Abstract
Boilers have been used all over the world over a century ago. Today’s boilers are extremely energy efficient. They employ the use of components that that aid in the heating, indicating, containing, and holding mud and sediments inside and outside the main compartment. A boiler is a pressure vessel designed to heat water or produce steam. They are used to provide space heating and or heating water in a building. Heat sources could be natural gas, oil and electric resistance heaters. Boilers have several strengths that make them a have features of a building (Viswanathan, 1989).
Having a basic knowledge of these components goes a long way toward helping with the maintenance of them. This article discusses about the various parts or components in a boiler. In the article, it is easier to know about every component fitted inside the boiler. For instance, the mug drum, sentiment drum is used to trap mud and sentiments from the inlet. The burner is the region/area where air mixes with fuel and combusts. Also, in the article, various types of boilers are indicated. Modern sophisticated boilers are indicated.
Introduction
A typical boiler has got a variety of components, namely: Gauge Glass, a Water Column, Mud Drum, Steam Drum, a Pressure gauge, Tri cocks, a Feed water pump, a Sample cooler, a Feed water tank, Blow down separator/tank among others. Each component has its function. The figures below shows various boilers and their components.
Figure 1. Fire tube gas boiler specification
Figure 2. Components of a pass fire tube boiler
Figure 3. Three-Pass Wetback Scotch Marine Boilers
Figure 4. Three Pass, Wetback Cut-Away
The gage glass, also known as the sight glass is a transparent/clear tube through which an operator of the boiler can observe the level of the liquid in the boiler. It is glass or plastic made tube connected to the bottom of the water tank/compartment at one end and the other end connected at the top of the chamber. The liquid level in this tube is the same level in the water tank.
Figure 5. Gage glass component of a boiler
The water column is used to reduce the turbulence of the water level to help the gage glass to provide a steady, accurate reading of the water level. However, this component is not mandatory. Mud Drum is a water drum that is mounted low on the boiler. A mud drum is primarily trapping mud from circulation. Steam drum is a standard feature of the boiler. It is a reservoir water or steam at the top end of water tubes (Creep Conference, Shibli, Holdsworth, Merckling, & European Creep Collaborative Committee, 2005). It stores the steam generated in the tubes. It acts as a phase separator for the steam mixture. The variation in densities between the heated and cold water helps the separation of the phases. Locate the steam drum in the figure below.
Figure 5. Steam drum
All boilers are connected to at least one pressure gauge. A pressure gauge is connected to the stem space of a boiler and has a ring type siphon tube that fills with condensed steam. It protects the dial mechanism from high temperatures.
Figure 6. A typical pressure gauge with ring siphon.
Tri cocks are simple angle valves that are used to release small bits of water or steam to discern if the water level in the tank is above or below that of the tri-cock. Boilers are equipped with at least two tri-cocks. An operator merely cracks the valve open. When a jet of hot water indicates that the level is above the cock. Feed water pump is used to pump feedwater into the steam boiler. They are usually high-pressure pumps that take suction from condensate return system. They can be the centrifugal type of pumps or positive displacement type. A Sample cooler is a low-pressure drop system used to monitor the quality of boiler water without shutting down the boiler. A Blowdown Separator / tank allows the operator to handle safely the bottom blow down water coming out of the boiler.
Boilers are essential in both industrial and home applications. . They are long-lasting, achieve an efficiency of up to 95 percent, and in the case of steam systems, need little or even no pumping power. Their fuel costs are considerable while regular maintenance required.
References
Creep Conference, Shibli, I. A., Holdsworth, S. R., Merckling, G., & European Creep Collaborative Committee. (2005). Creep & fracture in high temperature components: Design & life assessment issues : ECCC Creep Conference, September 12-14, 2005, London. Lancaster, Pa: DEStech Publications.
Viswanathan, R. (1989). Damage mechanisms and life assessment of high-temperature components. Metals Park, Ohio: ASM International.
