Chapter 32
In commercial tests where the service requires continuous operation night and day, with frequent shifts of firemen, the duration of the test, whether the boilers are hand fired or stoker fired, should be at least 24 hours. Likewise in commercial tests, either of a single boiler or of a plant of several boilers, which operate regularly a certain number of hours and during the balance of the day the fires are banked, the duration should not be less than 24 hours.
The duration of tests to determine the maximum evaporative capacity of a boiler, without determining the efficiency, should not be less than 3 hours.
7. STARTING AND STOPPING
The conditions regarding the temperature of the furnace and boiler, the quantity and quality of the live coal and ash on the grates, the water level, and the steam pressure, should be as nearly as possible the same at the end as at the beginning of the test.
To secure the desired equality of conditions with hand-fired boilers, the following method should be employed:
The furnace being well heated by a preliminary run, burn the fire low, and thoroughly clean it, leaving enough live coal spread evenly over the grate (say 2 to 4 inches),[64] to serve as a foundation for the new fire. Note quickly the thickness of the coal bed as nearly as it can be estimated or measured; also the water level,[65] the steam pressure, and the time, and record the latter as the starting time. Fresh coal should then be fired from that weighed for the test, the ashpit throughly cleaned, and the regular work of the test proceeded with. Before the end of the test the fire should again be burned low and cleaned in such a manner as to leave the same amount of live coal on the grate as at the start. When this condition is reached, observe quickly the water level,[65] the steam pressure, and the time, and record the latter as the stopping time. If the water level is not the same as at the beginning a correction should be made by computation, rather than by feeding additional water after the final readings are taken. Finally remove the ashes and refuse from the ashpit. In a plant containing several boilers where it is not practicable to clean them simultaneously, the fires should be cleaned one after the other as rapidly as may be, and each one after cleaning charged with enough coal to maintain a thin fire in good working condition. After the last fire is cleaned and in working condition, burn all the fires low (say 4 to 6 inches), note quickly the thickness of each, also the water levels, steam pressure, and time, which last is taken as the starting time. Likewise when the time arrives for closing the test, the fires should be quickly cleaned one by one, and when this work is completed they should all be burned low the same as the start, and the various observations made as noted. In the case of a large boiler having several furnace doors requiring the fire to be cleaned in sections one after the other, the above directions pertaining to starting and stopping in a plant of several boilers may be followed.
To obtain the desired equality of conditions of the fire when a mechanical stoker other than a chain grate is used, the procedure should be modified where practicable as follows:
Regulate the coal feed so as to burn the fire to the low condition required for cleaning. Shut off the coal-feeding mechanism and fill the hoppers level full. Clean the ash or dump plate, note quickly the depth and condition of the coal on the grate, the water level,[66] the steam pressure, and the time, and record the latter as the starting time. Then start the coal-feeding mechanism, clean the ashpit, and proceed with the regular work of the test.
When the time arrives for the close of the test, shut off the coal-feeding mechanism, fill the hoppers and burn the fire to the same low point as at the beginning. When this condition is reached, note the water level, the steam pressure, and the time, and record the latter as the stopping time. Finally clean the ashplate and haul the ashes.
In the case of chain grate stokers, the desired operating conditions should be maintained for half an hour before starting a test and for a like period before its close, the height of the throat plate and the speed of the grate being the same during both of these periods.
8. RECORDS
A log of the data should be entered in notebooks or on blank sheets suitably prepared in advance. This should be done in such manner that the test may be divided into hourly periods, or if necessary, periods of less duration, and the leading data obtained for any one or more periods as desired, thereby showing the degree of uniformity obtained.
Half-hourly readings of the instruments are usually sufficient. If there are sudden and wide fluctuations, the readings in such cases should be taken every 15 minutes, and in some instances oftener.
The coal should be weighed and delivered to the firemen in portions sufficient for one hour's run, thereby ascertaining the degree of uniformity of firing. An ample supply of coal should be maintained at all times, but the quantity on the floor at the end of each hour should be as small as practicable, so that the same may be readily estimated and deducted from the total weight.
The records should be such as to ascertain also the consumption of feed water each hour and thereby determine the degree of uniformity of evaporation.
9. QUALITY OF STEAM[67]
If the boiler does not produce superheated steam the percentage of moisture in the steam should be determined by the use of a throttling or separating calorimeter. If the boiler has superheating surface, the temperature of the steam should be determined by the use of a thermometer inserted in a thermometer well.
For saturated steam construct a sampling pipe or nozzle made of one-half inch iron pipe and insert it in the steam main at a point where the entrained moisture is likely to be most thoroughly mixed. The inner end of the pipe, which should extend nearly across to the opposite side of the main, should be closed and interior portion perforated with not less than twenty one-eighth inch holes equally distributed from end to end and preferably drilled in irregular or spiral rows, with the first hole not less than half an inch from the wall of the pipe.
The sampling pipe should not be placed near a point where water may pocket or where such water may effect the amount of moisture contained in the sample. Where non-return valves are used, or there are horizontal connections leading from the boiler to a vertical outlet, water may collect at the lower end of the uptake pipe and be blown upward in a spray which will not be carried away by the steam owing to a lack of velocity. A sample taken from the lower part of this pipe will show a greater amount of moisture than a true sample. With goose-neck connections a small amount of water may collect on the bottom of the pipe near the upper end where the inclination is such that the tendency to flow backward is ordinarily counterbalanced by the flow of steam forward over its surface; but when the velocity momentarily decreases the water flows back to the lower end of the goose-neck and increases the moisture at that point, making it an undesirable location for sampling. In any case it must be borne in mind that with low velocities the tendency is for drops of entrained water to settle to the bottom of the pipe, and to be temporarily broken up into spray whenever an abrupt bend or other disturbance is met.
If it is necessary to attach the sampling nozzle at a point near the end of a long horizontal run, a drip pipe should be provided a short distance in front of the nozzle, preferably at a pocket formed by some fitting and the water running along the bottom of the main drawn off, weighed, and added to the moisture shown by the calorimeter; or, better, a steam separator should be installed at the point noted.
In testing a stationary boiler the sampling pipe should be located as near as practicable to the boiler, and the same is true as regards the thermometer well when the steam is superheated. In an engine or turbine test these locations should be as near as practicable to throttle valve. In the test of a plant where it is desired to get complete information, especially where the steam main is unusually long, sampling nozzles or thermometer wells should be provided at both points, so as to obtain data at either point as may be required.
10. SAMPLING AND DRYING COAL
During the progress of test the coal should be regularly sampled for the purpose of analysis and determination of moisture.
Select a representative shovelful from each barrow-load as it is drawn from the coal pile or other source of supply, and store the samples in a cool place in a covered metal receptacle. When all the coal has thus been sampled, break up the lumps, thoroughly mix the whole quantity, and finally reduce it by the process of repeated quartering and crushing to a sample weighing about 5 pounds, the largest pieces being about the size of a pea. From this sample two one-quart air-tight glass fruit jars, or other air-tight vessels, are to be promptly filled and preserved for subsequent determinations of moisture, calorific value, and chemical composition. These operations should be conducted where the air is cool and free from drafts.
When the sample lot of coal has been reduced by quartering to, say, 100 pounds, a portion weighing, say, 15 to 20 pounds should be withdrawn for the purpose of immediate moisture determination. This is placed in a shallow iron pan and dried on the hot iron boiler flue for at least 12 hours, being weighed before and after drying on scales reading to quarter ounces.
The moisture thus determined is approximately reliable for anthracite and semi-bituminous coals, but not for coals containing much inherent moisture. For such coals, and for all absolutely reliable determinations the method to be pursued is as follows:
Take one of the samples contained in the glass jars, and subject it to a thorough air drying, by spreading it in a thin layer and exposing it for several hours to the atmosphere of a warm room, weighing it before and after, thereby determining the quantity of surface moisture it contains.[68] Then crush the whole of it by running it through an ordinary coffee mill or other suitable crusher adjusted so as to produce somewhat coarse grains (less than 1/16 inch), thoroughly mix the crushed sample, select from it a portion of from 10 to 50 grams,[69] weigh it in a balance which will easily show a variation as small as 1 part in 1000, and dry it for one hour in an air or sand bath at a temperature between 240 and 280 degrees Fahrenheit. Weigh it and record the loss, then heat and weigh again until the minimum weight has been reached. The difference between the original and the minimum weight is the moisture in the air-dried coal. The sum of the moisture thus found and that of the surface moisture is the total moisture.
11. ASHES AND REFUSE
The ashes and refuse withdrawn from the furnace and ashpit during the progress of the test and at its close should be weighed so far as possible in a dry state. If wet the amount of moisture should be ascertained and allowed for, a sample being taken and dried for this purpose. This sample may serve also for analysis and the determination of unburned carbon and fusing temperature.
The method above described for sampling coal may also be followed for obtaining a sample of the ashes and refuse.
12. CALORIFIC TESTS AND ANALYSES OF COAL
The quality of the fuel should be determined by calorific tests and analysis of the coal sample above referred to.[70]
13. ANALYSES OF FLUE GASES
For approximate determinations of the composition of the flue gases, the Orsat apparatus, or some modification thereof, should be employed. If momentary samples are obtained the analyses should be made as frequently as possible, say, every 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the skill of the operator, noting at the time the sample is drawn the furnace and firing conditions. If the sample drawn is a continuous one, the intervals may be made longer.
14. SMOKE OBSERVATIONS[71]
In tests of bituminous coals requiring a determination of the amount of smoke produced, observations should be made regularly throughout the trial at intervals of 5 minutes (or if necessary every minute), noting at the same time the furnace and firing conditions.
15. CALCULATION OF RESULTS
The methods to be followed in expressing and calculating those results which are not self-evident are explained as follows:
(A) _Efficiency._ The "efficiency of boiler, furnace and grate" is the relation between the heat absorbed per pound of coal fired, and the calorific value of one pound of coal.
The "efficiency of boiler and furnace" is the relation between the heat absorbed per pound of combustible burned, and the calorific value of one pound of combustible. This expression of efficiency furnishes a means for comparing one boiler and furnace with another, when the losses of unburned coal due to grates, cleanings, etc., are eliminated.
The "combustible burned" is determined by subtracting from the weight of coal supplied to the boiler, the moisture in the coal, the weight of ash and unburned coal withdrawn from the furnace and ashpit, and the weight of dust, soot, and refuse, if any, withdrawn from the tubes, flues, and combustion chambers, including ash carried away in the gases, if any, determined from the analysis of coal and ash. The "combustible" used for determining the calorific value is the weight of coal less the moisture and ash found by analysis.
The "heat absorbed" per pound of coal, or combustible, is calculated by multiplying the equivalent evaporation from and at 212 degrees per pound of coal or combustible by 970.4.
Other items in this section which have been treated elsewhere are:
(B) Corrections for moisture in steam.
(C) Correction for live steam used.
(D) Equivalent evaporation.
(E) Heat balance.
(F) Total heat of combustion of coal.
(G) Air for combustion and the methods recommended for calculating these results are in accordance with those described in different portions of this book.
16. DATA AND RESULTS
The data and results should be reported in accordance with either the short form or the complete form, adding lines for data not provided for, or omitting those not required, as may conform to the object in view.
17. CHART
In trials having for an object the determination and exposition of the complete boiler performance, the entire log of readings and data should be plotted on a chart and represented graphically.
18. TESTS WITH OIL AND GAS FUELS
Tests of boilers using oil or gas for fuel should accord with the rules here given, excepting as they are varied to conform to the particular characteristics of the fuel. The duration in such cases may be reduced, and the "flying" method of starting and stopping employed.
The table of data and results should contain items stating character of furnace and burner, quality and composition of oil or gas, temperature of oil, pressure of steam used for vaporizing and quantity of steam used for both vaporizing and for heating.
TABLE DATA AND RESULTS OF EVAPORATIVE TEST SHORT FORM, CODE OF 1912
1 Test of.................boiler located at................................ to determine...............conducted by.............................. 2 Kind of furnace.......................................................... 3 Grate surface.................................................square feet 4 Water-heating surface.........................................square feet 5 Superheating surface..........................................square feet 6 Date..................................................................... 7 Duration............................................................hours 8 Kind and size of coal....................................................
AVERAGE PRESSURES, TEMPERATURES, ETC.
9 Steam pressure by gauge............................................pounds 10 Temperature of feed water entering boiler.........................degrees 11 Temperature of escaping gases leaving boiler......................degrees 12 Force of draft between damper and boiler...........................inches 13 Percentage of moisture in steam, or number degrees of superheating..................per cent or degrees
TOTAL QUANTITIES
14 Weight of coal as fired[72]........................................pounds 15 Percentage of moisture in coal...................................per cent 16 Total weight of dry coal consumed..................................pounds 17 Total ash and refuse...............................................pounds 18 Percentage of ash and refuse in dry coal.........................per cent 19 Total weight of water fed to the boiler[73]........................pounds 20 Total water evaporated, corrected for moisture in steam............pounds 21 Total equivalent evaporation from and at 212 degrees...............pounds
HOURLY QUANTITIES AND RATES
22 Dry coal consumed per hour.........................................pounds 23 Dry coal per square feet of grate surface per hour.................pounds 24 Water evaporated per hour corrected for quality of steam...........pounds 25 Equivalent evaporation per hour from and at 212 degrees............pounds 26 Equivalent evaporation per hour from and at 212 degrees per square foot of water-heating surface........................pounds
CAPACITY
27 Evaporation per hour from and at 212 degrees (same as Line 25).....pounds 28 Boiler horse power developed (Item 27÷34½).............boiler horse power 29 Rated capacity, in evaporation from and at 212 degrees per hour....pounds 30 Rated boiler horse power...............................boiler horse power 31 Percentage of rated capacity developed...........................per cent
ECONOMY RESULTS
32 Water fed per pound of coal fired (Item 19÷Item 14)................pounds 33 Water evaporated per pound of dry coal (Item 20÷Item 16)...........pounds 34 Equivalent evaporation from and at 212 degrees per pound of dry coal (Item 21÷Item 16)...................................pounds 35 Equivalent evaporation from and at 212 degrees per pound of combustible [Item 21÷(Item 16-Item 17)]......................pounds
EFFICIENCY
36 Calorific value of one pound of dry coal.........................B. t. u. 37 Calorific value of one pound of combustible......................B. t. u.
( Item 34×970.4) 38 Efficiency of boiler, furnace and grate (100 × -------------)....per cent ( Item 36 )
( Item 35×970.4) 39 Efficiency of boiler and furnace (100 × -------------)...........per cent ( Item 37 )
COST OF EVAPORATION
40 Cost of coal per ton of......pounds delivered in boiler room......dollars 41 Cost of coal required for evaporating 1000 pounds of water from and at 212 degrees........................................dollars
THE SELECTION OF BOILERS WITH A CONSIDERATION OF THE FACTORS DETERMINING SUCH SELECTION
The selection of steam boilers is a matter to which the most careful thought and attention may be well given. Within the last twenty years, radical changes have taken place in the methods and appliances for the generation and distribution of power. These changes have been made largely in the prime movers, both as to type and size, and are best illustrated by the changes in central station power-plant practice. It is hardly within the scope of this work to treat of power-plant design and the discussion will be limited to a consideration of the boiler end of the power plant.
As stated, the changes have been largely in prime movers, the steam generating equipment having been considered more or less of a standard piece of apparatus whose sole function is the transfer of the heat liberated from the fuel by combustion to the steam stored or circulated in such apparatus. When the fact is considered that the cost of steam generation is roughly from 65 to 80 per cent of the total cost of power production, it may be readily understood that the most fruitful field for improvement exists in the boiler end of the power plant. The efficiency of the plant as a whole will vary with the load it carries and it is in the boiler room where such variation is largest and most subject to control.
The improvements to be secured in the boiler room results are not simply a matter of dictation of operating methods. The securing of perfect combustion, with the accompanying efficiency of heat transfer, while comparatively simple in theory, is difficult to obtain in practical operation. This fact is perhaps best exemplified by the difference between test results and those obtained in daily operation even under the most careful supervision. This difference makes it necessary to establish a standard by which operating results may be judged, a standard not necessarily that which might be possible under test conditions but one which experiment shows can be secured under the very best operating conditions.
The study of the theory of combustion, draft, etc., as already given, will indicate that the question of efficiency is largely a matter of proper relation between fuel, furnace and generator. While the possibility of a substantial saving through added efficiency cannot be overlooked, the boiler design of the future must, even more than in the past, be considered particularly from the aspect of reliability and simplicity. A flexibility of operation is necessary as a guarantee of continuity of service.
In view of the above, before the question of the selection of boilers can be taken up intelligently, it is necessary to consider the subjects of boiler efficiency and boiler capacity, together with their relation to each other.
The criterion by which the efficiency of a boiler plant is to be judged is the cost of the production of a definite amount of steam. Considered in this sense, there must be included in the efficiency of a boiler plant the simplicity of operation, flexibility and reliability of the boiler used. The items of repair and upkeep cost are often high because of the nature of the service. The governing factor in these items is unquestionably the type of boiler selected.