Insights into the causes and controlling strategies of gas temperature deviation in a 660 MW tangentially fired tower-type boiler

Abstract

• Experiment & simulation on thermal deviation are performed in a tower-type boiler. • Four upper furnace structures are studied to fully reveal the deviation causes. • Properly SOFA horizontal angle of 34–45° is recommended. • SOFA velocity offset with 1.2 of left/right ratio is recommended. • Offsetting SOFA velocity is successfully applied without adverse effects. Gas temperature deviation is a common problem for tangentially fired boilers, affecting the boiler operation safety and the boiler generation efficiency. The gas temperature deviation in the tangentially fired π-type boilers has been well studied. However, the gas temperature deviation in the tangentially fired tower-type boilers has yet to be fully understood. This paper develops insights into the causes and controlling strategies of gas temperature deviation in a 660 MW tangentially fired tower-type boiler with obvious steam temperature deviation by experiment and simulation. Firstly, four upper furnace structures are established to fully reveal the causes of gas temperature deviation. The gas temperature deviation is mainly caused by the flue gas rotation, the heating tubes division, and the suction effect of the induced draft fan. More evident recirculation is observed near the right side than the left side in the platen heater region, resulting in that the flue gas deflects to the left side, and the left side region presents higher temperature. Furthermore, the controlling strategies of gas temperature deviation are studied comprehensively by adjusting SOFA (Separated Over-fire Air) horizontal angle and setting SOFA left–right-side velocity offset. Properly SOFA horizontal angle or enhancing the left-side SOFA velocity may effectively reduce the gas temperature deviation. 34–45° for the SOFA horizontal angle and 1.2 for the SOFA left–right-side velocity ratio are recommended. In the actual operation, offsetting the SOFA left–right-side velocity ( i. e. SOFA air damper opening degree: left side—80% and right side—50%) is successfully applied to reduce the re-heated steam temperature deviation from 18 K to 1 K without bringing adverse effects under the low load. These deep insights may provide useful information to control the steam temperature deviation in the platen heater zone.