Utility boiler 7 is undergoing Remnant life assessment as per IBR section

391A which states that if the steam temperature is below 400.c then it
has to follow RLA as per table 2. Other than IBR we also have Indian Boiler
Act of 1923 and Boiler Operator Engineering Rule which governs usage of
boilers in industries. The tests done as per RLA are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Visual inspection
Ultrasonic thickness measurement
Ultrasonic flaw detection
In-situ metallography
Fibroscopy inspection
Dye penetrant testing
Magnetic particle inspection
Hardness test
Deposit analysis

The utility boiler under RLA which is UB 7 has an output of 80T/Hr and
operates at a pressure of 38 bar which makes it a medium pressure boiler.
The construction is water tube with one steam drum and one mud drum. It
is the only boiler in KR to employ a rotary regenerative preheater which is
nothing but a rotating disk whose upper surface is exposed to the flue gas
which comes out through economiser outlet region while the lower surface
is exposed to the incoming air sucked in by the forced draught fan. The
material used in RAPH is cor-ten A with enamel coating.
The working of the boiler is explained below. The feed water pump takes
in water from the feed water area and passes it to the economiser where
it is heated by the exhaust flue gases to a temperature below the boiling
point. Then the water moves on to the steam drum where it mixes with
the water already present inside the steam drum which helps in reducing
the thermal stress. The water from the steam drum comes down via the
down-comer tubes or the bank tubes which leads to the mud drum. The
tubes are kept outside the heater area as we dont want the water inside
the down-comer to evaporate which can complicate circulation. The mud
drum separates the impurities from the feed water where by the
impurities settle at the bottom and can be removed later and hence the
name mud drum. The water from the mud drum moves via the riser tubes
to the steam drum which are heated by the burners. The heating area
including the burners and the riser tubes is collectively called the
evaporator section. The water inside the riser tubes evaporate and form
steam. The mixture of steam and water moves on the steam drum where
the steam separates. The saturated steam moves on to the super-heater
section while the water comes down via the down-comer tubes. The
process repeats.
Materials used for the tubes are carbon steel which can withstand a
temperature up to 425. The burner temperature can go up to 800. But the
water inside the tubes takes away the heat without which the tubes would

have melted. The area behind the tubes are covered with refractory bricks
for heat insulation. The super-heater section further heats up the steam so
it has to withstand higher temperatures. So it is made of P22 alloy steel
which can withstand up to 560.
The following facts are corresponding to UB 7 exclusively. The control
room is towards west while the flare of IREP is taken as North. Once you
enter through the west manhole, on the right we can see 2 burners. The
refractory area surrounding the burner region is called as Burner side
refractory. The exactly opposite region facing the burners is called Rear
side refractory. The side wall refractory are between the two. To make
things simpler, the burner side is south, the rear side is north. The west
side refractory is called D tube due to its characteristic shape which
connects steam drum to the mud drum. The flow inside the tubes inside
the heater is from bottom to upward. Between the rear side refractory and
the east side refractory, we can find a small opening which houses the
super heater coils. Beyond the super heater tubes and protected from the
burners direct impingement are the bank tubes or the down comer tubes.
3 circuits are active inside UB7. The circuits are mentioned below.
1. Flue gas circuit
2. Water and steam circuit
3. Air circuit
Flue gas is the gas created as a result of burning the fuel in the presence
of air. Its temperature will go up to 800. The flue gas heats up the riser
tubes including the D tubes and moves on to further heat up the steam
inside the steam super heater. Then the flue gas moves to heat up the
economiser section and finally the rotary air preheater which in turn heats
the incoming air. The bank tubes are also heated a bit by the flue gas
(need to be checked). The flue gas in turn moves on to the stack which is
a red skirted building in the north direction.
Water circuit begins from feed water pumps which moves to the
economiser and then to steam drum where it moves down to the down
comer tubes to the mud drum. From the mud drum water gets converted
to steam and further goes into the steam drum from where water and
steam separates. Steam goes into super heater and water moves into
down comer. The steam in then sent into plant for utility purposes.
Air circuit begins with the forced draught fan which supplies air needed for
combustion. The air moves in to the air preheater from where it moves on
the wind box situated right outside the burner and from where air is
injected for combustion. From this moment air circuit and flue gas circuit
becomes one.
PROBLEM AREAS

Near the burner due to extreme heat, the refractory will fuse
together which is called as burner refractory flux.
Sagging can happen in the tubes which if more than 50% of the OD
needs to be replaced.
Bulging if more than 5% of OD is a reason for replacement
Pitting if more than 3mm is a reason for replacement

Dew point corrosion happens in the low temperature areas such as the
economiser outlet region where the SO2 in the flue gas reacts with water
to form sulphuric acid which can cause large scale pitting. If the
economiser outlet is free of dew point corrosion, then the whole heater
system will be free of it.
The floor area near the burner inside the heater has a glass like deposition
which is fusing of fuel oil and impurities under high temperature.