BOILER CONTROLS AND BOILER INTERLOCKS

Introduction
Main automatic control of water tube type, drum boilers can be classified into 5 major
control items
Automatic combustion control
Feed water control
Superheated steam temperature control
Reheated steam temperature control
Furnace draft control
PURPOSE
The drum-type watertube boiler is the fundamental steam generator
for both industrial and utility applica-tions. The steam generated by a
boiler may be used as a heat transfer fluid for process heating, or it
may be expanded in steam turbines to drive rotating machinery such
as fans, compressors, or electric generators.Figure 1 is a schematic
representation of a drum-type boiler. The steam drum and mud drum
are mounted in a furnace and are interconnected with watertubes
called risers and downcomers. The furnace includes one or more
burners for the combustion of an air and fuel mix-ture. The heat of
combustion is transferred to the watertubes to generate steam. Steam
bubbles form in the tubes (risers) closest to the burner and rise to the
steam drum where they are separated from the water. The steam in
the risers is replaced by water in the downcomers to provide natural
circulation in the watertubes. A continuous supply of feedwater is
necessary to replace the steam leaving the boiler. In most cases, the
saturated steam leaving the steam drum is returned to the furnace for
superheating as shown in Figure 1.

A forced draft (FD) fan provides combustion air to the windbox from
which it is delivered to the burners. An induced draft (ID) fan draws the
flue gases from the fur-nace
and drives them up the stack. Heat from the flue gas is used to preheat
the combustion air to improve efficiency.
The primary purpose of any boiler control system is to manipulate the firing rate so that
the supply of steam remains in balance with the demand for steam over the full load
range. In addition, it is necessary to maintain an adequate supply of feedwater and the
correct mix-ture of air and fuel for safe and economical combustion.
Automatic combustion control
Steam pressure is one of the most important control items of the boiler primarily due to
the following reasons.
Safety of the boiler operation :- the main structure of the boiler is a high pressure
container with a certain allowable limit. If the steam pressure exceeds the main
structure may be damaged and high pressure water may evaporate at one time
causing explosion of the boiler. To guard this a safety valve is provided. But if the
safety valve opens the steam will be sent to atmosphere causing huge heat loss.
Hence it is mandatory that the boiler pressure be controlled below the maximum
operating pressure.
Convenient for tracking of load change :- when the boiler is in a balanced state,
the input energy and the output energy of the boiler is equal and the entire boiler
system is in equilibrium state. when the balanced state is disturbed, energy will be
build up in the boiler or the total amount of energy stored in the boiler will be

reduced. When this has occurred since the amount of water and steam held with in
the boiler do not largely vary the levels of energy stored in the water and steam
vary. In general most part of the energy fed into the boiler is used for evaporation
of water and only a minor part of the energy is used for superheating and
preheating. There fore most part of the input and output heat energies of the boiler
can be balanced by controlling the amount of heat energy fed to the boiler in
response to the load changes. Thus control of steam pressure is an effective way
of controlling the amount of water in response to load changes.
Answering a requirement by load :- when the load of a boiler is a turbine, change
in output pressure of the boiler is undesirable as it will cause external disturbances
to the turbine and degradation of turbine efficiency.

Due to the above reasons automatic combustion control of water tube type drum boiler is
done by detecting the boiler steam pressure (generally in the steam header), controlling
the fuel fed to the boiler furnace and controlling the combustion air at a certain fuel air
ratio for efficient combustion of the fuel.
General Combustion Control
Here load change is detected by the master steam pressure transmitter/ controller is used
as the set point signal for the fuel flow controller in order to cascade control of the fuel
flow. On the other hand the flow signal detected by the air flow transmitter is multiplied
by a fuel air ration setter for the complete combustion of the fuel and then the signal is
applied to the air flow controller. The set point value for this is provided based on the fuel
flow and the air flow is cascade control. The fuel flow is controlled by a control valve
and air flow by Forced Draft Fan (FDF) vane or damper.
Master steam
Fuel Flow
Air Flow
Pressure Transmitter Transmitter Transmitter

Master steam
Pr.controller
Fuel oil flow
controller

RR

Fuel air ratio

setter

FC

Combustion air flow controller

PC
FC

FDF control valve

Fuel flow control valve
When the load has varied in this system, the fuel oil flow varies first and air flow varies next and
this results in decrease in O2 % . when load decreases the reverse will happen and O2%
increases.

One method to avoid this is to maintain a large air fuel ratio to guard against shortage of air
(which is dangerous to the boiler) which could result in high fuel consumption. Hence a modified
system is used.
Master
Steam Pr.
Transmitter
Master Steam
Pr.controller

PC

Low selector

Lo

Fuel oil flow

Controller

FC

Fuel flow control

Valve

Fuel Flow
Transmitter

Air Flow
Transmitter

RR Fuel Air ratio

setter

BS
Bias Setter
Hi
High
Selector

FC combustion Air
Flow controller
FDF damper

Assume that the boiler load is steady and the automatic control system is in a balanced
state. in this the following are in equilibrium state.
Master steam pressure controller output signal
Fuel flow controller set point and PV signal
Air flow controller set point and PV signal
Therefore the output signal of the bias setter, which is applied to the low selector is
higher by the amount of bias than the output signal of the master steam pressure
controller. When the load is varied from this balanced state the control actions are as
follows.
When load is increased
As the master steam pressure falls lower than the set point pressure, the output signal of
the master steam pressure controller rises to increase the fuel flow. The increased signal is
applied as an set point signal to the fuel flow controller. It can be increased by an amount
of bias by means of the low signal selector. On the other hand regarding the set point of
air flow controller, the signal from the steam pressure is more than the fuel flow and
hence this is the set point. Hence the air flow increases first. Due to this the set point of
fuel flow increases slowly after an increase in the air flow. The bias is set at a level which
is safe to have an amount of increase in fuel flow without an increase in air flow. Thus we
can conclude that the air flow increase leads the fuel flow increase.
When load is decreased

When the load is decreased the master steam pressure becomes higher than the set point
and the output of the pressure controller falls. When this has occurred as the output
signal of the bias setter at the low selector is always higher than the output signal of the
bias setter at the low selector is always higher the master steam pressure controller, the
output signal of the controller has the priority. The air flow decreases following the
decrease of the fuel flow.
If the response of the air flow system is slow, the fuel flow is limited at the bias level.
Here the air flow decrease lags the fuel flow decrease.
Problems regarding instrumentation and control
To obtain a low excess air combustion system , various factors related to the boiler itself
such as the structure of the boiler main body (especially of the heat conduction area and
air ingression), burners, the structure of the wind box, and the factors related to the
instrumentation such as locations of detectors, accuracies of instruments, measuring time
lags (especially of analyzers), time lags of control end devices and the type of control
system (electronic or pneumatic).
O2 analyzer
Performance of the low excess air combustion system is evaluated on the basis of %O2
contained in the flue gas. The ratio of O2 contained in the flue gas is 1% when the excess
air ratio is 5%. Thus the analyzer should have a range of approximately 0-5% and
accuracy of 0.02% of full scale. The O2 % indicated for the sampled gas must be of a
truly representative one. As flow and concentration of the flue gas are not uniform,
sampling should be done at least at 2 points (upstream and down stream) of the fuel
economizer at least. Attention must be paid also to location and installation method of the
sampling loop.
CO analyzer
No CO gas is generated when fuel is burning normally. When the excess air ratio has
become lower than 1.5% ( flue gas less than 0.3%), CO gas starts to be generated. Hence
for a low O2 operation, a CO gas analyzer must be provided.
O2 trimming
For boilers normally a continuous O2 analyzer is installed and the fuel air ratio is
automatically controlled with its output signal. The desired excess air ratio with respect to
the load is non linear.

Optimal
O2 percentage

Boiler load (%)

The basic control system is as follows. The output signal of the main steam flow
transmitter is fed as a set point signal to the O2 % controller through a function generator.
The O2 % controller compares the measured signal with the set point signal and if any
deviation exists the controller performs a P+I action on the deviation signal and provides
a correction signal for the fuel air ratio.
The O2 % control system must be designed with a provision to prevent application of a
wrong signal to the O2 % control system and upsetting of the fuel air ratio. This is done
by using a high and low signal limiters in the output circuit of the O2 % controller.

Master steam
Pressure tran.

PC

fuel flow
Transmitter

Air flow
Transmitter

O2 %
Analyzer

Fuel
O2 % O2C
air ratio setter
Contr.

Main steam
Flow tran.

Functiof(x)
Generator

High limiter
Fuel air ratio
Correction unit
Low limiter
low
selector

Bias setter

Fuel
FC
Flow cont.

High
selector

Fuel flow control valve

Combustion air
flow controller

FDF control valve

AUTOMATIC FEED WATER CONTROLLER

BOILER DRUM LEVEL (FEEDWATER) CONTROL
BENEFITS
Maximizes steam quality.
Maintains proper drum level to prevent damage to boiler.
BACKGROUND
The cylindrical vessel where the water-steam interface occurs is called the boiler drum.
Boiler drum level is a critical variable in the safe operation of a boiler. A low drum level
risks uncovering the water tubes and exposing them to heat stress and damage. High
drum level risks water carryover into the steam header and exposing steam turbines to
corrosion and damage. The level control problem is complicated by inverse response
transients known as shrink and swell.
Simply put, shrink and swell refer to a decreased or an increased drum level signal due to
the formation of less or more vapor bubbles in the water, and not a change in the amount
of water in the drum. This condition produces level changes during boiler load changes in
the opposite direction of what is expected with a particular load change. Although only
temporary, this can cause severe control system overshoot or undershoot.
MEASUREMENT
Several different measurements are required for feedwater control depending on the
control strategy being used. The following measurements are marked as 1E, 2E and 3E to
indicate they are required for single, two or three-element feedwater control strategies.
Boiler Drum Level [1E 2E 3E]
The boiler drum level has a typical span of 30 inH2O, often with some suppression
required depending on the physical location of the transmitter. The boiler will be
pressurized so the transmitter must be able to operate with a static pressure of up to
several thousand PSI. In addition, chemicals injected into the feedwater need to be
considered when specifying the transmitters materials of construction.
Drum Pressure [1E 2E 3E]

Since the density of steam and water at the saturation temperature change with pressure,
the drum level calibration will only be accurate at a single boiler drum pressure. The
drum level signal can be compensated for all pressures by using a drum pressure
transmitter. Generally, both industrial and utility boilers run at constant drum pressure.
Pressure compensation is typically employed with utility boilers which operate at much
higher pressures than industrial boilers.
Steam Flow [2E 3E]
Steam mass flow is required to compensate for shrink and swell during load changes.
This measurement can be made using a multi-variable differential pressure type flow
meter and an orifice plate to provide a mass flow output.
Feedwater Flow [3E]
Feedwater flow is typically used in a cascade control strategy to ensure that proper valve
characteristics are maintained.
CONTROL
Typically one of three control strategies is employed to control the boiler drum level.
Single-Element Drum Level Control
The single element system is the simplest type used for controlling packaged firetube and
watertube boilers. In this strategy, control is based on the boiler drum level measurement
only. This does not allow for compensation of any shrink or swell and, therefore, is not
usually an acceptable control strategy. However, for small boilers with slow load changes
this may be acceptable.
Drum level transmitter

Drum level
controller
feed water
control valve
when the steam evaporation area in the drum is reduced in relation to the evaporation
amount, the drum level responds in the reverse manner. This is because the capacity and
amount of steam bubbles in the drum water vary and when the boiler load is increased
drum water swells or rises. If the single element control system is used to control the
drum level which has the reverse response as above, as the drum water level rises when
the boiler load is increased, the feed water is controlled in the decreasing direction.
Consequently the drum level rapidly falls from the equilibrium state and the loop will
start hunting. This is very dangerous and will lead to shutdown.

Two-Element Drum Level Control

In two-element control, steam flow is measured along with boiler drum level. The steam
flow signal is used in a feed forward control loop to anticipate the need for an increase in
feedwater to maintain a constant drum level. This strategy requires the differential
pressure across the feedwater control valve to remain constant as well as the control valve
signal vs. flow profile. Boilers with moderate load changes can usually be controlled with
this strategy.
When the load is increased, the drum level will become higher than the set point drum
level due to the reverse response and the drum level controller will generate a correction
signal in the direction of reducing the feed water. On the other hand the steam flow signal
which is on an increasing trend is applied to the totaliser so its output balances out or
slightly overcomes the controller output, thereby guarding the feed water flow against
reduction.
Steam flow
Steam flow transmitter
Drum level transmitter

controller

bias
Boiler feed water

Three-Element Drum Level Control

Three-element drum level control adds a feedwater flow signal to the steam flow and boiler drum
level signals used in two-element feedwater control. The drum level controller manipulates the
feedwater flow setpoint in conjunction with feedforward from the steam flow measurement. The
feedforward component keeps the feedwater supply in balance with the steam demand. The drum
level controller trims the feedwater flow setpoint to compensate for errors in the flow
measurements or any other unmeasured load disturbances (e.g. blowdown) that may effect the
drum level. Three-element control is used in boilers that experience wide, fast load changes.
Steam flow
Steam flow transmitter
A

+50%
B
Controller
-50%

Drum level tran.

bias
C
Feed water flow controller

BFW transmitter
Boiler feed water
The biasing function is
(steam flow) + (water level controller output signal)- (50%signal) is the set point of BFW
controller.
When the drum level is at the set point (normally at 50%), the controller output will be
50%, hence the feed water flow is controlled at the same value with the steam flow.
When the drum level is shifted from the set point level a correction signal is applied.

This control system is effective for boilers the drum level of which has large reverse
response characteristics.
This bias 50% signal is true when the boiler drum level to be maintained at 50% to
+50%. Let us suppose the level is to be maintained is 15% to +15%, the bias signal can
be calculated as follows
B= -15 + 30B (-15 is lowest point and 30 is 15 to +15=30)
A= 100 A
C=100 C
C= A + B : 100C=100 A +30 B-15 C = A + 30(B-0.5) and 0.5 or 50% signal is the
bias.
As mentioned earlier the level to be maintained between 50% to +50%. In this case
100C = 100A + (-50 + 100B)
C= A + B- 0.5
PLANT MASTER CONTROL
Steam pressure is the key variable that indicates the state of balance
between the supply and demand for steam. If supply exceeds demand,
the pressure will rise. Conversely, if demand exceeds supply, the pressure will fall. Figure 2 shows a single-loop control dia-gram that
manipulates the firing rate demand to control steam pressure at the
desired setpoint.

Plants may experience fluctuations in demand due to batch processes

or other process changes. In this case, a steam flow feedforward signal
is used with steam pressure control.

The term Plant Master is most applicable to the situation in which more
than one boiler supplies a common steam header. In this case, there
are multiple boiler masters but only one plant master. The plant master
generates the master firing rate demand signal that drives the
individual boilers in parallel. With multiple boilers, the Plant Master is
typically configured with a variable gain, based on the number of
boilers in automatic mode.
BOILER MASTER CONTROL
With several boilers supplying a common header in parallel, it is
generally desirable to provide a way to adjust the load distribution
among the boilers. Depending on the load and the performance of the
individual boilers, the most efficient operation may be achieved with
some boilers shut down, some boilers base loaded (constant firing
rate), and the remaining boilers allowed to swing with the load
(variable firing rate). Figure 3 shows a boiler master control diagram to
pro-vide these adjustments. Each boiler master provides a bias
adjustment and an auto/manual transfer switch. In manual, the
operator can reduce the firing rate to a low fire condition for shutdown,
or hold the firing rate at any appropriate base loading condition. In
auto, the boiler master follows the master firing rate demand signal
except as altered by the bias adjustment. The operator can ad just the
boiler master bias up or down to increase or decrease its share of the
load.

FURNACE PRESSURE CONTROL

A basic boiler has a steam water system and a fuel-air-flue gas system.
In the fuel-air-flue gas system, the air and fuel are mixed and ignited in
the furnace. Air and fuel flow into the furnace and flue gas flows out.
The force driving this flow is the differential pressure
between the gases inside the furnace and those out-side the furnace. Furnace pressure is
commonly referred to as draft or draft pressure. The draft is maintained slightly
negative to prevent the combustion products and ash from being
discharged from the furnace into surrounding areas through inspection
ports, doors, feeders, etc. For greatest efficiency, the controlled pressure should be as close as possible to atmosphere, thereby minimizing
the ingestion of "tramp air" or excess air drawn through the openings
in the furnace duct work that cool combustion gases. Furnaces are
classified by the method for moving air and other gases through the
system.
Natural Draft
A natural draft furnace uses the stack (chimney) effect. Gases inside
the stack are less dense than those out-side the chimney. The gases in
the stack will rise, creat-ing a vacuum (suction) which will draw the
combustion air into the furnace and combustion gases or flue gas out
of the furnace. Natural draft furnaces naturally oper-ate below
atmospheric pressure.
Induced Draft
An induced draft fan draws the gases through the fur-nace and the
combustion air into the furnace. An in-duced draft fan makes high
stacks unnecessary. Control is accomplished by regulating the fan
speed or damper operation. An induced draft furnace is operated
slightly below atmospheric pressure.
Forced Draft
A forced draft furnace uses a fan or blower to force combustion air
through the system. Control is accomplished by regulating the fan
speed or damper operation. This type of furnace is operated slightly
above atmospheric pressure.
Balanced Draft
Furnaces equipped with both FD and ID fans are called balanced draft
systems. To control furnace pressure, it is necessary to maintain a
balance between the flow in and flow out of the furnace. Balanced draft
furnaces operate at slightly negative pressures to prevent flue gas
leakage to the surroundings. However, too low a pres-sure must also
be avoided to minimize air leakage into the furnace and, in the
extreme, to prevent furnace implosion.

As shown in Figure 10, the FD fan damper is generally manipulated by

the air flow controller, and the ID fan damper is manipulated by the
furnace pressure controller. When the air flow controller manipulates
the flow into the furnace, the pressure will be disturbed unless there is
a corresponding change to the flow out of the furnace. An impulse feed
forward connection couples the two dampers to minimize the furnace
pressure disturbance on a change in air flow. As the impulse decays,
external reset feedback to the furnace pressure controller drives the
integral component to maintain the new steady state ID damper
position. The furnace pressure controller trims the feed forward
compensation as required to control the pressure at set point.

DRUM PRESSURE COMPENSATION

When the design steam pressure exceeds 500 psig, pressure
compensation of the drum level signal is rec-ommended. This is
necessary to provide an accurate drum level signal over the full
operating range, from am-bient conditions up to normal operating
pressure and temperature. The level measurement is a hydrostatic
measurement based on the differential pressure devel-oped between
top and bottom pressure taps in the drum. The differential pressure
developed is a function of both the water level and the densities of the
water and steam in the drum. Over a wide range of pressure and
temperature, the change in density has a significant effect on the
differential pressure. Pressure compensation corrects the differential pressure measurement to represent the
actual liquid level in spite of changes in density.
Figure 13 shows the derivation of the drum level equa-tion as a
function of the differential pressure and the specific gravities of the
liquid (G f ), vapor (G g ), and filled
reference leg (G r ). All of the specific gravities are refer-enced to the
density of water at 68F, since this is the standard reference

temperature used to calibrate differ-ential pressure transmitters in

inches of water. The deri-vation is based on inches of level (L) relative
to the bot-tom pressure tap. However, it is conventional practice to
define the level range (L 0 ) with zero representing the normal water
level. Therefore, the equation derived for L must be biased an amount
X B to shift the zero point of the L 0 range. Notice that the portion of
the range above (X A ) and below (X B ) the normal water level are not
nec-essarily equal and are, therefore, treated as indepen-dent
variables.

The differential pressure transmitter is shown with the bottom tap

connected to the high pressure connection and the top tap connected
to the low pressure connec-tion via the filled reference leg. This
connection arrange-ment provides for an output signal that varies
directly with level. However, with this arrangement, it should be noted
that the pressure at the high pressure connection will always be less
than or equal to the pressure at the low pressure connection. This
results in a differential pressure range that varies from -X to 0 inches of
water. Some users may prefer to reverse these connections, in which
case the transmitter output signal must be re-versed prior to
compensation with these equations.
The first compensation equation assumes the input sig-nal from the
level transmitter represents actual differen-tial pressure. If the

differential pressure signal has been configured to represent

uncompensated level (instead of differential pressure), the second
compensation equation should be used.
As shown in Figure 14, the specific gravities of the liq-uid and vapor in
the drum are characteri ed functions of pressure based on data
available in the steam tables. The reference leg data is treated as a
constant and is also determined from steam table data using the actual
temperature of the reference leg and normal operating pressure
conditions.

L = (P - Gg X + Gr X)/(Gf - Gg)
NOTE: All specific gravities (G) are referenced to water @ 68F
L = Lo + Xb
Lo = L - Xb
Lo = (P - Gg X + Gr X)/(Gf - Gg) - Xb
If the -DP input is configured using the uncompensated level range,
then:
for DPT calibration: -X to 0
and (Lo)unc range: -Xb to Xa
[P - (-X)]/X = [(Lo)unc - (-Xb)]/[Xa - (-Xb)]
but X = Xa + Xb
P + Xa + Xb = (Lo)unc + Xb

P = (Lo)unc + Xb - Xa - Xb
P = (Lo)unc - Xa
Lo = [(Lo)unc - Xa - Gg X + Gr X)]/(Gf - Gg) Xb
BURNER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The burner management system includes the following functions.
Interlock systems
Master fuel trip systems (MFT)
Individual fuel trip system
Flame monitoring and trip systems
Ignition and burner sub system control
BMS system is designed to manage the control of the following
operating boiler conditions.
ESD interlock systems
Burners firing with say fuel gas only, fuel oil only and both
Alarms systems
Monitoring
Burner front valves
The burners system is designed and constructed with necessary
equipments to prevent malfunctions and control boiler safety
conditions according to NFPA 8502
General logic
The sequences controlled by the general logic are
Boiler shut down conditions
Boiler furnace purge
Natural draft
Main igniter gas valves
Main fuel oil valves
Main fuel gas valves
Fuel gas vent valves
Light off and shut down of gas igniters
Fuel gas burner light off
Fuel gas burner shut down
Fuel oil burner light off
Fuel oil burner shut down
Air register

Boiler shut down conditions

The primary function of the safety system shall be to monitor pre
determined boiler conditions and to initiate a master fuel trip (MFT)
when these conditions are not inside the prefixed limits.
A second function of the safety system shall be to inform the operator
which specific condition initiates the MFT.
The cause of the MFT are
Boiler shut down push button operated at local panel, central
control room(CCR) and burner platform.
Low low steam drum level
Failure of both Forced Draft (FD) fans
Low low combustion air flow
Low low fuel gas pressure *
High high fuel gas pressure *
Low low fuel oil pressure *
Low low instrument air pressure
Low low atomizing steam pressure (in case of fuel oil burner only)
High high furnace pressure
High high steam temperature
Loss of all flames
Burner shut off valves failure with at least 1 burner on **
All fuel inputs zero
Main vent valve not close after control time expired. (fuel gas
burner firing only)
*the MFT is carried out if the boiler is not firing simultaneously both
fuel oil and fuel gas.
These conditions are enabled 20 sec after the opening of relevant
invoice main shut off valves
** shut off valves not closed without flame detection.
The MFT sequence will include the following steps
Close all main fuel safety shut off valves
Close all burners fuels shut off valves
Open all vent valves
Close all igniters shut off valves and open vent valves
De energize all sparks
Close fuel oil circulating valves
Boiler Furnace purge

The boiler purge system requires a furnace air purge for the following
cases
Before any light off of the first igniter after boiler stop
When the flame of the first main burner is not proven within 5
seconds after the main shut off valve leaved the position close
When any condition required for purge listed below is lost during
purge operation
When the last burner is taken out off service
Before to initiate a boiler purge sequence the following purge
permissive conditions must be satisfied.
No shut down cause present
All igniters fuel gas automatic shut off valves closed
Main fuel gas valves closed
Fuel gas main vent valve open
All burners fuel gas shut off valves closed
Main fuel oil valve closed
Fuel oil re circulation valve closed
All burners fuel oil shut off valves closed
No flames detected
No natural draft in progress
No waiting time for air trip in progress
At least 3 air registers opened
Combustion air flow >= 25% of MCR
Igniter main valve closed
When all the above purge permissives are satisfied Purge permissive
indication is on, then purge start can be initiated after this Purge in
progress indication will be on. After 5 minutes of purge time Purge
Completed will be on.
The boiler purge is always carried out after a MFT, in case the MFT is
caused by a loss of both FD fan or the combustion air flow low low the
sequence shall be anticipated for the former case by natural draft and
for the later case by waiting for air purge sequence.
Natural Draft
The natural draft sequence shall follow a MFT caused by the loss of
both FD fans.
The natural draft lasts at least 15 minutes. During this period of time
all dampers (burner air registers and FD fan inlet/ outlet vane) in the
air passages of the unit shall be opened fully open position in order to
create as much natural draft as possible to ventilate the unit. At the

end of the natural draft period one of the fan shall be manually started
by the operator to initiate the boiler purge sequence.
Waiting for air trip
This is performed when the combustion air flow is below purge rate at
the time of trip. The FD fans shall be continued at the existing rate for
5 minutes (waiting for air trip) and then gradually increased (by
operator) to purge rate air flow.
During the waiting for air trip air flow should not be increased
immediately by deliberate manual or automatic control actions.
Gas igniter safety shut off valve
The conditions to open the igniter safety shut off valves are
Main fuel gas or main fuel oil open
Igniter shut off valves closed.
The conditions to close the igniter safety shut off valves are
No igniter flame detected in the last 5 minutes
Master trip
Low igniter gas pressure or high igniter gas pressure.
Main fuel gas valves
When the purge is completed the BMS system requests to open the main fuel gas valve,
which is selected by operator as initial light off fuel.
The main fuel gas valve can be opened by DCS system in CCR.
The main fuel gas valve can be open if the following conditions are satisfied.
Boiler furnace purge complete
All burners fuel gas and shut off valves closed.
Fuel gas control valve close to light off position
The main fuel gas valve is closed when one of the following conditions occur.
By DCS system in CCR
Master fuel trip
Low low fuel gas pressure
High high fuel gas pressure
The first main gas burner flame is not proven with in 5 minutes after the main fuel
gas valve has been opened
Main fuel gas valve not open (after the opening control time expired 20 secs)
Shut off valves of the last burner in operation closed
Burner shut off gas valves failure (shut off valves not closed when flame is not
proven)

Fuel Gas vent valve

The fuel gas vent valve is automatically closed when are satisfied the following
conditions
If the main fuel gas valve is opened and the flame of the burner is proven
During fuel gas leak test sequence
The conditions for the automatic opening of the fuel gas vent valve are
Main fuel gas shut off valve closed
Fuel gas vent valve not close after the closing command and control time (5
seconds) expired.
BURNER LOGIC
Air registers
Each burner is equipped with one air register. The opening and closing of air registers are
driven by pneumatic actuator by means of 2-3 ways solenoid valve. During the normal
operation the position of the air registers are automatically controlled by BMS logic. It is
possible to control each registers manually by local panel and by push button of DCS.
The air registers are opened at least one of the following conditions
Manual opening requested by operator
Relevant burner shut off valves not closed
Boiler purge
Natural draft
The air registers are closed
Manual closing request by operator
Igniter light off sequence (automatic operation)
Burner shut down (automatic operation)
At boiler stop after post firing purge (manually by operator)
Light off and shut down of gas igniters (for each burner)
The conditions to light off the gas igniter are
No shut down cause present
Associated igniter shut off valve closed
Associated gas burners shut off valves closed
Flame not detected
Main igniter light off valve closed
When these conditions are met ignition permissive indication will be on, press igniter
start push button or by requesting gun scavenging, the following sequence starts.
Start the ignition control time of 10sec.
Close air registers
Opening igniter shut off valves and closing the relevant igniter vent valve

Pilot transformer is energized during start igniter control time ( it is de energized

3 sec after the flame on is detected). At the end of the igniter control time, if
the flame is present (flame rod), the igniter is on.

The causes for igniter shut down are the following

Boiler shut down conditions
Burner stop push button pressed, local or remote
Igniter flame failure (after the control time expired)
Burner ignition control time expired and burner not light with in 3 minutes
Igniter light up failure (1 min of relight interval)
Burner light up failure
Relevant burner on
Igniter safety shut off valve closed
Gun scavenging complete
Boiler Drum Level Compensation Used in Boiler7 (MAA)
The boiler Drum level measured by the level transmitter will be
inaccurate and wide variation can be noticed due to the Boiler Drum
Pressure variation. Hence pressure compensation is a must for correct
level measurement.
From the steam table we will get the variation of Saturated steam
density with pressure and this is implemented in DCS by using a
Characterizer block. The measurement input to this block is Boiler
drum pressure. The density at various pressures such as 0, 10,20, 30,
40, 50, 60, 70, 80 , 90, 100 Bar is mentioned as X1 to X11 and the
corresponding density 0.5889, 5.6317, 10.5341, 15.5095, 20.6147,
25.8979, 31.39, 37.1139, 43.1142, 49.4269, and 56.077 are mentioned
as Y1 to Y11. The block output will be the saturated steam density at
the measured drum pressure and let it be Ys.
Similarly the saturated water density is measured by another
characterizer block and the block output will be the saturated water
density at the measured drum pressure. Let it be Yw.
The actual drum level can be calculated by using the equation
hm = h * transmitter range
- (100 * Ys)
H
Yw Ys
Where
hm = Actual drum level

h
Ys
Yw
H

=
=
=
=

level measured by transmitter in %

saturated steam density
saturated water density
wet leg height

In boiler 7 the transmitter range is 686mm WC and wet leg height is

0.7mtrs.
This equation is implemented in DCS by using a Calculator Block. The
real inputs to the block are measured Level , the saturated steam and
saturated water density at the measured steam drum pressure from
the characterizer blocks. The values stored in Memory 1 and Memory 2
are 686 and 0.7 and memory 3 to 24 are zeroes.
The following steps are followed to implement the equation.
STEP1
IN RIO1
(ex. 40%)
STEP2
LAC M1
STEP3
MUL
STEP4
LAC M2
STEP5
DIV
STEP6
STM M3
STEP7
IN 100
STEP8
IN RI02
density , for ex.

Level measured by the transmitter

load accumulator memory 1 = 686
multiply ( 40 * 686)
load accumulator memory 2 =0.7
divide ( (40 * 686) / (0.7))
store in memory 3
real input 02 ie. saturated steam
The saturated steam density at 60 bar is

31.39
STEP9
MUL
STEP 10
STM M4
STEP 11
LAC M3
/ (0.7))
STEP 12
LAC M4
31.39)
STEP 13
SUB
(100*31.39)
STEP 14
IN RI03
for ex.
STEP 15
DIV
728
STEP 16
OUT R001
level

multiply ie. ( 100 * 31.39)

store in memory 4
load accumulator memory 3 (ie. (40*686)
load accumulator memory 4 (ie. 100*
subtract

(ie,

((40*686)/(0.7))

real input 03 ie. Saturated water density ,

At 60 bar this is 728
divide ie. ((40*686)/(0.7) (100*31.39) /
output real output. Ie. The compensated
At the measured steam drum pressure.

Note :- the equation implemented in DCS is

hm = h * transmitter range
- (100 * Ys)
H
Yw
Instead of
hm = h * transmitter range
- (100 * Ys)
H
Yw Ys