LABORATORY REPORT 3

Performance Test of Fire Tube Steam Boiler

NAME:
BARTOLOME, Joy
BOS, Kenny Mayren
CABALCE, Wilfred Carl
MARCELO, Rozel Dana
TAN, Kim

S.Y.2020-2021_MELAB3_TK41
KEY TERMINOLOGIES
1. Fire-tube boiler -hot gases move from a fire through one or more tubes flowing through a
sealed container of water in this type of boiler.
2. Horsepower- is a power unit that is used to determine how powerful an engine is.
3. Heating Surface-The fire surface of a steam boiler or similar device is the surface from
which heat is transferred to the liquid to be evaporated or heated.
4. Volume flow rate- The volume of fluid moving through a particular cross-sectional area
per unit time is defined as Q of a fluid.
5. Specific gravity- ratio density of a substance in comparison to that of a standard
substance.
6. Enthalpy is most commonly understood of as a substance's heat content—the amount of
energy within a substance that can be converted to heat.

I. ABSTRACT
For this experiment, we further familiarize ourselves with the operation of a fire tube
boiler. We studied how the fire tube boiler works for a simple steam power plant. We learned the
concept of our activity and figured out the role of each specific equipment in a simple power
plant. After doing the experiment, we calculated certain parameters using the data we gathered in
the experiment. This experiment will help us develop certain skills for future references in the
field of engineering.

II. METHODOLOGY
Before you the start of the activity, make sure to check safety measures. That the
surrounding area is safe and free of and hazards that will likely be a source of accident. Make
sure the caster wheel of the cycler is locked to prevent it from moving. Make sure that the cycler
master key, burner switch, load know, steam admission valve and gas valve know are in off
position. Otherwise notify authorized personnel and report the issue. After that prepare the things
or install the software that is needed in the laptop such as the DAQ system to the cycler on the
platform but do not plug the cycler to the power outlet yet. Make sure that the boiler and
condenser is completely drained and the beaker is clean and free of dirt.
For the preparation, the beaker must be filled with clean water up to 5500mL only, place
it on top of the condenser and plug the hose at the back of the boiler. Open the discharge valve of
the beaker and allow the water to fill the boiler (open the steam admission valve to allow
pressure release). After successful filling of water, allow 2mins of settling then close the steam
admission valve and remove the hose inserted on the boiler and remove the beaker on the
condenser and place it on a safe place. You can now plug the cycler cable to the power outlet.
The sight glass of the cycler is not calibrated. You are required to have calibration before the
start of the experiment, otherwise water consumption cannot be computed.
As this experiment involves machine that produce fire, we need to be cautious enough for
safety. Then proceed with opening the LPG fuel tank source (check for signs of leak by sound or
smell “rotten egg”, if a leak exists, report immediately to authorized personnel for rectification).
Turn on the gas valve at the cycler. Select the master key switch to ON position, an illumination
of red light for low water indication will blink a few seconds and will come off. If the low water
indication still persists, it’s either water is insufficient or there is damage on the cycler. Then
select the burner to ON position, observe and verify the combustion blower rotates. Purge the
fuel lines if necessary. After start of combustion, allow 45 secs of operation then immediately
turn OFF the burner and immediately turn it back ON. The combustion will process will start
again in a few secs. (Combustion is verified by the “burp” like sound). Make sure that the steam
admission valve is closed to allow build-up of pressure. Take note that 120 psi is the max.
operating pressure of the boiler, beyond this the boiler will auto shutdown. If pressure build-up is
observed, slowly open the steam admission valve, the turbine may or may not rotate in the
beginning. Continuously adjust the steam valve until the turbine starts to rotate. When the turbine
starts rotating fast, make sure the operating voltage is ~8.4V. This is accomplished by turning the
load switch ON and increasing the load accordingly by the rheostat. Take note that exceeding 9V
will incur damage to the equipment. Continuously adjust the steam admission valve and load
rheostat until a Steady-state condition is achieved.
Once steady-state condition is achieved, adjust the sight glass upper bezel to establish starting
water level and take note of the start time. Operation time will be given by the instructor. During
operation, measure the required parameters for data analysis. After successful operation, turn
OFF the burner and adjust the lower bezel on the sight glass to measure water consumed by the
boiler. Collect the condensate generated on the condenser. For shutting down of the machine,
Close the gas valve on the cycler and close the LPG valve. Release the remaining steam pressure
via steam admission valve and during this process remember that the turbine should not exceed
9V during rotation. After the pressure gauge reaches zero pressure, select the master key to the
OFF position.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
a. Data sheet
 Wall Outside Diameter (D) = 20.32 cm
 Wall Thickness (t) = 0.198 cm

Boiler Shell’s Parts Dimension (cm)

Main Shell External Length (L) 24.85

Main Flame Tube Inside Diameter ( d i) 1.62
Main Flame Tube outside Diameter (d o ¿ 5.08
Return Tube Inside Diameter ( d i) 4.842
Return Tube outside Diameter ( d o) 1.9
No. of return Tube (n) 16
2
Heating surface, m 4430.52
Boiler Performance Data
Rated Boiler Horsepower 4869HP
LP Higher Heating Value, MJ/kg 46.1 MJ/kg
LP Volume flowrate, L/min 5.285 L/min
LP Specific gravity 0.580 @15oC
Boiler Operating Pressure, kPa 669.4809kpag
Boiler Operating Temperature, oC 181.3 oC
Boiler Inlet Enthalpy, hf ( kJ/kg) 104.83 kJ/kg
Boiler Outlet Enthalpy, hs (kj/kg) 2720 kJ/kg
Mass flowrate of steam, ms (kg/hr) 63.33 kg/hr
Developed Boiler Horsepower 5HP
Heat Supplied by Fuel, kJ/kg 7893.05 kJ/kg
Percent rating, % 0.10%
ASME Evaporation Units 165618.7161
Factor of Evaporation 1.1587
Equivalent Evaporation 73.83
Boiler Economy 0.37
Equivalent Specific Evaporation 0.428719
Boiler Efficiency 12.26%
b. Schematic Diagram
 c. Finding and analysis

The Boiler used in the experiment is a fire tube boiler which have combustion
products or heat source inside. This boiler is shell with different tubes inside such as the
main flame tube and return tube. The Heating Surface is taken from the total area of the
boiler. The Rated Boiler Horsepower is then computed by the given Heating Surface over
1.1. The Developed Boiler Horsepower is the actual heat absorption divided by 35,322.
Meanwhile, ASME Evaporation Units is simply the actual heat absorption. The Percent
Rating is taken from the ratio of the developed boiler horsepower to the rated boiler
horsepower. The Factor of Evaporation was taken by dividing actual heat absorption over
2257. Equivalent Evaporation is simply the rate multiplied by the factor of evaporation.
The Boiler Economy is the ratio of the steam and fuel’s mass. The equivalent Specific
Evaporation is the boiler economy’s value multiplied by the factor of evaporation. Lastly,
the overall thermal efficiency is computed by actual heat absorption over mass of fuel
that is multiplied to Qh.

IV. CONCLUSION
After conducting this experiment, we were able to familiarize ourselves with how a fire
tube boiler operates. The data and results we achieved helped us perceive more on how the
equipment and its system works. Using the data and results that we gathered, we then calculated
the necessary parameters of the boiler that we were tasked to find. In conclusion, we were able to
achieve our aim for this experiment.

V. REFERENCES
 https://www.mindat.org/glossary/heating_surface
 https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/horsepower
 https://www.britannica.com/science/specific-gravity
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/enthalpy