Motor ship steam plant

Silencer boiler (Spanner)

Spanner exhaust gas boilers can be provided as steam raising boilers or hot water boilers or
economisers. These boilers recover from 20% to 50% more heat at a higher working pressure than some
other designs.
They utilise the heat contained in the exhaust gases from diesel engines and gas turbines.
Spanner boilers of this type have tubes expanded and then seal welded into the tube plate thus designed
to be able to be run dry or with varying water levels giving varying steaming rates. n the dry condition
access doors are opened to allow air circulation.
They may be fitted with an integral by!pass with either manual or automatic control so that
steam output can be controlled by varying the amount of gas passing over the heating surface.
The boiler is designed to offer the minimum of resistance to gas flow with a back pressure less
than "50mm water.
There are therefor three ways of controlling steam pressure/generation rate
1. via a gas by-pass valve
2. via a steam dump system
3. via changing water levels(thus changing generating surface)
There is no capability for oil firing therefore a donkey package boiler is re#uired for use in
port.
S$%&'(&) tubes are used
Stone vapour boiler.
The steam generating part of the unit consists of sets of coiled tubes nested and connected in
series to form a single tube several hundred feet long. $ater is pumped into the coil inlet and converted
to steam as it progresses through the coils. *eat is furnished by combustion of diesel fuel oil which is
sprayed by compressed air through an atomising no++le in the fuel sprayhead into the firepot above the
coils. *ere fine oil spray mixes with air supplied by the fan and is ignited by a continuous electric spark.
The heat flow is first downward, then outward through the nest of coils.
The fuel supply is regulated such that the steam generated is e#ual to -0% to .0% of the
water supplied, and any scale or sludge formed is carried out of the system by the water. /nd deposited in
a separator. This ensures that the inner surfaces of the tubes are kept clean, the outside is cleaned by
filling the chamber with water and bubbling steam through the water for about "2 *rs.
n the separator the sludge etc, settles to the bottom and is removed periodically by
blowdown. $hen water level reaches overflow level it is removed via a steam trap back to the water
supply tank but some of its heat energy is first used to heat the incoming feed water. (eed pumps are
driven at constant speed, regulation is by a by!pass valve. $hen demand for steam falls, the steam
pressure at outlet increases, this acts on the feed regulator in such a way as to increase the proportion of
by!pass. (uel and air control is by feed flow into the boiler, thus if the by!pass is opened and feed flow to
the boiler reduced, so the fuel0air flow is ad1usted accordingly.
$ater pressure relief valve 20bar
(uel pressure regulator "0.. bar
/tomising air pressure 2..bar
3ax evaporation at 4bar "250 5g0*r
(uel consumption ""2 litres hr
$ater capacity 44 litres
The advantage of this type of boiler is a very short warm up time, the disadvantage is of
course the disastrous conse#uence of a perforated pipe
Composite boilers-(Clarkson thimble tube)
This type of boiler will generate steam by means of exhaust gas and oil firing, many different
arrangements are possible, the one shown is the 6larkson composite boiler which makes use of thimble
tubes for heat steam generation. The only restriction is that it must not be possible to have oil firing and
exhaust gas firing on the same heating surface at the same time. f this were the case there would be the
possibility of exhaust gas entering the engine room through the burner section or of blowback due to the
action of exhaust gas and oil firing. There would also be a risk of poor engine performance due to exhaust
back pressure, in order to avoid problems and ensure that full use is made of exhaust gases even at slow
speeds it is usual to have completely separate oil and exhaust fired heating sections.
Boiler tubes
n order to promote better heat transfer between gas and water it is necessary to provide as large a
surface area as possible. Specially shaped tubes will allow for this. *eat transfer is also improved by
giving the water a swirling action and the tubes shown will achieve this, for plain tubes twisted strips of
metal known as retarders were sometimes inserted in order to cause turbulence in the water flow.
The Swirlyflo tube is formed from plate
and rolled into seamless tubes. The 6ochran sinuflo
is straight when viewed from the side, to prevent
deposits building up in the depressions.
Swirlyflo tubes may be inserted
anyway around but the sinuflo tubes must be
inserted as shown. n addition they can only be
fitted through one tube plate and hence only
removed the same way.
$ith any tubes deposits and corrosion
can occur on the water side. The nature of deposits
and the degree of corrosion if any will depend upon
the #uality of the feed and the effectiveness of
treatment. The amount of treatment is important
too, too or too much both causing problems.
6irculation of water will also influence corrosion
especially if stagnant flow areas are allowed to
develop. Stresses induced in the tube and the tube
plate due to expansion can cause cracking in the area of the tube plate connection. 7ibration can also
weaken this expanded connection.
)n the gas side the nature of the deposits and there #uantity depends upon the #uality of the
fuel burnt and the combustion process. 7anadium, sulphur and carbon can all form deposits with the
sulphur leading to corrosion. 6arbon will impair the heat transfer as will 7anadium which can also cause
corrosion.
Severe corrosion on either side of the tube means that it must be replaced but the degree of
corrosion must be considered in terms of thickness, operating conditions and history. .e. has the
corrosion been reduced.
Tubes should be expanded if signs of leakage are evident. )ver expansion damages the tube
plate and may cause problems when replacing the tube. / leaking tube can be plugged as a temporary
measure but only if that leakage is from the tube itself and not from the expanded connection.
%eplacing a tube re#uires the old tube to be removed usually by cutting three grooves
through the tube at the expanded connection and collapsing the ends and then punching the tube out.