Steam generating system

Abstract: A fluid flow circuit for a boiler has a combustion chamber (30) and an exhaust passage (20). At least one upflow evaporative generating bank module (46) and at least one downflow evaporative generating bank module (48) are provided in the exhaust passage (20), with the downflow module (46) downstream of the upflow module (46). One or more upper downcomers (42, 44) are connected to a steam drum (40) and supply water to a lower header (52) of the upflow module (46) and to an upper header (54) of the downflow module (48). If needed, convection pass wall enclosures can also be fed by the upper downcomers (42, 44) via upper inlet headers. One or more lower downcomers (62) are connected to each lower header (56) of the downflow module (48) (and to lower outlet headers of the convection pass wall enclosures) to supply the water to a plurality of furnace circuits (64) which extend along the combustion chamber (30) in the boiler. The opposite end of each furnace circuit (64) is connected to one or more risers (58, 60) which, in turn, are connected to the steam drum (40). The upper header (50) of the upflow module (46) is also connected to the steam drum (40) through one or more risers (58, 60) to complete the circuit.

Description: The invention relates to a steam generating system including a fluid flow circuit with a boiler and a combustion chamber with an exhaust passage. Furnace circuits that receive heat, and have fluid flow therein from a low elevation to a high elevation are referred to as "upflowing circuits" and circuits that receive heat, and have fluid flow therein from a high elevation to a low elevation are referred to as "downflowing circuits". A circuit is made up of a tube or a group of tubes that originates at a common position such as a header or a drum, and terminates at a common position that could also be either a header or a drum. In most natural circulation boiler designs, the heated tubes that comprise the evaporative portion of the design are configured for upflow of the fluid, the exception being the heated downcomer tubes of the generating bank(s) on multi-drum boilers. In this type of boiler the heated downcomer tubes provide the total circulation flow for the furnace and the evaporative generating bank riser tubes. In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings the circulation concept of a typical industrial boiler is shown. In this concept, subcooled water from a steam drum 10 enters heated evaporative generating bank downcomer tubes 12 in an exhaust passage 20 of the furnace. The water travels down the tubes of this bank and is collected in the lower drum 14 of the bank. The enthalpy of the water that exits into the lower drum 14 has increased due to the heat that was absorbed by each tube 12 in the bank. The water in the lower drum 14 could either be subcooled or saturated, depending upon the amount of heat absorbed. The mixture that leaves the lower drum 14 will either travel up evaporative generating bank riser tubes 16 or down large tubes or pipes 18 called downcomers. The liquid that travels up the riser tubes 16 absorbs heat and exits into the steam drum 10. The liquid that travels down the downcomers 18 reaches furnace inlet headers 19 either through direct connection of the downcomer 18 to the inlet header 19 or through intermediate supply tubes 22 that feed the liquid to specific inlet headers. The liquid that enters one of the inlet headers 19 is distributed to furnace tubes 24 that are connected to the inlet header 19. The tubes 24 of the furnace are heated by the burning of fuel in a combustion chamber 30 of the furnace. The absorption of heat by the furnace tubes 24 causes the liquid in the tubes 24 to boil resulting in a two-phase mixture of water and steam. The two-phase mixture in the tubes 24 reaches the steam drum 10 either through direct connection of the tubes 24 to the steam drum 10 or through intermediate riser tubes 26 that transmit the two-phase mixture from outlet headers 28 of the furnace circuits to the steam drum 10. Internal separation equipment within the steam drum 10 separates the two-phase mixture into steam and water. Subcooled feedwater that is discharged from the feedpipe (not shown) in the steam drum 10 and the saturated liquid that is discharged from the separation equipment are mixed together to yield a subcooled liquid that exits the steam drum 10 by way of the downcomer tubes 12, thus completing the circulation flow loop for this concept. For evaporative boiler generating bank modules and selected furnace and convection pass wall enclosures subject to the flow of the combustion gases, a threshold heat input is required adequately to circulate the fluid in all the tubes in the module and in the convection pass wall enclosure circuits in upflow while avoiding flow instability. As used herein, convection pass wall enclosure refers to the various structures formed by tubes conveying a fluid and which pick up heat primarily via convective heat transfer between the gas stream and the tubes, and which serve at least partially to define the exhaust passage or passages of the boiler. For certain designs, it is impossible to circulate all the tubes in the evaporative modules or convection pass wall enclosures in upflow without changing to a more expensive module or wall enclosure geometry (for example thicker tubes for increasing tube flow velocity, taller module or wall enclosure height, or reduced system flow resistance through the addition of circulation system pressure part connections). In most natural circulation designs, as an alternative to more expensive evaporative modules, economizer surface may be added to absorb the additional heat required to meet the desired boiler outlet gas temperature. When economizer surface is added, the economizer outlet water temperature increases. The economizer outlet water is fed to the steam drum. If the economizer outlet water temperature reaches the saturation temperature of the liquid in the steam drum, then the circulation system of the boiler will receive no subcooling from the feedwater that enters the drum. The subcooling that the feedwater system delivers to the steam drum provides a portion of the 'pumping' head that is needed to make the circulation system operate. When the subcooling is not available due to a saturated or near saturated economizer outlet water temperature, achieving adequate boiler circulation and desired boiler efficiency (outlet gas temperature) will require increased boiler cost since it will be necessary either to reduce the economizer outlet temperature (e.g. by using water coil air heaters) or add circulation system pressure part connections, with their additional increased cost. US-A-3 888 213 discloses a fluid flow circuit in a boiler which has a combustion chamber and an exhaust passage, the circuit comprising a steam drum, an upper downcomer connected to the steam drum, an upflow evaporating generating bank module positioned in the exhaust passage to absorb heat, the upper downcomer being connected to a lower header of the upflow module, riser means connecting the upflow module to the steam drum, a lower downcomer and a furnace circuit connected between the lower downcomer and the riser means. According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a steam generating system including a fluid flow circuit with a boiler and a combustion chamber with an exhaust passage, comprising; a steam drum to separate steam from water; upper downcomers connected to the steam drum to receive water therefrom; riser means connected to the steam drum to return a mixture of saturated steam and water to the steam drum; and at least one furnace circuit extending along the combustion chamber to receive heat therefrom, and having an upper end connected to the riser means; characterised by at least one downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit having an upper header and a lower header, positioned and partially defining the exhaust passage to absorb heat, one of the upper downcomers being connected to the upper header to receive a portion of the water; and a lower downcomer connected to the convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower header, the furnace circuit having a lower end connected to the lower downcomer. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a steam generating system including a fluid flow circuit with a boiler and a combustion chamber with an exhaust passage, comprising: a steam drum to separate steam from water; at least one upper downcomer connected to the steam drum to receive water therefrom; riser means connected to the steam drum to return a mixture of saturated steam and water to the steam drum; and a furnace circuit extending along the combustion chamber to receive heat therefrom, and having an upper end connected to the riser means; characterised by at least one downflow evaporative generating bank module having an upper header and a lower header, and positioned in the exhaust passage to absorb heat, at least one of the upper downcomers being connected to the upper header of the downflow module to receive the water; and lower downcomers connected to the lower header of the downflow evaporative generating bank module and to the lower end of the furnace circuit. By incorporating selective downflow and upflow circuits together, the circulation system for each selected group of downflow/upflow circuits can be independent from each other. This concept can be used for many types of boiler designs (for example, Radiant Boilers, Stirling Power Boilers, Circulating Fluidized Bed Boilers, Process Recovery Boilers, Municipal Solid Waste and Turbine Exhaust Gas Boilers). Downflow evaporative modules and downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits can solve the economic problem of minimizing unit cost for desired boiler efficiency, by avoiding unit-specific cost increases which are needed to make an evaporative boiler generating bank module or convection pass wall enclosure flow up, or by avoiding the cost of adding economizer surface as in the prior art. Thus, water from the steam drum is fed by downcomers to both the lower inlet headers of the upflow generating bank modules and the upper inlet headers of the downflow generating bank modules. Additionally, if needed, a downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits can also be fed by downcomers to their upper inlet headers, causing them to convey the subcooled water therethrough in a downward direction. This can be selectively applied to some or all of the evaporative generating bank modules and/or to some or all of the convection pass wall enclosure circuits as necessary, depending upon the requirements of a given boiler. The water that enters the lower headers of the upflow generating bank modules travels up the tubes of the modules, absorbing heat along the way. A two-phase mixture is created by the water's absorption of the heat in the tubes. The two-phase mixture exits the tubes and enters the outlet headers of the upflow generating bank modules. The two-phase mixture is transferred to the steam drum by the riser tubes. The water entering the upper inlet headers of the downflow generating bank modules is distributed to the tubes that make up the circuitry of these modules. The water travels down the tubes of these modules and is collected in the lower outlet headers of the modules. Similarly, the water that enters the upper inlet headers of the downflow convection pass wall enclosures circuitry is distributed to the tubes comprising these circuits. The water travels down the downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit tubes and is collected in the downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower outlet headers. The enthalpy of the water at the outlet headers has increased due to the heat that was absorbed in each circuit. However, the water at the outlet headers will generally be subcooled in that the heat absorbed by the modules or downflow convection pass wall enclosures is less than that needed to heat the water to saturation temperature. The upflow generating bank modules will generally be placed upstream (with respect to the flow of combustion gases) of the downflow generating bank modules. This placement would be utilized if there is sufficient heat in the combustion gases to exceed the threshold heat input required adequately to circulate the module in upflow while avoiding flow instability. If the heat input at a given location is below the threshold value, however, all the generating bank modules from that point on would be configured as downflow generating bank modules. Thus, if the heat input upstream of all the generating bank modules is below the threshold value, all the generating bank modules would be configured as downflow generating bank modules. From the outlet headers of the downflow generating bank modules, and from the outlet headers of the downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits, the lower downcomers and supply tubes are used to feed the furnace circuits of the boiler. The two-phase mixture that is generated in the furnace circuits is transferred to the steam drum by riser tubes. Internal separating equipment within the steam drum separates the mixture into steam and water. Subcooled feedwater that is discharged from the feedpipe in the drum and the saturated liquid that is discharged from the separation equipment are mixed together to give a subcooled liquid that exits the drum by way of the downcomer tubes, thus completing the circulation flow loop. The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a heated tube circuit for a conventional industrial boiler; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of a steam generating system according to the invention; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 of another embodiment of a steam generating system according to the invention; and Figure 4 is a side elevational view of yet another steam generating system according to the invention, from which evaporative generating bank modules have been omitted for clarity and which shows the application of the invention to a typical downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit. Referring to the drawings in general and to Figure 2 in particular, in a steam generating system a fluid flow circuit for a boiler has a combustion chamber 30 and an exhaust passage 20. The fluid flow circuit includes a steam drum 40 of conventional design. First and second upper downcomers 42 and 44 are connected to the steam drum 40 to receive subcooled water therefrom. Additional upper downcomers can be employed if desired. First and second riser tube assemblies 58 and 60 are likewise connected to the steam drum 40 to return a two-phase mixture of saturated water and saturated steam to the steam drum 40. Additional riser tube assemblies can be employed if desired. A single upflow evaporative generating bank module 46 is positioned in the exhaust passage 20 and includes a lower inlet header 52 which is connected to the upper downcomer 42, and an upper outlet header 50 which is connected to the first riser tube assembly 58. A pair of downflow evaporative generating bank modules 48 are also positioned in the exhaust passage 20, at a location downstream (with respect to the flow of combustion gases shown by the arrows) of the upflow module 46. Each downflow module 48 includes an upper inlet header 54 and a lower outlet header 56. The downflow module inlet headers 54 are each connected to the second upper downcomer 44 for receiving subcooled water from the steam drum 40. The subcooled water is further heated in the exhaust passage 20 and supplied as feed water to a pair of lower downcomers 62. Additional lower downcomers can be employed if desired. The lower downcomers 62 are connected to various supply tube assemblies generally designated 66 which supply the lower end of multiple furnace circuits 64 extending along the combustion chamber 30 to absorb heat generated in the combustion chamber 30. The upper ends of the furnace circuits 64 are connected to the riser tube assemblies 58 and 60, which feed the two-phase mixture of water and steam to the steam drum 40. Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein the same reference numerals are utilized and which designate the same or similar parts. In Figure 3, two upflow modules 46 are positioned at an upstream location in the exhaust passage 20 while a single downflow module 48 is positioned in the exhaust passage 20, downstream of the upflow modules 46. The remaining connections are the same as in the embodiment of Figure 2. Figure 4 shows a side elevational view of a heated tube circuit in a furnace in which the upflow and downflow generating bank modules 46, 48 have been omitted for clarity, to show the application of the invention to a typical downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit 68. In Figure 4, three such downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits 68 have been shown each having an upper header 70 and a lower header 72, which are positioned in and which partially define the exhaust passage 20. The upper downcomers 44 which are used to feed the downflow generating bank modules 48, are also employed to feed subcooled water to the downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits 68. Similarly, the lower downcomers 62 which were previously described as being connected to the lower outlet headers 56 to receive heated water from the downflow generating bank modules 48, are also employed and connected to the convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower header 72 to receive water from the circuits 68. The remaining connections are the same as in the embodiments of Figures 2 and 3. The invention can thus be applied to some or all of the evaporative generating bank modules without the similar application of this concept to the convection pass wall enclosure circuits, or can be applied only to the convection wall pass enclosure circuits without application to the evaporative generating bank modules, or only selectively to some circuits of either type and in any combination. It should also be understood that while the convection pass wall enclosure circuits 68 have been shown as the side walls partially defining the exhaust passage 20, the concept could be equally applied to some or all convection pass wall enclosure circuits, such as roof enclosures, floor enclosures, baffle walls, division walls, or other structures which divide the gas flow into more than one flow path, which serve partially to define the exhaust passage 20, where the outlet headers 72 of such circuit is at a lower elevation than the inlet header 70 of such a circuit. The invention can allow for adequate natural circulation of separate flow circuits in a boiler without the use of expensive module or wall enclosure geometry and can be easily adapted to existing or new construction, by allowing the natural flow characteristics of each independent group of downflow/upflow circuits to guide their design.

Claims: A steam generating system including a fluid flow circuit with a boiler and a combustion chamber (30) with an exhaust passage (20), comprising; a steam drum (40) to separate steam from water; upper downcomers (42, 44) connected to the steam drum (40) to receive water therefrom; riser means (58, 60) connected to the steam drum (40) to return a mixture of saturated steam and water to the steam drum (40); and at least one furnace circuit (64) extending along the combustion chamber (30) to receive heat therefrom, and having an upper end connected to the riser means (58, 60); characterised by at least one downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuit (68) having an upper header (70) and a lower header (72), positioned and partially defining the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, one of the upper downcomers (44) being connected to the upper header (70) to receive a portion of the water; and a lower downcomer (62) connected to the convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower header (72), the furnace circuit (64) having a lower end connected to the lower downcomer (62). A steam generating system according to claim 1, including at least one upflow evaporative generating bank module (46) having an upper header (50) and a lower header (52), and positioned in the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, the upper downcomer means (42, 44) being connected to the upflow module lower header (52) to receive another portion of the water and the upflow module upper header (50) being connected to at least one of the riser means (58, 60). A steam generating system according to claim 2, including at least one downflow evaporative generating bank module (48) having an upper header (54) and a lower header (56), and positioned in the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, one of the upper downcomers (42, 44) being connected to the downflow module upper header (54) to receive a portion of the water and the lower downcomer (62) being connected to the downflow module lower header (56). A steam generating system according to claim 3, wherein there are a plurality of the furnace circuits (64), and a plurality of supply tube assemblies (66) connected between the lower downcomers (62) and the plurality of furnace circuits (64). A steam generating system according to claim 4, including two downflow modules (48) in the exhaust passage (20) and one upflow module (46) in the exhaust passage (20), each of the downflow modules (48) having upper headers (54) connected to the upper downcomers (44) and lower headers (56) connected to the lower downcomers (62). A steam generating system according to claim 5, wherein there is a separate lower downcomer (62) for each of the downflow module lower headers (56) and for the convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower header (72). A steam generating system according to claim 1, including at least one downflow evaporative generating bank module (48) having an upper header (54) and a lower header (56), and positioned in the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, at least one of the upper downcomers (42, 44) being connected to the downflow module upper header (54) to receive a portion of the water, the lower downcomer (62) being connected to the downflow module lower header (56). A steam generating system according to claim 7, wherein there are a plurality of the furnace circuits (64), and a plurality of supply tube assemblies (66) connected between the lower downcomers (62) and the plurality of furnace circuits (64). A steam generating system according to claim 8, wherein there are a plurality of the downflow modules (48) in the exhaust passage (20) and a plurality of the separate downflow convection pass wall enclosure circuits (68), each of the downflow modules (48) and the convection pass wall enclosure circuits (68) having upper headers (70, 54) connected to the upper downcomers and lower headers (56, 72) connected to the lower downcomers (62). A steam generating system according to claim 9, wherein there is a separate lower downcomer (62) for each of the downflow module lower headers (56) and for each of the convection pass wall enclosure circuit lower headers (72). A steam generating system including a fluid flow circuit with a boiler and a combustion chamber (30) with an exhaust passage (20), comprising: a steam drum (40) to separate steam from water; at least one upper downcomer (42, 44) connected to the steam drum (40) to receive water therefrom; riser means (58, 60) connected to the steam drum (40) to return a mixture of saturated steam and water to the steam drum (20); and a furnace circuit (64) extending along the combustion chamber (30) to receive heat therefrom, and having an upper end connected to the riser means (58, 60); characterised by at least one downflow evaporative generating bank module (48) having an upper header (54) and a lower header (56), and positioned in the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, at least one of the upper downcomers (42, 44) being connected to the upper header (54) of the downflow module (48) to receive the water; and lower downcomers (62) connected to the lower header (56) of the downflow evaporative generating bank module (48) and to the lower end of the furnace circuit (64). A steam generating system according to claim 11, wherein there are a plurality of the furnace circuits (64), and a plurality of supply tube assemblies (66) connected between the lower downcomers (62) and the plurality of furnace circuits (64). A steam generating system according to claim 11, including at least one upflow evaporative generating bank module (46) having an upper header (50) and a lower header (52), and positioned in the exhaust passage (20) to absorb heat, one of the upper downcomers (42) being connected to the upflow module lower header (52) to receive a portion of the water, the upflow module upper header (50) being connected to the riser means (58, 60). A steam generating system according to claim 13, wherein the upflow module (48) is positioned upstream of the downflow module (46) in the exhaust passage (20), with respect to the flow of gases from the combustion chamber (30).

Inventors: ALBRECHT MELVIN JOHN, ALBRECHT, MELVIN JOHN
Applicants: BABCOCK & WILCOX CO, THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY
Application year: 1990
Main classification: F22B21
IPC codes: F22B37, F22B21