BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Batangas State Alangilan Campus

College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts
Mechanical Engineering Department

ME 420 – ME LABORATORY 2

FINAL REPORT: STEAM BOILER

DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGN OF A THREE-PASS FIRE-TUBE STEAM BOILER

Submitted by:
Badillo, Renz Andrei A.
Glorioso, Mark Julius D.
Lesaca, Ayem Mae Anne T.
Mendoza, Kenneth B.
Salva, Eva Wendah Katrina
Zaraspe, Dave Geoffrey P.

ME - 3215

Submitted to:
Engr. Catherine B. Geron

May 2022
 ABSTRACT

This paper presents the design of a three-pass fire-tube steam boiler for inevitable

development and can be utilized as a teaching aid as well as for research purposes.

Thermodynamics, the study of heat transfer, as well as strength of materials examination were

led to gauge the elements of parts, and a 3D demonstrating process was utilized to draft the

functioning drawings of the steam boiler. Functional, layered, as well as thermodynamic

subtleties of the planned boiler, were determined. The functioning drawings of the planned boiler

are additionally introduced. The plan empowers and improves exploration and understudies'

learning interaction in areas of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and energy studies.

INTRODUCTION

The Industrial revolution started 200 years ago yet its effects are still relevant upto this

date such as the innovations in the way of life of people in a way that it becomes easier for them

to live and prosper. Moreover, one of the most important products of this era is the improvement

of technology in terms of production such as that of the machines that are powered by steam. A

steam boiler is a type of machinery wherein it uses the power of steam that is produced through

the evaporation of water in its boiling point. An example of which is that of, the fire-tube steam

boiler is one of the common types of boiler that is still being used today due to its simplicity and

efficiency depending on the specific situation where its parameters are configured properly.

In today’s world that is mostly ruled by industrialists, steam is considered as a staple

resource. Running of equipment, production of electricity, cooling and heating of buildings, and

the production of different goods are one of the many examples of uses of steam. Steam

generator or boiler is the system which generates steam. Depending on the application, steam

generators have various shapes and sizes.. Steam generators have been used by different

engineers and inventors and this led to the advancement, modification and innovation of steam

generators to make life easier for our society and to be used for different studies academically.

Many industries rely on steam to power their equipment and different processes of production

because steam has proven its effectiveness as a source of power for a very long time. Steam

boilers are closed vessels which are usually used to produce steam from water by combustion of

fuel. Steam is therefore important in engineering and energy studies (Ohijeagbon et al, 2013). A

closed vessel that produces steam from water by fuel combustion is called a boiler. A

combination of apparatus for making, recovering of heat that is paired with an apparatus that
transfers heat for it to be vaporized and heated is called a steam generating unit according to

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (Ohijeagbon et al, 2013).

In the process industry, fire tube boilers emit steam that is used for a variety of uses and

applications. 20 bar with tens of tons per hour of steam flow rate is the common pressure on

which they operate. Fire tube boilers have relatively low steam flow rates and pressures

compared to water tube boilers which produce flow rates that range to hundred tons per hour and

steam up to 250 bar. Because of this, fire tube boilers are commonly used in municipal heat

networks, industrial processes, power grids, combined heat to provide heat, and are used in larger

grids as a peak boiler. While water tube boilers are commonly used in the production of power

(Beyne et al, 2019). Because of their multiple advantages, such as the ability to be fed by a

variety of fuels, fire-tube boilers are frequently utilized as low-medium pressure steam sources.

(Tognoli et al, 2018)

Moreover, based from the study conducted by American Boiler Manufacturers

Association (2003), yielded a result in which the modern fire-tube steam boiler can be modified

to use different types of fuel if necessary and having a design wherein the radiation heat losses

are reduced to a minimum and it can be equipped by modern technical control systems that can

monitor the efficiency of the said type of boiler.

Literature review

According to a study conducted by Parvez (2017), These are the different kinds of

mounts needed in a fire tube boiler. These kinds of mountings are needed for the safety and

operation of the boiler. Water level Indicator displays the water level inside of the fire tube

boiler. Water level indicators commonly have a durable glass pipe fitted and numerous metal
castings. The upper end communicates with the steam in the boiler while the lower end

communicates with the water inside of the boiler. Steam stop valve is the one responsible for the

steam inside the boiler to be regulated. This part is commonly seen attached to the highest part

of the boiler. This part works by lowering or lifting the spindle by rotating the wheel. Safety

valves’ purpose is to prevent explosions caused by the pressure inside of the boiler. Commonly a

boiler has two safety valves. There are four kinds of safety valves namely, Spring loaded, Low

water and High steam, Dead Weight, and lever safety valves. Below Off Cock is utilized when

the boiler needs cleaning and maintenance. It also contributes to the regulation of the

concentration of salt. Pressure gauges show the pressure inside the boiler. It is commonly used in

measuring the pressure in the machine. Feed Check valve It is a non-return valve that is installed

at the end of the delivery pipe from the feed water pump. The water level in the boiler shell is

slightly lower than typical. Water from the feed pump can flow unidirectionally to the boiler

shell through the feed check valve. It feeds and controls the flow of water into the boiler via the

feed pump. Fusible plug is another safety mechanism used in boilers. This prevents the boiler

from overheating and preventing the water from going down to a critical point. Super heater is

the most important part of a steam boiler. The super heater is the one that receives the heat from

the furnace. The super heater is also the one responsible for increasing the efficiency of the

boiler. Economizers are the ones that are responsible for heating the water inside the boiler.

Economizers are heat exchangers that produce gas and feed on water. Economizers are also

responsible for the efficiency of the boiler. Feed Pump is the one that feeds the water to the

machine. Feed pump has three types, injectors, centrifugal pumps, and reciprocating pumps. Air

preheater is the one responsible for heating the air before it goes to the furnace of the boiler. It is

commonly placed above the economizer and near the chimney. Air preheaters have three types,
Regenerative, plate, and tubular type. The last part of a boiler is a steam injector. Steam injector

feeds water to the boiler shell with the help of steam. For this process, the steam used is the

steam engine’s exhaust steam.

One of the main parts of a boiler is the shell. The shell is the main casing of a boiler and

it serves as a pressure vessel. The next is tubes. Tubes pass from end to end of the shell. Some

tubes inside the boiler have different thickness and diameters. Furnace is where the combustion

occurs.This is the place where the highest temperatures are felt. Although non-corrugated

furnaces are relatively uncommon, most furnaces are corrugated to boost mechanical strength.

Tube sheets are used to seal the shell's two ends and to provide a location for the tubes to be

mounted. Stay bars are frequently used to connect tube sheets to the shell. There could be a

single reversal chamber or several reversal chambers. When exhaust gasses escape one pass and

are channeled into another, they travel through reversal chambers, which shift the direction of the

gasses. Reversal chambers placed furthest from the burner are referred to as rear reversal

chambers,' while those closest to the burner are referred to as 'front reversal chambers.' The

smokebox is the last portion of the boiler that the exhaust gas flows through before leaving to the

chimney.

The air and fuel (usually light fuel oil (LFO) or methane gas) are supplied into the

furnace by a burner wherein the air/fuel mixture will be ignited by an ignitor thus the process of

combustion begins.

The heat produced from the combustion process will be transferred immediately to the

surface of the furnace wall and with the help of the surrounding water. Around 40-60% of the
heat generated by the boiler will be conducted to the water, thus the remainder will be transferred

to the water via the tubes.

The furnace represents the 1st pass through the boiler exhaust gasses from combustion

then it travels to the first reversal chamber. As the gasses escape the reversal chamber thus

entering the 2nd tube pass, then to the second reversal chamber, afterwards to the 3rd tube pass,

smokebox and finally into the chimney. The water is heated by the heat produced from the

process of combustion and the resultant exhaust gasses will be produced. As the water in the

vessel is heated, the steam moves to the top of the boiler shell. Thus making the steam continue

to accumulate until the desired parameters are reached.

OBJECTIVES

This study entitled Developmental design of a three-pass fire-tube steam boiler aims to

design a fire- tube steam boiler as well as to acquire the necessary information and the limits it

can go through simulation.

Notably, it intends to:

1. Set the operating conditions of a three-pass fire tube steam boiler in terms of:

1.1 Boiler Capacity

1.2 Operating Steam boiler pressure

1.3 Mass of steam

1.4 Mass of feed water

 2. To have a clearer knowledge on how a fire-tube steam boiler works.

3. Design a fire-tube steam boiler using a computer aided design program.

4. Tabulate the data gathered based on the design and from previous related studies.

MATERIALS

In this section, the intended materials that will be utilized in order to accomplish the

objectives of the study are as follows:

Materials for the actual three-pass fire-tube steam boiler:

Steel Alloy. Steel Alloy is the material which is used to manufacture the main body of the fire

tube boiler. It is considered as a type of metal which can last long because of its resistivity to

multiple variables that contributes to corrosion and other negative effects.

Stainless Steel. Stainless steel is commonly used for shell Boiler tubes that are allowed for steam

processing for sterilizers and disinfectors in overheated areas that are not subjected to boiling

water, and electrically heated stainless steel shell Boiler tubes are frequently found in overheated

areas that are not subjected to boiling water.

Copper or Brass. Because of its improved formability and heat conductivity, copper is

commonly used in fireboxes; but, in recent years, copper costs have made this an unaffordable

option, thus affordable alternatives are utilized instead.

Materials to be used in designing the three-pass fire-tube steam boiler:

Computer Aided Design program. Solidworks is the chosen program in which the three pass fire

tube boiler will be designed and simulated.

PROCEDURE

In this section, the proponents will discuss the process of the three-pass fire tube boiler as

well as how the proponents will accomplish the final project design.

A fire-tube boiler works in the following way:

● A burner feeds air and fuel (typically light fuel oil (LFO) or methane gas) into the

furnace. An igniter burns the air/fuel mixture, and combustion occurs.

● The heat generated by burning is quickly transferred to the furnace wall and the

surrounding water. The remaining heat will be transported to the water through the tubes,

with 40-60% of the heat created in the boiler being transferred to the water through the

furnace. The furnace represents the boiler's first pass.

● The first reversal chamber is where combustion exhaust gasses go. The gasses leave the

reversal chamber and proceed to the second tube pass, second reversal chamber, third

tube pass, smokebox, and chimney.

● The heat from combustion and the resulting exhaust gases heats the water. Steam is then

released at the top of the boiler shell as the water in the shell heats up. Steam will

continue to build up until it reaches the correct pressure and temperature.

 Furthermore, the proponents made the accompanying strategies and procedures to

accomplish the final project design:

● Analysis of the design prerequisite. In which the proponents control and manipulate the

design of the three-pass fire-tube steam boiler as well as the process being developed all

through the designing plan process.

● Setting the design consideration. Whereas it may affect the prerequisites, plan, or

functional idea of the three-pass fire-tube steam boiler and ought to be important for the

framework.

● Design specifications. Wherein the proponents have arranged a record containing all the

essential data expected to do the design, the ideal method to be utilized, the topographical

circumstances that are probably going to be experienced, and the ecological and

wellbeing necessities.

● Dimensioning of the three-pass fire-tube steam boiler. Preparations and delineations of

2D and 3D drawings using programming applications, for example, AutoCAD and

Solidworks to have a superior perception of the three-pass fire-tube steam boiler and its

cycle.

● Setting the mechanical calculations of the parameters in terms of:

- Boiler Capacity

- Operating Steam boiler pressure

- Mass of steam

- Mass of feed water

DATA AND RESULTS

In this section, the proponents will tackle all about the acquired data and results in

accordance with their findings, observations, and knowledge, in line with the developmental

design of a three-pass fire-tube steam boiler.

The three-pass fire-tube steam boiler operations quickly affect the operation as well as the

process of other cycle types of equipment, like refining sections as well as turbines. The

three-pass fire-tube steam boiler should be working appropriately to deliver steam energy at

consistent tensions. Inability to keep up with ordinary boiler operations can bring about

production loss, compromising the quality of the product, as well as the significant expenses to

fix or supplant fizzled or damaged parts.

This project proposes the design of a three pass fire-tube steam boiler having a capacity

of 10,000 kg of steam per hour with an operating pressure of 15 bar. Necessary calculations were

made in order to obtain the ideal setting of the steam boiler in relation to the parameters set by

the proponents.

Details Description/Values

Type of boiler Fire-tube boiler

Type of firing Internally fired

Number of pass 3 pass fire-tube

Fuels Used Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, Coal

Volume of the tank 1.2 m3

Table 1. Operational details of the designed steam boiler
 Details Values

Diameter of the main shell 0.5 m

Length of the main shell 6m

Main shell thickness 0.012 m

Furnace plate thickness 0.016 m

Diameter of the fire-tubes 0.05 m

Thickness of the tube 0.012 m

Length of the tubes 5m

Height of the liquid 0.3

Table 2. Design Dimension According to ASME Standard

Higher Heating Value Lower Heating Value

Fuel Density
(Gross Calorific Value) (Net Calorific Value)

Natural Gas (Gas) 52.2 MJ/kg 47.1 MJ/kg

0.777 kg/m3
12,467.7558 kcal/kg 11,249.6417 kcal/kg

Fuel Oil (Liquid) 0.89 g/cm3 47 MJ/kg 42 MJ/kg

890 kg/m3 11,225.7571 kcal/kg 10,031.5277 kcal/kg

Coal (Solid) 1.4 g/cm3 29.6 MJ/kg 28.4 MJ/kg

1420 kg/m3 3200 kcal/kg 6,783.223464 kcal/kg
Table 3. Higher and Lower Heating Value of the given fuels as well as its density

Property Value

Methane CH4 94.9 %

Ethane C2H6 2.5 %

Propane C3H8 0.2 %

Oxygen O2 0.02 %

Nitrogen N2 1.6%
Table 4. Fuel Specifications for Natural Gas
 Property Value

Carbon 85.1%

Hydrogen 10.9%

Sulphur 4.0%

Nitrogen 8.4%
Table 5. Fuel Specifications for Fuel Oil

Property Value

Carbon 77%

Ash 16%

Sulphur 1.2%

Silica oxide 3.4%

Alumina 2%

Ferric oxide 0.4%

Table 6. Fuel Specifications for Anthracite Coal
 Using a direct method in calculating the efficiency of the boiler in order to establish the
boiler performance.
𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
η= 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡
× 100

𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚
η= 𝐹𝑢𝑒𝑙
× 100

𝑚𝑠(ℎ2−ℎ1)
η= 𝑚𝑓 × 𝐺𝐶𝑉
× 100

where:
ℎ1 = 𝑒𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 𝐾

ℎ1 = 𝑒𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔 𝐾

𝑚𝑠 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

𝑚𝑓 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

Design Assumptions set by the proponents:

Boiler Capacity = 639.0145 hp

Mass of steam = 10,000 kg/hr

Mass of fuel = 1800 kg/hr

Steam Boiler Pressure = 10 bar = 10 kg/cm2

Enthalpy of feed water = 85 kCal/kg

Enthalpy of steam = 665 kCal

Fuel Boiler Efficiency

Natural gas 25.8444 %

Fuel Oil 28.7038 %

Coal Fired 45.5770 %

Table 7. Summary of the boiler efficiency obtained using the formula of direct method.
 To permit efficient operation, the boiler should be able to absorb a maximum amount of

heat produced due to burning of fuel in the furnace.

Heat absorbed by the boiler:

𝑚𝑠
𝑄𝑒𝑣𝑝 = 𝑚𝑓
(ℎ2 − ℎ1)

CONCLUSION

On the basis of specific assumptions, a three-pass industrial fire tube boiler system has

been designed. The study took into account the characteristics of industrial boilers as well as

their operational parameters. Solidworks simulation software was used to create and test this

model. The boiler efficiency, heat transfer rate, mass flow rate, and fluid velocity were all

determined. The model was validated by comparing the simulation results of the established

parameters to what was observed in the real-world operation of the boiler system and finding a

strong correlation between them. As a result, the analyzed model could be useful in determining

how the boiler works.

RECOMMENDATION

The proposed simulation model could be useful in a variety of situations. Performance of

a three-pass fire-tube boiler was analyzed when using various parameters, particularly when a

specific fuel was used in the apparatus. Another condition could be the reduction of steam usage

in the processes to save on fuel and electricity for the boiler. Insulating steam-heated pipework

and tanks, in particular, can dramatically reduce steam consumption and, as a result, fuel
consumption. In any case, more experimental data is needed to strengthen the model and give

additional verification.

The proposed design is prescribed because of the way that it is a straightforward design

then, at that point, has a low upkeep cost and can be utilized in little ventures. Likewise, for a

similar power yield, the expense of a fire tube steam boiler is less when contrasted with a water

tube steam boiler.

DOCUMENTATION

Construction of burner

Furnace tube
Main shell of boiler
Tube plates

Assembly of fire tubes: First stage

Assembly of fire tubes: 2nd stage
Boiler assembly
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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https://savree.com/en/encyclopedia/fire-tube-boiler-3-pass

Fire Tube Boiler – Types, Operation & Uses (2019, August 30). Watelectrical.

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Ohijeagbon, I. O., Waheed, M. A., Jekayinfa, S. O., & Opadokun, O. E. (2013). Developmental

design of a laboratory fire-tube steam boiler. Acta Technica Corviniensis-Bulletin of

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/links/59cb5eb545851556e982ab83/Steam-Boiler.pdf

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20copper%20is%20most%20often,alternatives%20(such%20as%20steel).