Boiler problems encountered in

FRONT & REAR VALVE FIRING BOILER

 The Boiler , Turbine and Generator (BTG) and their auxiliaries have
been supplied by M/s. Dongfang Electric Corporation, China.

 The 230 KV and 400 KV GIS equipments have been supplied and
supervising the erection by M/s. Areva, France.

 Expected power generation from this project – 14.4 million units / day

 The water requirement will be met out by utilizing the 76 Cusecs

water , which is already permitted by the Tamil Nadu government
during 1985 from the river Cavery .

 The project work was commenced on 25.06.2008 with the schedule

period of completion of 36 months and trial operation of 3 months
totaling to 39 months.

 The Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the project is 12.10.2013.

 STATION

87.32

6.86
0.76 5.06

Availability Factor % Planned Outage %

Forced Outages % Reserved Outage %
Boiler Design Parameters
 600 MW BOILER DETAILS
Manufacturer : M/s Dong fang Electric Company, China.
Design Parameters :
Type : Subcritical, Natural circulation, opposed Wall firing,
once reheating, single furnace, balanced draft, Dry
Bottom Boiler.
Type of Firing : Front & Rear Firing having 4 burner Elevations, each
elevation having 5 burners.
Max. Continuous Rating : 2028 T/hr.
Steam pressure at super heater outlet : 178. 4503 ksc /17.5 Mpa

Main Steam Temperature : 541o c.

Pressure at Re heater Inlet : 4.06 Mpa / 41.40048 ksc.
Pressure at Re-heater outlet : 3.86 Mpa / 39.3610 ksc.

Steam Temperature at Reheater outlet : 541 oc.

Steam flow at Re heater outlet : 1716.34 T/hr.
Feed water Temperature Entering Economizer : 281 oc.

Feed Water Pressure : 196.375 ksc.

Height of Boiler : 83 m
Total Heating Surface : 71731 m2
 Hot Reheat Line
Main Steam Line

Final RH
HP IP LP

Final SH
Equipment Parameters
System Dsg. Pres Dsg.Te
Down comers

206.280 m
367ºC
Eco -
Drum Kg/m²
202.108 400ºC
water
wall
Roof Kg/m²
201.394 480ºC
LTRHO/L LTSH O/L tubes Kg/m²
HRA SH 202.108 410ºC
PY SH Kg/m²
202.108 400ºC
SH Platen LTSH I/L Kg/m² to
LTRH I/L Platen SH 202.108 500ºC to
Kg/m² 480ºC
585ºC
Final SH 202.108 550ºC to
Kg/m² 608ºC

Deaerator
Eco O/L
OFA Eco I/L
BP for BFP CEP

BFP

NRV Eco. I/L Control

Valve
BURNERS RH I/L 41.40 Kg/m² 330ºC
Distribution RH O/L 39.36 Kg/m² 541ºC
headers
Eco.I/L 196.375 Kg/m² 281ºC
TURBINE CONSTRUCTION interconnection pipe
TURBINE CONSTRUCTION

Straight TMCR main steam TMCR inlet temperature

condensing pressure (16.7 MPa) of reheated steam

Steam turbine model : N 600 -16.7 / 538/ 538- 3

Rated output (TMCR TMCR main steam Design version

output) 600MW temperature

TMCR: Turbine maximum continuous rating

TURBINE CONSTRUCTION
Rated output: 600MW;

Stages: high pressure cylinder+ intermediate pressure cylinder+

low pressure cylinder =9+5+2×2×7=42 stages;

Design life: Not less than 30 years;

Eight-stage non-adaptive regeneration and steam extraction;

Operation mode: composite variable pressure operation mode.

FEATURES OF TURBINE

 Sub-critical pressure
 Combined HP & IP Section
Shorter Turbine Length
Reduced No. of Bearings thereby Mechanical losses
 Single intermediate reheat
 Impulse (different from reaction)
 Three-cylinder and four-exhaust
 Double back-pressure
DESIGN KEY FEATURES OF BOILER
KEY FEATURES OF BOILER
High temperature
materials
Circulation system of sub critical &
Supercritical Boilers
TYPES OF CIRCULATION
 Natural Circulation

• Density difference between Water & Steam – driving Force

• Net Hydro Head to overcome the System Resistance

• Mostly Constant Flow through WW Tubes

• Plain WW tubes to reduce Pressure Drop

• CR = 4 to 8

• 210 MW, 250 MW, 270 MW, and Industrial Boilers

Arrangement Of Controlled circulation

BOILER DRUM ST
E
A
M
G
E
DOWN COMERS N
E
R
AT
IO
N
CIRCULATING PUMPS

RING HEADER
 Controlled Circulation

Higher Pressures units warrant Pumps to ensure Circulation through WW by Thermo-Siphon Effect
Circulation (Natural Circulation not adequate) supplemented by Pumps
 Controlled Circulation

• Higher Pressures (>150 kg/cm2) – reduced Density Difference

• 3/4 Circulation Pumps to assist in developing Head to

overcome System Resistance

• Flow thro WW tubes varied by Orifices according to Heat

Absorption Rates

• Ribbed / Rifled Tubes used

• CR = 2 to 4
Once through technology -

Mass Flow Rate thru’ all Heat Transfer Circuits from

The fractions for preheat,
Eco Inlet to SH Outlet is kept same (no circulation
evaporation and superheat
in Water Walls), except at Low Loads wherein
change with pressure in the
Recirculation is resorted to protect the Water Wall
boiler
system
Natural circulation

•Water wall lower hdrs

(Instead of ring hdr)-28Nos
• 30 circulation loops
• Cir. Ratio = 2.68
No circulation pump. Auxiliary power consumption
has been reduced by adopting Natural circulation

1. Circulation:
 In high pressure subcritical natural circulation boiler the qty of
water re-circulated is in the range of 5 times the qty of feed water
flow.
 For assisted circulation boilers the ratios vary between 1.5 and 4.
 For a once through boiler the flow qty is limited to only the feed
water flow.

2. Water Wall tubes are sectionalized into 30 sections and are

interconnected at outlet. This will ensure the reliable circulation.
3. Rifled bore water wall tubes as against the smooth bore tubes are used
in this natural circulation boiler.
Due to swirling and highly turbulent flow in rifled bore tubes, boundary
layer thickness of the fluid flowing through tubes is very small, thus
enhancing the convective heat transfer rate.
4. Provision of orifices for equal distribution of water in water wall inlet
headers.
WW FRONT LOWER HEADERS & TUBES
WW RIGHT LOWER HEADERS & TUBES
Internally ribbed tubes
WW PANEL WITH LOWER HEADERS AND BURNER PANELS

Riffled WW TUBES IN
THE BUNER AREA

• Water wall system consists of 28（7 for each wall）

water wall lower headers Φ219×40，SA-106C
•The tubes for water wall are bare tubes of Φ66.7×8，
SA-210C.
• Riffled tubes of Φ66.7×8，SA-210C shall be placed at
high load zone to prevent film boiling and ensure a safe
and reliable water circulation loop
 WW PANEL WITH LOWER HEADERS AND BURNER PANELS

• 224 water wall tubes arranged at front and rear walls

respectively
• 182 water wall tubes shall be respectively arranged
at two side walls at furnace depth direction,
• Totally 812 water wall tubes with pitch of 92.
FURNACE BOTTOM
High temp materials for SH & RH system

 High temperature materials are used for super-heater system

& RH system – though the steam temperature is 540°C.

12Cr1MoVG
15CrMoG
SA 213 T 91
SA-213 TP347H
Boiler Pressure Part Materials and
Tubing Oxidation Temperature Limits

MATERIAL ASME ALLOY OXIDATION LIMIT

Carbon Steel SA-178 C/ D 454°C
SA-210 A-1/ C
Carbon-1/2 Mo SA-209 T-1 482°C
1 Cr-1/2 Mo SA-213 T-12 552°C
1-1/4Cr ½ Mo SA 213 T11 580°C
2-1/4 Cr-1 Mo SA-213 T-22 593°C
2-1/4 Cr-1.6W-V-Cb SA-213 T-23 593°C
9 Cr-1 Mo-V SA-213 T91 649°C
9 Cr-2W SA-213 T92 649°C
18 Cr-8 Ni SA-213 TP304H 760°C
18 Cr-10 Ni-Cb SA-213 TP347H 760°C
18 Cr-9 Ni-3Cu-Cb-N SA-213 Super304H 760°C
25 Cr-20 Ni-Cb-N SA-213 HR3C 760°C
Header and connecting tube of super-heater system

No. Name Specifications Materials

1 Saturated steam outlet pipe Φ168×18 SA-106C
2 Roof inlet header Φ219×35 SA-106C
3 Steam bypass pipe Φ168×18 SA-106C
4 Central division wall upper header of the rear Φ273×50 SA-106C
vertical shaft
5 Roof outlet header Φ273×50 SA-106C
6 Wall enclosure circular header (front and rear) Φ406.4×60 SA-106C
in the rear vertical shaft
7 Wall enclosure circular header (side) in the rear Φ406.4×70 SA-106C
vertical shaft
8 Sidewall upper header in the rear vertical shaft Φ219×40 SA-106C
9 Wall enclosure connecting tube Φ168×18 SA-106C
10 Inlet header of low temperature superheater Φ273×45 12Cr1MoVG
11 Outlet header of low temperature superheater Φ609.6×65 12Cr1MoVG
12 Inlet connecting tube of SH primary Φ609.6×55 12Cr1MoVG
attemperator
13 SH primary attemperator Φ609.6×60 12Cr1MoVG
14 Outlet connecting tube of SH primary Φ609.6×55 12Cr1MoVG
15 Inlet influx header of platen superheater Φ609.6×65 12Cr1MoV
G
16 Inlet connecting tube of platen superheater Φ323.9×30 12Cr1MoV
G
17 Inlet header of platen superheater Φ323.9×40 12Cr1MoV
G
18 Outlet header of platen superheater Φ368×60 12Cr1MoV
G
19 Outlet connecting tube of platen SH Φ368×35 12Cr1MoV
G
20 Outlet influx header of platen SH Φ609.6×75 12Cr1MoV
G
21 SH secondary attemperator Φ609.6×75 12Cr1MoV
G
21 Outlet connecting tube of SH secondary Φ609.6×65 12Cr1MoV
attemperator G
23 Inlet header of high temperature Φ609.6×75 12Cr1MoV
superheater G
24 Outlet header of high temperature Φ609.6×85 SA-335P91
superheater
25 Outlet pipe of high temperature Φ450×47 SA-335P91
superheater
26 Safety valve pipe section of high Φ450×60 SA-335P91
Header and connecting tube of re-heater system

No Name Specifications Materials

1 Inlet safety valve pipe section Φ762×35 SA-106C
of low temperature reheater
2 Inlet emergency spray attemperator of Φ762×35 SA-106C
low temperature reheater
3 Inlet pipe of low temperature reheater Φ762×30 SA-106C
4 Inlet header of low temperature reheater Φ762×45 SA-106C

5 Outlet header of high temperature Φ863.6×56 SA-335P91

reheater
6 Outlet pipe of high temperature reheater Φ775×33 12Cr1MoVG

7 Outlet safety valve pipe section of high Φ775×40 12Cr1MoVG

temperature
Divided back pass damper control for
RH steam temperature.
Divided back pass
Reheat temperature control
by gas biasing
Steam temperature control

Methods of SH Steam temp control

1. Steam Control:
Attemperation
2. Gas Control
Gas recirculation
Divided Back Pass Damper control
Burner Tilt control
Excess air
Gas Recirculation
•Flue gas at economizer outlet or ID fan
outlet is drawn and reintroduced into the
furnace by a Gas Recirculation (GR) fan.

•Tight shut off dampers are positioned both

upstream and downstream of the fan.

•As the quantity of re-circulated gas is

changed, the quantity of heat absorbed in
the furnace and the heat at furnace outlet
are changed.

•When RH outlet temperature is lower than

rated value, GR quantity is increased to
increase the heat available for RH pick up.

•In this case power consumed by the GR fan

is additional loss and will increase the net
plant heat rate.
Burner Tilt & Burner On -Off

• Tilting burners are provided to move the fire

ball inside the furnace either upward or
downward to change the furnace absorption.
• When RH temperature is lower than the rated
value, burners are tilted up to reduce the
furnace absorption and increase the FOT. As
more heat is now available for RH pick up, RH
temperature can be maintained.
•When RH temperature is more than the rated
value, the burners are tilted down.
• The use of tilting up option should be applied
at low and intermediate loads only.
• Burner tilts position should be horizontal or
angled slightly downward at high loads.
Divided Back Pass Damper control

• The gas mass flow through LTRH side

can be increased or decreased (gas
biasing) by the multi louver dampers
positioned at the outlet of each pass
(generally at the outlet of economizer
section in lower gas temperature
region)

• By opening the dampers on LTRH

side, the heat transfer in LTRH section is
increased due to the increase in gas
mass flow.

• In this type of control, draft loss

through the dampers will increase the
power consumed by ID fans.
Gas regulating dampers

2900 mm
20 mtr

5000 mm
Gas regulating dampers
LOW NOX BURNER
Control of Combustion related NOx emissions

1. Low Nox burner: To ensure adequate residence time for

burnout and low volumetric heat release rate for low
NOx a large volume furnace design is necessary.

2. Over fire air (OFA) – staged combustion

3. Opposed wall firing burner arrangement may avoid

excessive furnace height and large performance varying
mill combinations.
Low Nox Burners & OFA
Low Nox Burners & OFA
BOILER REAR SIDE WW TUBES AND BURNERS
BURNER OPENINGS AT WW PANEL
Low Nox Burner
 Low Nox Burner
Factors ：
 Temperature of fire
 Oxygen concentration in combustion area
 Residence time of combustion products in high-temperature area
 Nitrogen content in fuel
 combustion ratio (fixed carbon/volatile) in coal

Requirements：
 NOx generation in combustion area is limited greatly through reducing air
distribution to the burner.
 Areas in the furnace are enriched with fuel before the over-fired air gets
into the furnace and residence time of the fuel in those areas is long, which
contributes to decomposition of nitrogen and existing NOx
Structure of coal burner nozzle

Ceramic tiles on
inner wall of nozzle

Wind box

Water wall tube

BURNER ASSEMBLY
COAL BEND WITH CENTER AIR PIPE
BURNER ASSEMBLY WITH OIL GUNS &
IGNITER

Damper
Low Nox Burners
 Low Nox Burners (Air distribution)
 The Air distributed for burner are primary air,
secondary air, tertiary air and core air which shall be
respectively sent into furnace in different stages of
combustion by
 primary air tube,
 Part of the secondary air through the fixed axial
swirl duct and
 Part of the secondary air as tertiary air through the
tangential swirl duct within the burner and core
tube.
OFA -system

OFA: Staged Combustion

• % of Combustion Air Injected Above the burners
• Used for NOx Control
OFA register inside the WIND BOX

• The distributed air for OFA air register consists of

inner and outer parts.
• The inner part is direct air and
• the outer part is swirling air.

INNER AIR DAMPER

OUTER AIR DAMPER
Inner structure of OFA adjusting
equipment

63
 Problems encountered

Failure:
• Dislodging of ceramic tiles fixed
over the inner surface of the coal
burner- during the trail operation of
unit
• Damage of primary air duct

Cause:
• Poor quality of bonding material
• Usage of high calorific value coal instead of design Indian
coal
• The Flame Profile and Distance from the burner
• it leads to warping of the burner tip and
• it creates eddies which accelerates wear.
Remedial measure:
• Temporary patching up of refractory lining for the trail operation period
• Modification burner with SS material as a permanent solution
High chrome stainless steel
 SECONDARY AIR INNNER / OUTER
CYLINDER

Secondary air Secondary air

inside cylinder outside cylinder
 Problems encountered

Failure:
• Damage of Primary coal bend, Central air duct located inside burner (PA duct)
are equipped with oil gun and high-energy igniter.
• Damage of coal concentrator provided inside the PA duct (Erosion)
Primary coal bend
Primary coal bend
Center air pipe & Oil guns, Igniter
Center air pipe & Oil guns, Igniter
Coal concentrator
Partial opening of inlet coal bend
Caused most of the failure
 Cause of the failure -
Coal burners are subjected to WEAR during their operation. The rate of
wear is attributable to the following factors:
• Percentage of ash
• Chemical composition of ash.
silica in coal plays a major role in erosion of coal burners
• Velocity adopted for fuel air mixture
• The Pulverized Coal Fineness :
the rate of wear depending upon the segregation of ash from
organic portion of the coal
• Burner Load :
The load carried by the burner, which is basically the quantity of
coal flow through the burner.
• Material for the Burner
• Duty Cycle :
the number of hours of operation