Print this page Boilers - Principles, Applications & Acceptance Testing
A. Bhatia, B.E.
Course Outline
Boilers are fuel-burning
appliances that produce either hot water or steam that gets circulated through
piping for heating or process uses. Boiler systems are major financial investments,
yet the methods for protecting these investments vary widely. Proper maintenance
and operation of boiler systems is important with regard to efficiency and reliability.
Without this attention, boilers can be very dangerous.
This 3-hr course material is based entirely on US Corps of Engineers Construction
Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) technical report 99:20, May 1999.
This course lists the Appendix B of the report and other appendices have been
listed separately.
The course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to
enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Learn to identify the different types of steam (and water) boilers;
- Become familiar with the terms and general principles of the basic boiler;
- Acquire basic information about boiler construction and components such as safety valves, instrumentation, venting and pressure control devices;
- Learn about feed water, steam and hot water components and understand how these interrelate;
- Understand various type of fuel and combustion equipment such as burners in gas fired and oil fired applications;
- Learn the theories behind combustion, water flow, heat transfer, and oxygen, water, and fuel reactions;
- Understand the boiler design and sizing;
- Gain knowledge about safe boiler practices;
- Learn basic boiler performance testing methods and procedures; and
- Be able to communicate
effectively with boiler professionals and make better decisions affecting
the boiler and facility.
Intended Audience
This course is aimed at beginners, novice engineers, building services design engineers, end users, facility engineers, architects, maintenance supervisors, contractors, energy auditors, O & M technicians, layout professionals and general audience.
Course Introduction
The boiler heats the water for circulation through the system. The objectives of a boiler are:
- To release the energy in the fuel as efficiently as possible.
- To transfer the released energy to the water, and to generate steam as efficiently as possible.
- To separate
the steam from the water ready for export to the plant, where the energy can
be transferred to the process as efficiently as possible.
A number of different
boiler types have been developed to suit the various steam applications. This
course provides basic knowledge of the fundamentals of steam and hot water boiler
types, design, operation, and how the components of a steam generation plant
interrelate. The objective of this course is to enable the participant to develop
an understanding of the problems and solutions related to steam boiler applications.
Course Content
In this course, you are required to study the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) technical report 99:20, May 1999 Appendix B.You need to open or download above document to study this course.
Course SummaryBoiler designs can be classified in three main divisions - fire-tube boilers, water-tube boilers, and electric boilers. Modern steam boilers come in all sizes to suit both large and small applications...
Fire-tube boilers
rely on hot gases circulating through the boiler inside tubes that are submerged
in water. These gases usually make several passes through the tubes, thereby
transferring their heat through the tube walls and causing the water to boil
on the other side. Fire-tube boilers are generally available in the range of
20 through 800 boiler horsepower (bhp) and in pressures up to 150 psi.
Water-tube boilers: Most high-pressure and large boilers are of this type. It
is important to note that the small tubes in the water-tube boiler can withstand
high pressure better than the large vessels of a fire-tube boiler. In the water-tube
boiler, gases flow over water-filled tubes. These water-filled tubes are in
turn connected to large containers called drums. Water-tube boilers are available
in sizes ranging from a smaller residential type to very large utility class
boilers. Boiler pressures range from 15 psi through pressures exceeding 5000
psi.
Electric boilers: Electric boilers are very efficient sources of hot water or
steam, which are available in ratings from 5 to over 50,000 kW. They can provide
sufficient heat for any HVAC requirement in applications ranging from humidification
to primary heat sources.
A boiler is rated by the amount of heat it can produce in an hour. The maximum
amount of heat the system can put out is limited first by the size of the boiler
selected. Boiler efficiency increases when the boiler runs for long periods
of time, so the unit selected should not be oversized or it will run intermittently
and be less efficient. Hot water boilers may use oil, gas, propane gas, coal,
or electricity as fuel. Oil and gas boilers are most commonly used in residences
and facilities requiring space heating.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
