Fire Tube Boiler Capacity Calculation

A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or (many) more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating steam. Operation of fire tube boiler is as simple as its construction. In fire tube boiler, the fuel is burnt inside a furnace. The hot gases produced in the furnace then passes through the fire tubes. The fire tubes are immersed in water inside the main vessel of the boiler. As the hot gases are passed through these tubes, the heat energy of the gasses is transferred to the water surrounds them. As a result steam is generated in the water and naturally comes up and is stored upon the water in the same vessel of fire tube boiler. So, how do you calculate the capacity of the fire tube boiler?

It is common to express the output of fire tube and water tube steam boilers in Boiler Horsepower, MBTU or in Pounds of Steam delivered per hour.

W = (hg - hf) m
where
W = boiler capacity (Btu/h)
hg = enthalpy steam (Btu/lb)
hf = enthalpy condensate (Btu/lb)
m = steam evaporated (lb/h)
Calculate the boiler capacity for example:
Boiler capacity = Burner capacity * efficiency
Example: efficiency = 95% & Burner capacity =11,110 kW.
boiler capacity =11,110 kW * 0.95
~=10,500 kW

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