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Chapter 23
Boiler Enclosures, Casing
and Insulation
Fig. 2 Fully studded membrane walls. Fig. 3 Flat stud tube wall construction with inner casing shown.
Windbox
The windbox is a reinforced, metal-cased enclosure
that attaches to the furnace wall, houses the burn-
ers, and distributes the combustion air. It may be lo-
cated on one furnace wall, on two opposite furnace
walls, or on all furnace walls using a wraparound con-
figuration. The attachments to the furnace walls must
be gas-tight and permit differential thermal expan-
sion between the tubes and casing.
For large capacity boilers, the windbox may be com-
partmented and placed only on the front and rear fur-
nace walls. The windboxes are compartmented (inter-
nally separated with horizontal division plates) for
better combustion air control.
Tempering gas plenum
This enclosure, located above the windbox, provides
for the distribution and injection of flue gas which is
used to temper the furnace gases and control the ash
fouling of heating surfaces. It is constructed similarly
to the windbox, but is normally protected on the in-
side by a combination of refractory and stainless steel
shields opposite the gas ports.
Penthouse
The penthouse casing forms the enclosure for all mis-
Fig. 4 Tangent tube wall construction with outer casing shown. cellaneous pressure parts located above the furnace
and convection pass roofs. It is a series of reinforced
flat plate panels welded together and to the top pe-
they replaced. Their biggest drawback is high instal- rimeter of the furnace pressure parts. Various seals
lation costs because the entire boiler must be stripped are used at the penetrations through the penthouse
of its existing casing and insulation, then a new in- walls, roof and roof tubes. Some examples are cylin-
sulation and lagging system must be installed. drical bellows or flexible cans sealing the suspension
hangers, large fold (pagoda) seals around the steam
Casing enclosures piping and refractory or casing seals around heating
surface tube penetrations through the roof tubes. On
The casing is the sheet or plate attached to pres- many utility and some industrial boilers a gas-tight
sure parts for supporting, insulating, or forming a gas- roof casing is used on top of the roof tubes as the pri-
tight enclosure.
A boiler unit contains many cased enclosures that
are not water-cooled. These enclosures must be de- Membrane Wall Flat Stud Tubes
signed to withstand relatively high temperatures while
having external walls that minimize heat loss and
protect operating personnel.
Casings are constructed of sheet or plate reinforced
with stiffeners to withstand the design pressures and
temperatures. When the casing is directly attached to Seal Weld
the furnace walls, expansion elements are added to Fig. 5 Casing attachment to membrane wall.
allow for differential thermal expansion of the tubes
and casing. The frontispiece shows typical enclosures
including the hopper casing, windbox, tempering gas
plenum and penthouse casing.
Hopper
Seal Weld
Hopper enclosures are used in various areas of the Round Rod
Fig. 6 Tangent tubes with closure rods.
boiler setting that may include the economizer hop-
per, furnace hopper enclosure and the wash hopper Flat Studs
for dry bottom units.
The enclosure provided by the hopper casing may
also serve as a plenum for the recirculating gas which
leaves the economizer hopper through ports and en-
ters the furnace through openings between tubes in Seal Weld Flat Bar
the furnace hopper. Fig. 7 Widely spaced tubes with flat studs and closure bars.
Design considerations
Resistance to ash, slag and erosion
Ash has a tendency to shed from a water- or steam-
cooled metal surface, particularly when its tempera-
ture is well below the ash softening point. Wall type
sootblowers remove ash in high temperature areas
where it tends to adhere to the walls. (See Chapter 24.)
Extensive areas of exposed refractory must be
avoided because large accumulations of ash could fall
into the furnace damaging equipment or causing in-
jury to personnel. Also, crotches in the tube wall should Fig. 8 Bottom supported unit.
be designed to prevent ash and slag accumulation.
Pressure part erosion is reduced to acceptable lev- flues and ducts while metal hoses and sliding or
els by limiting the gas velocity through the unit. How- toggled gasketed couplings are used in piping. Water
ever, local high velocities can still occur in areas where seals are generally used between ash hoppers or slag
gas bypasses baffles or heating surfaces. These high tanks and the associated furnace. With large units,
velocity lanes are best eliminated by proper design, the expansion may be as great as 12 in. (305 mm)
baffle installation and routine maintenance. between adjacent parts yet the joints must remain
Some unit designs such as process recovery, refuse pressure-tight.
and circulating fluidized-bed boilers require large
areas of refractory on tube surfaces. In these units, Support
the refractory system is designed to eliminate the ef- The support of boilers is discussed in Chapter 40.
fects of corrosion or erosion, or both, on pressure parts It is generally more economical to support the smaller
while minimizing the reduction in heat absorption by units from the bottom and the larger units from the
pressure parts. top. In either case, the boiler setting is formed by the
waterwalls when these are available.
Expansion For bottom supported units, the enclosure is usu-
With the inner cased unit, Fig. 3, temperature dif- ally supported from a common foundation with the
ferentials can occur between the casing and the tubes boiler as shown in Fig. 8. For top supported units, cased
during startup. Expansion of the wall in the horizon- enclosures are supported from the pressure parts with
tal direction is governed by the temperature of the the exception of the penthouse enclosure which is sup-
channel tie bar. Because the casing and the channels ported directly from the structural steel by the hanger
are at the same temperature, they can be welded to- rods.
gether. Vertical expansion differences are accommo-
dated by flexing of the casing flanges at the top and Explosions
bottom of each casing section. In the design of settings, the effect of possible ex-
With a bottom supported unit, such as the PFI in- plosions must be considered to minimize the possibili-
tegral furnace boiler (Fig. 8) which is designed for ties of personnel injury and serious equipment dam-
pressure firing, the structure is fixed at a point at one age. It is imperative that all types of boilers be de-
end of the lower drum. Clearances, seals and supports signed to minimize the risk and effect of explosion.
are designed for known expansions in all directions This requires that all new boilers and boilers under-
from the fixed point. going major alterations be designed and evaluated so
With a top supported unit (see frontispiece), the that they are in compliance with the National Fire Pro-
expansion occurs downward from one elevation. The tection Association (NFPA) 85 Standard, Boiler Com-
horizontal expansion of a boiler in both the fore and bustion Systems Hazards Code. On units with fluid
aft as well as in the side to side direction is determined or fluidized fuels, care must be taken to avoid puffs
by the location and method in which the hot boiler is that can occur from improper fuel and air mixture
tied to cold building steel. Typically, a combination of during startup. (See Chapter 11.) A better understand-
link ties and bumper ties is used to attach the hot boiler ing of the technical problems and the development of
walls, via the buckstay system, to cold building steel. adequate design and operating codes have eliminated
Flues and ducts, piping, ash tanks and burner lines most explosions.
must be designed with expansion joints or seals to The enclosure is designed to withstand common
accommodate movement. Flexible metal bellows, me- puffs and large transient gas-side pressure excursions.
tallic box fold joints, or non-metallic belts are used in A design can be provided that results in the failure of
studs, stud attachments and welds rather than fail- on units with high static pressure induced draft fans.
ure of tube walls in the event of a major furnace ex- The risk of furnace implosions exists whenever a fan
plosion. This minimizes the risk of release of large is located between the furnace and the stack. This risk
quantities of high pressure steam. Unfortunately, this exists even if the furnace is not normally being oper-
design may also result in extremely hot gases being ated at a negative pressure since the rapid furnace
directed at platforms and steel in areas that were not temperature decay occurring on a Master Fuel Trip
designed to accommodate high temperature gases. (MFT) results in the furnace being exposed to the
Explosion doors were once used on small furnaces maximum head capacity of the fan on a transient ba-
to relieve excessive internal furnace pressure. These sis during the fuel trip. This risk is also increased where
doors are no longer used because the rapid internal axial flow forced draft (FD) fans are used since they
pressure increase from a fuel explosion is not signifi- can go into stall on the negative transient, blocking
cantly relieved by opening one or more doors. Explo- air flow into the furnace which is needed to restore
sion doors may also be more of a hazard than a safety the furnace pressure. The rules for determining mini-
margin because, in the event of a puff, they may dis- mum continuous and transient design pressures for
charge hot gases that would otherwise be completely the furnace enclosures can be found in the NFPA 85
contained within the setting. Standard. In addition, induced draft fan controls are
The forces from normal operating negative or posi- specified in NFPA 85 to minimize possible operating
tive furnace gas-side pressures and from transient or control errors and to reduce the degree of furnace
negative or positive furnace gas-side pressures, as draft excursion following a fuel trip.
defined by NFPA 85, are contained by rectangular bars
called tie bars and/or channel tie bars attached to wall Vibration
tubes to form continuous bands around the setting.
Cold beams (buckstays), which are attached to the Excessive vibration can cause failures of the tubes,
tie bars with slip connections, accommodate the gas- insulation, casing and supports. These vibrations can
side pressure loadings and limit the inward and out- be produced by external rotating equipment, furnace
ward deflection of the wall tubes. pulsations from the uneven combustion of the fuel, or
Because the buckstays are outside of the insulation, turbulence in the flowing streams of air or gas in flues,
special corner connections are required that allow the ducts and tube banks.
walls to expand (Fig. 9). Forces generated by furnace Tube walls, flues and ducts are designed to limit
gas-side pressures concentrate at the corner connec- vibration during normal operating conditions. In re-
tions. These connections must be tight during startup gard to wall tube vibrations, buckstays are typically
when the walls have not fully expanded and during spaced to ensure that the natural frequency of the wall
the normal operating fully expanded position. tubes is greater than or equal to 6 hertz. The moment
The vertical tubes that span between the buckstays of inertia of a buckstay must be chosen to ensure that
act as a beam to resist the internal furnace pressure. the buckstay natural frequency is greater than or
The larger the tube diameter and the heavier the tube equal to 3 hertz, based on a simply loaded uniform
wall, the farther apart the buckstays may be spaced, beam. Flues, ducts and casings are similarly stiffened
provided that allowable wall tube vibration limits are by bars or structural shapes to limit vibration. This
not exceeded. Permissible deflections and/or combina- stiffening is particularly necessary in sections of flues
tions of the positive or negative pressure loadings with and ducts where the flow is highly turbulent, as in
wind or seismic loadings determine the size of the the fan discharge connecting piece. Every effort should
buckstay beam. be made to eliminate the sources of severe vibration,
such as unbalanced rotating equipment, poor combus-
Implosions tion and highly turbulent or unbalanced air or gas flow.
Implosions are usually caused by an extremely
rapid decay of furnace pressure due to sudden loss of Heat loss
fuel supply or by the improper operation of dampers
Heat loss from a boiler setting is reduced by insu-
lation, usually as an integral part of the boiler enclo-
sure. (See Figs. 1 through 4.) There is an economical
balance between the value of the heat loss and the
cost of the insulation and installation.
The insulation system is designed to provide both
safety for personnel and minimal heat loss. In addi-
tion, indoor units require ventilation for both opera-
tor comfort and room air change.
The materials used most frequently for heat insu-
lation are listed below.
Mineral wool
This material is comprised of molten slag, glass or
rock, blown into fibers by steam or an air jet or spun
Fig. 9 Tie bar and buckstay arrangement at corner of furnace. by high speed wheels.
Ceramic fiber
High purity ceramic fibers, with melting points Fig. 10 Thermal conductivity of various refractory materials.
above 3000F (1649C), are occasionally used for tube
enclosure seals where resiliency or high temperature
insulation is required. personnel. This can be helped by using grating rather
than solid floors, by ample aisle space between adja-
Heat loss calculations cent boilers, by the location of fans to assist the circu-
lation of air around the boiler and by installing ven-
Calculations of the heat flow through a composite tilating equipment to assure adequate air exchange.
wall are discussed in Chapter 4. Thermal conductivi- Good ventilation does not greatly increase overall
ties of a wide range of commercial refractory and in- heat loss. Air velocity affects the surface heat trans-
sulating materials, at the temperatures for which they fer coefficient. This can be verified by data from Fig.
are suitable, are given in Fig. 10. Combined heat losses 11. However, surface conductance is only a small part
(radiation plus convection) per square foot (square of the total resistance to heat flow. For example, an
meter) of outer wall surface are given in Fig. 11 for increase in air velocity from 1 to 10 ft/s (0.3 to 3 m/s),
various ambient air velocities and surface air tem- for the conditions given in Fig. 13, will increase the
perature differences. The American Boiler Manufac- heat loss rate through the wall by only 2%.
turers Association (ABMA) Radiation Loss Chart pro- Unlike heat loss, outer surface temperature is con-
vides a quick approximation for radiation loss, ex- siderably affected by the surrounding conditions. In
pressed as a percentage of gross heat input (Fig. 12). the situation shown in Fig. 14, where two walls of
similar temperatures are close together, the radiant
Ventilation, surface temperature, conditions heat transfer from either wall is negligible. The natural
To maintain satisfactory working conditions for circulation of air through such a cavity is inadequate
personnel around a boiler, a cold face temperature of to cool the walls to a temperature suitable for person-
135F (57C) or less is considered satisfactory. Heat nel working in the vicinity. From Fig. 15 it can be seen
losses, corresponding to these surface temperatures, that a considerable change in surface film resistance
range from 90 to 130 Btu/h ft2 (284 to 410.1 W/m2), which will cause an appreciable change in lagging or sur-
can be readily absorbed by the air circulation generally face temperature while not affecting the heat loss
provided in present day boiler rooms. through the wall to any extent.
Insulating a boiler to reduce heat loss to a value Increased insulation thickness would not signifi-
that can readily be absorbed by the total volume of cantly reduce the surface temperature in the cavity
room air does not in itself assure comfortable working shown in Fig. 14. Cavities should therefore be avoided
conditions. Proper air circulation around all parts of in areas where operators work. Ventilating ducts to
the boiler is also necessary to prevent the accumula- reduce the air temperature in such a cavity can be
tion of heat in the areas frequented by the operating installed if necessary.
Leakage
Continuing efforts have been made over the years to
reduce air infiltration into boiler settings. Such in-leak-
age increases gas flow and the heat rejected to the stack,
thereby lowering boiler efficiency and increasing the
amount of induced draft fan power. (See Chapter 10.)
Corrosion
One of the advantages of membrane walls compared
to cased walls is that they eliminate flue gas corrosion
on the cold face of the enclosure walls. Most flue gases
contain sulfur; therefore, metal parts of the setting
must either be kept above the dew point of the gases
or out of contact with the gases. (See Chapter 21.) The
dew point generally ranges between 150 and 250F (66
and 12lC) and is dependent on the fuel, its sulfur con-
tent and the firing method.
Flues carrying low temperature spent gases should
be insulated on the outside to inhibit corrosion. This
is particularly necessary on outdoor units. Water-
cooled doors and slag tap coils require water tempera-
tures above 150F (66C) to keep the cooling coils above
the dew point of the gases.
When casing is located outside of insulation or re-
fractory, it is still subject to the action of the flue gases.
When this type of casing is subjected to a tempera-
ture below the dew point, an asphalt mastic or other
type of coating is needed to protect it from corrosion on
the inside. This problem requires special attention in the
Fig. 11 Heat loss from wall surfaces (radiation + convection) design of outdoor installations where temperatures may,
(Source ASTM Standards, Part 13, 1969). at times, be below flue gas dew point temperatures.
Fig. 12 Radiation loss in percent of gross heat input (American Boiler Manufacturers Association).
With the use of externally insulated casing, corro- Fig. 15 Effect of surface film resistance on surface temperature and
heat loss rate.
sion problems are greatly reduced because the flue
gases are completely contained by a metal skin, which
is well above the dew point temperature. However, Resistance to weather
even with the inner casing, seals and expansion joints Outdoor boiler installations are possible in mild cli-
must be insulated properly to avoid cold spots and mates. While the initial cost of the plant is reduced,
consequent corrosion. maintenance of the boiler and auxiliary equipment
must be considered. Severe weather can extend out-
age time and increase maintenance expenses. These
units must also have sufficient reinforcement to with-
stand the pressure and suction forces of the wind.
Lagging is an outer covering over a wall used for
protecting the insulation from water or mechanical
damage. It is relatively simple to make a metal lagged
unit rainproof. Joints and flange connections are over-
lapped and flashings are used around openings. Weld-
ing of joints or the use of mastic compounds is neces-
sary in areas which are difficult to seal.
Sloping roofs are required and are particularly
important on aluminum lagging where pockets of
water would eventually stain the surface. Direct con-
tact between aluminum and steel must be avoided to
prevent galvanic corrosion of the aluminum in the
presence of moisture. Roof flashings should be de-
signed so that water runoff does not wet the aluminum.
Weather hoods should be used to keep rain, snow
and ice from contacting outdoor safety valves. Nozzle
and valve necks must be insulated and protected with
sheet metal or outer waterproof covering. Outdoor
control lines containing air or flue gas, drain and sam-
pling lines and intermittently operated steam and
water lines should be insulated and protected by elec-
tric resistance heating tape. Steam pipe tracer lines
may also be used in some cases. Dry air should be sup-
plied for control lines and sootblowers. Steam and wa-
Fig. 14 Cavities tend to raise wall surface temperatures. ter lines outside the setting must be completely drainable.
Serviceability
Many setting details must be designed to simplify
operation and maintenance. Working areas around
the unit should have adequate lighting and comfort-
able temperatures. Clearances for servicing and re-
moving parts should be provided. Access through the
setting is necessary for inspection of boiler internals.
Suitable platforms for access doors, sootblowers, in-
struments and controls are essential.
Fig. 16 Inspection door for balanced draft furnace.
Inspection doors allow observation of combustion
conditions and the cleanliness of heat absorbing sur-
faces. Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate inspection doors for bal-
anced draft and pressurized settings. Safety is provided
by two types of interlocks which assure that compressed
air is properly aspirating the aperture before the door is
opened. A feature of this door is that the aspirating jet
does not restrict the comparatively wide view angle.
The tube bends that form openings must have the
smallest possible radius. The length of the stud plate
closures around the opening is minimized so that the
plates can be adequately cooled by welded contact to
the tubes, thereby preventing burn back and subse-
quent overheat of seals. Fig. 17 Inspection door for pressurized furnace.