals used in two-element drum level control. The
drum level controller manipulates the feedwater flow
In this section, the following types of drum level setpoint in conjunction with feedforward from the
control are discussed: single-element, two-element, steam flow measurement. The feedforward
and three-element; see Figure 10. Single/Three- component keeps the feedwater supply in balance
Element drum level control is discussed later. with the steam demand. The drum level controller
Drum Level Drum Level Steam Flow Drum Level Steam Flow Feedwater Flow
A A K A K
P I P I P I
Σ Σ
P I
T A T A T A
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trims the feedwater flow setpoint to compensate for DRUM PRESSURE COMPENSATION
errors in the flow measurements or any other
unmeasured load disturbances (e.g. blowdown) that When the design steam pressure exceeds 400 psig,
may affect the drum level. Three-element control is pressure compensation of the drum level signal is
used in boilers that experience wide, fast load recommended. Drum level measurement is a
changes, and is the most widely used control hydrostatic differential pressure measurement
strategy. between the top and bottom taps in the drum. Drum
level measurement is typically in ‘inWC’ (inches water
Single/Three-Element Drum Level Control column) and it is calculated based on the densities of
both the liquid and vapor phases. However, both
During startup or low load operation, the flow densities change with steam drum pressure affecting
measurements used in the three-element control the conversion calculation. The result is an
strategy may fall well below the rangeability limits of increasing error in drum level with increasing steam
these flowmeters. In this situation, three-element drum pressure. In pressure compensated drum level,
drum level control becomes erratic, and adding a the measured differential pressure signal is corrected
single loop (one-element) control strategy to control for the operating liquid and vapor densities.
the drum level will improve stability.
K
Compensated
P I P I Drum Level
Single-Element Low
T
Steam
Flow
T A
f(x)
Feedwater Valve
Figure 11 Single/Three-Element
Drum Level Control
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APPLICATION SUPPORT
Siemens sales representatives in the United States
Other Application Data sheets in this series can be and globally are available to provide additional
found at the Siemens public Internet site. A list or application support.
related boiler ADs is given below. Detailed
information about any function blocks mentioned in The control concepts in this publication can be
this publication can be found in the User’s Manual for implemented in any of the following controllers:
each controller. Model 353 Process Automation Controller, Model
353R Rack Mount Process Automation Controller
Other Boiler ADs: (i|pac™ Internet Control System), Model 352Plus™
Single-Loop Digital Controller, Model 354 Universal
AD353-101 Single Point Positioning Control Control Station, or Model 354N Universal Loop
AD353-102 Parallel Positioning Control Controller (model series 354 discontinued).
AD353-103 Full-Metered, Cross-Limited Control
AD353-104 O2 Trim Control
AD353-105 Boiler Drum Level (Feedwater) Control
AD353-106 Furnace (Draft) Pressure Control
Procidia, i|pac, i|config, and 352Plus are trademarks of Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. All product designations may be trademarks or product names of Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. or other supplier
companies whose use by third parties for their own purposes could violate the rights of the owners.
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. assumes no liability for errors or omissions in this document or for the application and use of information
in this document. The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. is not responsible for changes to product functionality after the publication of this document. Customers
are urged to consult with a Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. sales representative to confirm the applicability of the information in this
document to the product they purchased.
Control circuits are provided only to assist customers in developing individual applications. Before implementing any control circuit, it should
be thoroughly tested under all process conditions.