Indian Journal of Chemical Teclulology

Vol. 3, March 1996, pp. 61-66

Modelling and simulation of high pressure steam boilert

KAReddy
Centre for Research and Development, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited, SPIC Nagar,
Thticorin 628 005, India

The paper presents steady state model for the simulation of high pressure steam boiler. Models are
developed for the various sections of the boiler, viz., furnace, superheater, boiler bank and air heater. A
computer program is developed to solve these models. Simulation studies are carried out on an existing
high pressure (45 kglcm2) steam boiler at different loads and the results are compared with the design
and predicted values. The simulated results are in good agreement with the actual figures confirming the
validity of the models to predict the performance of the boiler at different loads.

Steam boilers are an integral part of chemical process industries catering to the heat and power demands of the process plants; In industrial environment, variations in operating loads of the process
plants are inevitable due tQ various reasons. Thus,
it becomes necessary to operate the boilers at different loads depending upon the plant loads. At
higher plant loads, the boilers have to generate
more steam to meet the process requirements and
at lower loads less amount of steam need to be
generated. Normally, the boilers are operated in
the range of 50-100% capacity in tune with the
plant loads.
To preqict the performance of the boiler at different loads, there is a need to develop theoretical
models for various sections of the boiler. With the
help of theoretical models, it should be possible to
predict the performance of the boiler at different
loads through simulation. This whole exercise of
modelling and simulation would help to understand the behaviour of boiler at different loads.
The better understanding of the behaviour of the
boiler at different loads will in turn help in improving the operational and energy efficiency of
the boiler. Most of the literature on steam boilers17 deals with the sizing, design and rating aspects
of the boilers but not on the modelling and simulation aspects. In this paper, an attempt is made to
develop model for an existing high pressure steam
boiler.

t'fhis paper was presented in the IICT Golden Jubilee

Symposoium on '~dvances in Chemical Engineering" held at
IICT, ~yderabad, during August 9-11, 1994.

Description of the Boiler

The boiler under consideration for simulation
in the present study is at a pressure of 45 kg/ cm2
and is designed to meet the steam demands of
urea and ammonia plants. The boiler is. supptied
by Mis BHEL, Trichy and was commissjoned in
the year 1974. The boiler consists of steaindrum,
mud drum, pressurized furnace, superheating coils,
boiler bank, air heater and desuperheater. The
boiler is designed for a maximum load of 85
tonnes/h with an exit steam temperature of
382C; The heavy fuel oil or low sulphur heavy
stock (LSHS) is used as fuel in the boiler. The design thermal efficiency of the boiler is around 87%
with the stack temperature at around 170C. A
cross-sectional view of the boiler is shown in Fig.
1.
Description of the Process
The boiler feed water free from all impurities
goes to the steam drum where it gets mixed with
the circulation water present in the steam drum.
The mixed up feed water then passes through the
downcomers in boiler bank and picks up sensible
heat before reaching the mud drum. From mud
drum, the feed water gets bifurcated into two
parts, one part passes through the riser tubes in
the boiler bank and the other passes through the
waterwall tubes. in the furnace. Change of phase
takes place in both risers and waterwall tubes and
steam gets generated. The steam water mixture
from risers and waterwall tubes enters the steam
drum where the steam gets separated from water.
The water that is separated from steam gets mixed
with the incoming make-up boiler feed water be-

62

INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., MARCH 1996

SH StfQn\ outllt

Boiler boRe

Fu. gas to

slaclc

Burllll"

Fig. I-Cross-sectional

fore entering the downcomers. A small quantity of

water from steam drum is tapped off as blowdown
water to control the build up of solids concentration in the circulation water. The dry saturated
steam from steam drum goes to the superheater
coils in the radiant zone and gets superheated (superheating of steam is normally done to remove
the wetness fraction in saturated steam when it is
to be used to drive turbines). The temperature of
the superheated steam 1S normally maintained at
the design value with the help of a desuperheater
located at the exit of the superheater.
The flue gases generated through the burning of
fuel oil in the furnace pass through the superheater coils, the boiler bank and the air heater before
entering the stack. In air heater, the air required
for combustion of fuel gets preheated to a higher
temperature and enters the furnace.
Development of Model for Boiler
Since the boiler consists of different sections
such as furnace, superheater, boiler bank and air
heater, models are developed separately for each
section. The equations used for developing the
models are in FPS units.
Model for furnace section-The basic equations
for solving the furnace section are taken from
Walas3.
The radiant zone heat transfer equation is

view of the boilt:r

= 1730[(Tg 1000
+460)4 _ (Tw1000
+ 460)4 + 7( Tg - Tw )]
... (1)

where
F
a

= a+ bE+

.. (2)

cE2

= 0.00064 + 0.0591Z+ 0.00101,22

b
c

= 1.0256 + 0.4908Z- 0.05Z2

= - 0.144 - 0.552Z+ 0.04Z2

=Aj(aAcp)

"'.

= a1 + b1(PL) + c1(PL)2
... (3)
= 0.47916 - 0.19847 W+ 0:022569WZ
= 0.047029 + 0.0699 W- 0.01528 WZ
= 0.000803 - 0.000726 W+ 0.001597 W2
= (Tg + 460)/1000
= 0.288 - 0.229x+ 0.09x2
= (2/3) (Furnace volume in ft3)O.33
= 1- [0.0277 + 0.0927(y-1)](y-l)
... (4)
= [a2 + b2( TilOOO - 0.05)]( ~/1000 - 0.05)
... (5)

a2
b2

= 0.22048 - 0.35027x+
= 0.016086 + 0.29393x-

0.92344x2
0.48139x2

Eqs (1 H 5) can be solved by trial and error to

get Tg, the flue gas temperature leaving the furnace
section. In the present work, these equations were
solved by using a non-linear subroutine program
based on Brown's method which does not require
Jacobians.
Radiant heat load of the furnace is calculated
by the heat balance equation

"lOW)'"

63

REDDY: SIMULATION OF HIGH PRESSURE STEAM BOILER

... (6)

The heat lost to the surroundings (QL) is normally about 2-3% of the total heat released in the
furnace.
Model for superheater section-Since
steam and
flue gas enter the superheater section from the
same end, this section is considered as parallel
flow type heat exchanger and hence the heat recovery equations for parallel flow are used. The
basic heat recovery equations for parallel flow2 are
(R+ BI)TI +(BI-l)Rtl
T=-------(R+

... (7)

I)BI

... (8)

The heat load taken by the waterwalls is nothing but the difference between the radiant heat
load in furnace and the radiant heat load in superheater, because part of the radiant load is 'taken
by the first row of superheater coils. Since the first
row of superheater coils account for 6% of the total radiant heat transfer area, the radiant load taken by the first row of superheater coils is taken as
6% of the radiant heat load in the furnace. Taking
X as the enthalpy required to produce 1 kg of dry
saturated steam from the saturation temperature,
the boiler bank heat load and the flue gas temperature leaving the boiler bank can be estimated using the following equations .
. . . (15)

Total enthalpy required, QT = XBL

where

Radiant heat load in superheater,

R=

Radiant heat load in waterwalls,

QRS

= 0.06 QR
... (16)

(wcCpc)/(

WhCph)= (TI

T2)/(t2 - tl)

QRW = QR - QRS

... (17)
BI =exp[( lL4Iwc Cpc)(R+ 1)]

Boiler bank heat load, QB =

The overall neat transfer coefficient U can be

estimated from the equation4

The flue gas temperature leaving the boiler

bank section can be estimated using the equation,

11 U=

dof(djhj)

+ (lIho) + 1[; (do Idj) + ffo

+ (d/24Km)

= (12kldo)B(

hn

= Eo[(Tg +460)4-(

Gd/121L)N
Tw+460)4M~

... (11)

- Tw) ... (12)

Tube side heat transfer coefficient

hi = 0.023( kldJ(Re)o.8 PrD.33

Model for air heater .section- This section contains two heat exchangers, namely hot gas air heater and cold gas air heater with the flue gas passing through tube side and the air passing across
the tubes in crossflow direction. Hence, the heat
transfer equations for two pass crossflow exchangers8 are used to derive the heat recovery equations
for air heatet.
The basic design equation is

Q= U AFT LMTD

...

... (13)
Superheater heat load can be estimated from the
equation

The heat load equation is

Qs=

QAH

T2)

(18)

... (19)

... (10)
he

...

... (9)

In(d/di)

Gas side hea:!transfer coefficient

WhCph(TI-

QT - QRW

(14)

Model for boiler bank section-This

section is
solved by heat. balance method. The water entering the mud drum gets bifurcated into two
streams; while one goes to riser tubes in boiler
bank the other goes to waterwall tubes in furnace
section. Steam gets generated in both waterwall
tubes and riser tubes.
Hence to develop the model for boiler bank
section, the total enthalpy required to produce the
given quantity of steam is equated with the heat
gained by water in both boiler bank and furnace.
From the heat balance, the temperature of flue gas
leaving the boiler bank section and the boiler bank
heat load are calculated .

= weCpc(t2

LMTD=

- tl)

WhC"h( TI - T2)

(~-t2)-(T2-tl)
In [(1; - t2MT2 - tl)]

(20T

... (21)

... (22)

... (23)

where

r=------2ln

1-(S/K)
[1-(SIK) In[[(l- ~~1K)]O.5- (SIK)]]
... (24)

64

INDIAN 1. CHEM. TECHNOL., MARCH 1996

(K-S)
'countcr

K=(

= In [(1-

TI -

5= (/2

TI -

T2)X

11M TI -

1-

... (25)
K)]

t, = 100 +
II)

and rearrangmg

one

...

(26)

where

J= __U_:A_S_(R~-_l)_
- S)

1=
l-(S/K)
C==(l-

l-(S/K)
Infl((l- SMlK)]05

S)/(l-

(S/K)]

K)

R"=(wcCpJ~WhCph)=(~

T2)XI2-1\)

Eq. (26) can be solved by trial and error to get

the temperature of flue gas leaving air heater.
In the present work this equation was solved by
the same subroutine which was used for solving
the flue gas temperature in the furnace section.
Since the air entering the air heater contains
moisture, the latent heat required to vaporize the
moisture should be considered for estimating the
T2,

--

23.48
17.52
396
400
288
205
4.82
240
940
Simulated
1004
Simulated
70
6.14
4.80
200
337
346
14.60
4.32
90
80
2.48
3.27
3.20
3.87
228
1.93
215
14.19
7.92
932
3520
1001
1182
6575
1110
155
3520
1015
5110
1115
5110
20
15
850
8.73
22.43
2.81
325
315
170
165
Predicted
161
813
182
Design

_W._h_C~rh_(

T_I_-_T_2)_--_W_c_Cp~c(_1_00_-_tl_)

eJ(\nC/JnJ)

We Cpc2(K

air outlet temperature. Thus, from heat balance,

the expression for the temperature of air leaving
air heater is

(I)

Eqs (20)-(25)

Combining
gets,
D=

S)X

50%
75% load
load

-_~W_mA

weCpc

... (27)

Simulation of the boiler

Before simulating the boiler, a computer program was developed to solve the algorithms for
each section. Using the computer program, the simulation of the boiler was carred out at three different loads of 100, 75 and 50%. For 100% load,
the simulated results are compared with the design
values but for 75 and 50% loads; the simulated
results are compared with the predicted values of
Enmas Engineering Report9 as they are not given
by the supplier. The simulated values could not be
compared with the actual operating data of the
boiler due to (i) air leak in air heater to flue gas
side and (ii) nonavailability of temperature recorders at the superheater inlet and outlet. The simulated results along with the design and predicted
values are presented in Table 1 for comparison.
Results and Discussion
The simulation results (Table 1)' indicate that
they are in good agreement with the design and
predicted values.
In furnace section, the gas leaving temperature
at the three different loads is matching well with
the actual figures with a maximum deviation of

Table I-Simulation
22.96
1012
6.15
5.41
340
391
238
70
28.22
6575
1190
162
load for steam boiler
15 100% results

'I

i """')""
I

4.

,."""",

..

",--------'"
65

REDDY: SIMULATION OF HIGH PRESSURE STEAM BOILER

14C at 50% load. The actual furnace heat loads

are not available for comparison. Since the gas
leaving temperature in furnace are matching well
with the design and predicted values, the simulated furnace loads are also expected to match well.
For superheater section, the gas leaving temperature is matching well at 100 and 7 5% loads but it
is deviating by 3rC at 50% load which is on the
higher side. The temp"erature of superheated steam
leaving the superheater section at the three loads
vary between 391 and 400C. Though the t~mperature data at the superheater outlet are not available for comparison, the simulated values may not
deviate much from the actual figures. The heat duty at 100% load for this section compares well
with the design figure but the duties are about 10%
higher at the low loads of 75 and 50%.
In boiler bank section, the gas leaving temperature obtained through simulation compares well at
100 and 75% loads but it is deviating by 27C at
50% load which is somewhat on the higher side.
The deviation ift heat load for this section at 100
and 75% loads is less (less than 3%) but it is high
(about 9%) at 50% load.
For air heater section, the deviations in both gas
and air leaving temperatures are somewhat high.
Also, the simulated heat loads for this section are
deviating more from the actual values. These higher deviations in air heater section may be due to
the assumptions made by Bowman et aL 8 in the
derivation of LMTD correction factor F T from
which the heat recovery equations for air heater
section are derived.
Conclusion
An attempt has been made in the present study
to develop model for the simulation of steam boiler. A computer program has been developed to
solve the algorithms for the various sections of the
boiler. The simulation results at three different
loads of 100, 75 and 50% have been compared
with the design and predicted values and they are
found to be matching fairly well.
Eventhough the model developed for the simulation of the boiler is able to predict the performance of the boiler fairly well at different loads,
there is further scope to improve the models for
individual sections especially boiler bank and air
heater.

Nomenclature
A
Aep
Aw

BL
Cpe
Cph

= heat transfer area, ft2

= cold plane area (Radiant
= refractory area, ft2
= boiler load, lb/h

heat transfer area), ft2

= specific heat of cold fluid, Btu/lb OF

= specific heat of hot fluid, Btu/lb OF

di

= inside

do

= outside tube diameter, ft

= gas emmissivity
= inside fouling factor,

ft
ffo

F
FT

G
he

hi

tube diameter, ft

ft2 h F/Btu

= outside fouling factor, ft2 h F/Btu

= exchange factor
= LMTP correction factor

= gas mass velocity, Ib/ft2 h

= convective heat transfer coefficient, Btu/h ft2 OF
= inside heat transfer coefficient, Btu/h ft2 OF

II.

= non luminous heat transfer coefficient, Btu/h ft2 OF

ho

= outside heat transfer coefficient, Btu/h ft2 op

= thermal conductivity of gas, Btu/h ft OF
= thermal conductivity of the metal, Btu/h ft OF
= mean beam length, ft

kg

Km

KI
= length of tube. ft
LMTD = logarithmic mean temperature difference, OP
Pr '= Prandtl's number %Cp ,u/kg
Re
= Reynolds' number = d, v pl,u
Nw
= number of,rows wide
P
= partial pressure of carbon dioxide + water vapour, atm
Q
= heat load, Btu/h
Q.
= enthalpy of entering air, Btu/h
QAH
= air heater heat load, Btu/h
QB
= boiler bank heat load, Btu/h
Qf
= enthalpy of fuel entering, Btu/h
Qg
= enthalpy of flue gas, Btu/h
QL
= heat loss of surroundings, Btu/h
Qn
= heat released by burning the fuel, Btu/h
QR
= radiant heat load in furnace section, Btu/h
Qs
= superheater heat load, Btu/h
QRS
= radiant heat load in superheater, Btu/h
QRW
= radiant heat load in waterwa1ls, Btu/h
QT
= total enthalpy required for saturated steam, Btu/h
ST
= transverse pitch, ft
/,
= cold fluid inlet temperature, OF
/2
= cold fluid outlet temperature, OF
TJ
= hot fluid inlet temperature, OF
12
= hot fluid outlet temperature, OF
= flue gas temperature, OP
Tg
Tw
= tube wall temperature, OF
U
= overall heat transfer coefficient, Btu/h ft2 OF
v
= velocity of the fluid inside the tube, ftl s
we
= mass flowrate of cold fluid, lb/h
Wh
= mass flowrate of hot fluid, lb/h
Wm
= moisture content in air, lb/h
x
= fraction excess air
X
= enthalpy of saturated steam, Btu/lb
y
= centre to centre spacing outside tube diameter

Greek letters

Acknowledgement
The author gratefully acknowledges the support
given by the Management of Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited in carrying out
this study.

a
p
,u

).

absorptivity
= density of the fluid, Ib/ft3
= viscosity of the fluid, lb/ft s
= Stefan.Boltzmann constant, Btu/h ft2 R4
= latent heat of vaporization for moisture in air, Btu/lb

66

INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., MARCH 1996

References
1 Modern power station practice, Vol 2: Mechanical boilers
(Pergamon Press, London), 1971.
2 Kern D Q, Process heat transfer (McGraw Hill, New York),
1950.
3 Walas S M, Chemical process equipment. selection and design (Butterworth Series in Chemical Engineering), 1988.

4
S
6
7
8

Ganapathy V, Chem Eng Progr, 88 (10) (1992) 70.

Ganapathy V, Chern Eng, 100( 1) (1993) 102.
Ganapathy V, Chern Eng Progr, 89(10) (1993) 27.
Ganapathy V, Chern Eng Progr, 90(12) (1994) 42.
Bowman R A, Mueller A C & Nagle W M, Trans ASME,
62(1940)283.
9 Internal report on perfonnance study of offsite boiler, Enmas
Engineering Private Limited, 1987 .

.I

"'II

1""