Monday, March 7, 2016

Understanding Commercial And Industrial Boilers

By Donald Parker


A boiler is a closed vessel that is used to heat fluids such as water. The fluid does not usually have to boil during the heating process. In such cases where the fluid does not actually boil, the term furnace is used more, especially in Sutton, WV. Heating the fluid produces high pressure steam used for various heating processes and applications. Among those applications for which the steam from commercial and industrial boilers is used include central heating, boiler-based power generation and water heating. It is also used for cooking and sanitation.

Today, there are various kinds and models of boilers in use. Material used in construction relies on the type of boiler and the component. Various alloys of steel are used in manufacturing the pressure compartment of a boiler. However, steel cannot be used on wetted parts of a boiler. This is more so, especially for austenitic types of steel. Such steels are vulnerable to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking.

Ferritic stainless steel is often used in making parts that do not come in contact with water. In smaller models and certain applications, copper and brass are used because of how easier they are to fabricate. Historically, copper was used widely, but because of its higher cost, it has become less popular. Steel and other cheaper alternatives are instead taking over. Cast and wrought iron still find use in some applications including domestic water heaters.

Initially, various components of the equipment were joined through riveting. However, the 20th century saw steel become more preferable over wrought iron and welding started being used more over riveting. Welding is faster and cheaper because it requires less labor.

However, wrought iron presents several advantages over steel in many aspects. First, corrosion is much slower in appliances made from wrought iron than those made from steel. Susceptibility to localized pitting and stress-corrosion are also much less in components constructed from wrought iron. Because of those advantages, wrought-iron boilers can stay much longer than those constructed from steel and joined through welding.

Heat generation in a boiler requires various kinds of fuels. Oil, wood, coal, and natural gas are major examples of fuels in use today. However, resistance and immersion-type heating elements are now being used to advancements in technology that led to the manufacture of electric steam models. Power generation from steam using nuclear fission is also becoming more common these days.

The use and manufacture of these devices needs to be done at high levels of safety. For that reason, there are organizations that set design specifications and regulate standards and codes followed in the industry. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is one such organization that provides rules and directives to ensure compliance in how pressure vessels are designed and produced.

Boilers generate steam that is very effective at transferring energy from one point to another. However, the medium of transfer needs to be suitable if the transfer has to occur well. Poorly designs are susceptible to bursting and become compromised, which can lead to serious accidents. Such accidents are usually catastrophic and can destroy a lot of property and kill many people.




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