Elements of boiler technology

Abstract

This project aims to collect information and provide a general outlook on boilers, as regards to their types, design and characteristics. A boiler is that part of equipment which enables the transformation of energy, namely from chemical to thermal, under controlled conditions. The production of heat was one of man's earliest technical accomplishments but it was only until the eighteenth century - the Age of Steam Power - that the boiler technology began to develop. Since the Industrial Revolution, boilers proved to be indispensable. Boilers are today found everywhere; the stack and chimney have become a universal symbol of the prosperity of industry. Furthermore, large buildings, such as hotels and hospitals, are all equipped with their own boiler plants. This project sets out to describe the different types of boilers and their classification. Aspects of boiler design, including the main features and other important sections, will then be considered. The third chapter deals with the performance of boilers and includes a thermal test on a packaged boiler subjected to different external draughts. Finally the problem of corrosion is looked into with considerable detail featuring the theoretical considerations, corrosion on the waterside and fireside of boilers, water treatment and blow down. In each chapter a logical sequence of presentation has been aimed at, and a special reference to the local situation is given wherever possible.