Thermal Engineering

Pranto Karua
ME 1105 Lecturer
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Credit: 3.00 Khulna University of Engineering & Technology

Boiler Performance
Equivalent Evaporation, Boiler Efficiency, Boiler Trial
Boiler Performance
 Boiler performance is a measure of the evaporative capacity or power of a boiler and also the
estimation of boiler efficiency.
 It is expressed in terms of equivalent evaporation and amount of heat utilization in a boiler trial.

Equivalent Evaporation
 It is the amount of water evaporated from feed water at 100°C and formed into dry and
saturated steam at 100°C at normal atmospheric pressure for each kg of fuel.
 It is written in terms of kg (of water/steam) per kg of fuel.

Mass of steam generated per kg of fuel * heat supplied

to steam for per kg in boiler
Equivalent Evaporation (E) =
Heat supplied for steam generation at 100oC from water at
100oC at atmospheric condition(i.e. Latent Heat)
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Equivalent Evaporation
 If water exists at the boiling temperature, it requires only latent heat at 1.013 bar to convert it
into steam at the temperature 100°C. The value of this latent heat is taken as 2257 kJ/kg.
 Then equivalent evaporation can be calculated as:

Total heat required to evaporate feed water

Equivalent Evaporation (E) =
2257

Mathematically, me (h  h f 1 )
E kg/kg of coal
2257

(h  h f 1 )
The factor is known as factor of evaporation (Fe) and always greater than one for all boiler.
2257

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Equivalent Evaporation
Total heat required to evaporate feed water
Equivalent Evaporation (E) =
2257
Mathematically, me (h  h f 1 )
E kg/kg of coal
2257
Where,
Mass of steam generated per kg of fuel, me = ms/mf .

ms = Total mass of evaporated water into steam in kg.

mf = Mass of fuel used in kg
Heat supplied to steam for per kg in boiler = me (h - hf1)

Let h = Enthalpy of steam per kg under the generating conditions.

h = hf + hfg ....... Dry saturated steam at pressure, p
h = hf + xhfg ....... Wet steam with dryness fraction x at pressure, p
h = hf + hfg + cp (Tsup - Ts) ..... Superheated steam at pressure p and temperature, Tsup
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hf1 = Specific enthalpy or sensible heat of water at a given feed temperature, t1
Equivalent Evaporation
Why equivalent evaporation is important?
Generally the output or evaporative capacity of the boiler is given as kg of water evaporated per
hour but as different boilers generate steam at different pressures and temperatures (from feed
water at different temperatures) and as such have different amounts of heat ; the number of kg of
water evaporated per hour in no way provides the exact means for comparison of the performance
of the boilers. Hence to compare the evaporative capacity or performance of different boilers
working under different conditions it becomes imperative to provide a common base so that water
be supposed to be evaporated under standard conditions. The standard conditions adopted
are: Temperature of feed water 100°C and converted into dry and saturated steam at 100°C. As
per these standard conditions 1 kg of water at 100°C necessitates 2257 kJ (539 kcal in MKS units)
to get converted to steam at 100°C.

Equivalent evaporation is thus a parameter which could be used for comparing the capacities of
different boilers.
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Boiler Efficiency
 It may be defined as the ratio of heat actually used in producing the steam to the heat liberated in
the furnace. It is also known as thermal efficiency of the boiler.

Heat actually used in producing steam

Boiler efficiency or thermal efficiency =
Heat liberated in the furnace

me (h  h f 1 ) ms (h  h f 1 )
 
where, C mf C
Mass of steam generated per kg of fuel, me, = ms/mf .

ms = Total mass of evaporated water into steam in kg.

mf = Mass of fuel used in kg.
C = Calorific value of fuel in kj/kg of fuel.

If a boiler consisting of an economizer and super-heater is considered to be a single unit, then

the efficiency termed as overall efficiency. 6
Example 15.1 : A boiler evaporates 3.6 kg of water per kg of coal into dry saturated steam at 10 bar.
The temperature of feed water is 320C. Find the equivalent evaporation “ from and at 1000C” as well
as the factor of evaporation.

P (bar) t (C) v (m3/kg) hf (kJ/kg) hg (kJ/kg) hfg (kJ/kg)

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Example 15.4 : A coal fired boiler plant consumes 400 kg of coal per hour. The boiler evaporates
3200kg of water at 44.50C into superheated steam at a pressure of 12 bar and 274.50C. If the calorific
value of fuel is 32760 kJ/kg, determine:
1. Equivalent evaporation “from and at 1000C”
2. Thermal efficiency of boiler

P (bar) t (C) v (m3/kg) hf (kJ/kg) hg (kJ/kg) hfg (kJ/kg)

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Example 15.5 : The following observations were made on a boiler plant during one hour test:

Steam Pressure = 20 bar; Steam temperature = 2600C; Steam generated = 37500 kg; Temperature of
water entering the economizer = 150C; Temperature of water leaving the economizer = 900C; Fuel used
= 4400 kg; Energy of combustion of fuel = 30000 kJ/kg.

Calculate:
1. The equivalent evaporation per kg of fuel.
2. The thermal efficiency of the plant.
3. The percentage heat energy of the fuel energy utilized by the economizer.
P (bar) t (C) v (m3/kg) hf (kJ/kg) hg (kJ/kg) hfg (kJ/kg)

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Example 15.6 : The following particulars refer to a steam plant consisting of boiler, economizer and a
super-heater:

Steam pressure = 14 bar; Mass of steam generated = 5000 kg/h; Mass of coal used = 675 kg/h; Calorific
value of coal = 29800 kJ/kg of coal; Temperature of feed water entering the economizer = 300C;
Temperature of feed water leaving the economizer = 1300C; Dryness fraction of steam leaving the boiler
= 0.97; Temperature of steam leaving the super-heater = 3200C.

Determine:
1. Overall efficiency of the plant
2. The percentage of the available heat utilized in the boiler, economizer and super-heater
respectively.

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Boiler Trial
The test which is used to identify specific sources of loss in a boiler is known as boiler trial.

The main objectives of a boiler trial are:

1. To determine the generation capacity of the boiler.
2. To determine the thermal efficiency of the boiler when working at a definite pressure.
3. To prepare heat balance sheet for the boiler.
We already discussed about the first two objectives.
Now we will discuss the third objectives, i.e. to prepare the heat balance sheet.

Heat Losses in a Boiler

We have already mentioned that boiler efficiency is the ratio of heat utilized in producing steam to
the heat liberated in the furnace. In practical situation, heat utilized for steam generation is always
lower than the heat liberated in furnace. The difference between heat liberated by burning fuel in
furnace and heat utilized in producing steam is known as heat lost in the boiler. This lose of heat
may be divided into various heads, but the following are important from the subjected point of view:
Boiler Trial
Heat Losses in a Boiler

1. Heat Lost in Dry Flue Gases:

Heat lost to dry flue gases per kg of fuel = mg  c pg (t g  tb )

where,
mg = Mass of dry flue gases per kg of fuel.
cpg = Mean specific heat of dry flue gases.
tg = Temperature of dry flue gases,
tb = Temperature of boiler room.

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Boiler Trial
Heat Losses in a Boiler

2. Heat Lost in Moisture Present in the Fuel:

It is assumed that the moisture is converted into superheated steam at atmospheric pressure (1.013
bar).
Heat lost in moisture present in the fuel  mm (hsup  hb )  mm [hg  c p (t g  t )  hb ]
 mm [2676  c p (t g  100)  hb ]

where,
mm = Mass of moisture per kg of fuel,
cp= Mean specific heat of superheated steam in flue gasses,
tg = Temperature of dry flue gases leaving chimney,
tb = Temperature of boiler room, and
hb = Sensible heat of water at boiler room temperature.

From steam table, corresponding to 1.013 bar, hg = 2676 kj/kg and t (boiling point temperature) = 1000C 13
Boiler Trial
Heat Losses in a Boiler

3. Heat Lost to Steam Formed by Combustion of Hydrogen per kg of fuel :

Let
H2 = Mass of hydrogen present per kg of fuel.

So, Mass of steam formed = 9 H2

Then the heat lost of steam per kg of fuel  9H 2 [2676  c p (t g  100)  hb ]

4. Heat Lost due to Unburnt Carbon in Ash Pit :

The heat lost due to unburnt carbon in ash pit = m1 *C1

Where,
m1 = Mass of carbon in ash pit per kg of fuel.
C1= Calorific value of carbon 14
Boiler Trial
Heat Losses in a Boiler

5. Heat Lost due to Incomplete Combustion of Carbon to Carbon Monoxide:

This loss, generally, occurs in a boiler due to insufficient air supply.

Heat lost due to incomplete combustion= m2 *C2

Where,
m2 = Mass of carbon monoxide in flue gas per kg of fuel, and
C2= Calorific value of carbon monoxide

6. Heat Lost due to Radiation:

There is no direct method of finding the heat lost due to radiation. This loss is calculated by
subtracting the heat utilized in raising steam and heat losses from the heat supplied.
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Boiler Trial
Heat Balance Sheet
Heat supplied kJ Heat consumed kJ %
Heat supplied by 1 kg X 1. Heat utilized in raising steam x1 ….
of dry fuel 2. Heat lost in dry flue gases x2 …..
3. Heat lost in moisture in fuel x3
4. Heat lost to steam formed by combustion of hydrogen per kg of x4 …….
fuel. ……
5. Heat lost due to unburnt carbon in ash pit. x5
6. Heat lost due to incomplete combustion of carbon to carbon ……..
monoxide (CO). x6 ……
7. Heat lost due to radiation (by difference)
X-
(x1
to
X6)

Total X Total X 100%

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Boiler Trial
Example 15.7 : In a boiler, the following observations were made:

Pressure of stem = 10 bar

Steam condensed = 540 kg/h
Fuel used = 65 kg/h
Moister in fuel = 2% by mass
Mass of dry flue gasses = 9 kg/kg of fuel
Lower calorific value of fuel = 32000 kJ/kg
Temperature of flue gases = 3250C
Temperature of boiler house = 280C
Feed water temperature = 500C
Mean specific heat of flue gases = 1 kJ/kg K
Dryness fraction of steam = 0.95

Draw up a heat balance sheet of boiler.

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Boiler Trial
Exercise 15.10 : In a boiler trial, the following observations were made:

Mass of feed water = 1520 kg/h

Temperature of feed water = 300C
Dryness fraction of steam = 0.95
Pressure of steam = 8.5 bar
Coal burnt/hour = 200 kg
Calorific value of coal = 27300 kJ/kg
Ash and unburnt coal collected = 16 kg/h
Calorific value of ash and unburnt coal = 3780 kJ/kg
Mass of dry flue gasses = 17.3 kg/kg of coal
Temperature of flue gases = 3300C
Temperature of boiler house = 170C
Mean specific heat of flue gases = 1 kJ/kg K

Draw up a heat balance sheet of boiler and also estimate the thermal efficiency of the boiler. 18
Boiler Trial
Exercise 15.7 : A steam plant consisting of a boiler, superheater and economizer has the following
particulars:

Steam Pressure = 12.5 bar

Temperature of steam leaving superheater = 2450C
Fuel used per hour = 1000 kg
Feed water per hour = 9000 kg
Temperature of feed water entering the economizer = 400C
Temperature of feed water leaving the economizer = 1150C
Dryness fraction of steam leaving the boiler = 0.9
Calorific value of fuel used = 30240 kJ/kg

Calculate:
1. Percentage heat in fuel used in the boiler, economizer and super-heater.
2. Overall efficiency of the plant.
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THANK YOU!

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