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Stirling boilers are one of the larger arrangements for a water-tube boiler: acceptable for stationary use, but impractical for mobile use, except for large ships with modest power requirements. They consist of a large brick-built chamber with a sinuous gas path through it, passing over near-vertical
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steel and mostly straight, with gently curved ends. The setting of the boiler is a large brick-built enclosure, but the steam drums are suspended from a separate girder framework inside this, so as to allow for expansion with heat. The tubes, and the water drums in turn, are hung from the steam
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Flow in the first bank is upwards as the tubes are heated, encouraged by their almost vertical position. Cooler water in the later water-tubes descends. Circulation is completed by the link pipes between the steam drums. Circulation is more active in the earlier, hotter circuits.
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drums, again to allow free expansion without straining the tube ends. Owing to their curved ends the water-tubes may enter the drums radially, allowing easy sealing, but this was also a feature considered, according to the fashion of the time, to be important on account of
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Any precipitable deposits (colloquially, "mud") will emerge from solution in this circuit and accumulate in the final water drum. This keeps them away from the more active early tube banks, reducing the problems and inefficiencies of
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Use of large diameter tubes restricts its ability to deal with high pressures, as other designs were beginning to do around this time. A working pressure of 150psi was adequate for driving a
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inches (50.8 and 63.5 mm). To avoid problems with the water levels shifting as the ship rolls, the water drums were arranged crosswise to the hull and provided with internal baffles.
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tiles are laid on each bank, so as to force the gases to flow first up, and then down through each bank. Unusually, much of the gas flow is along the tubes' axis, rather than across them.
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Finally, internal access to components is good for cleaning and maintenance. In particular, it is possible to replace individual water-tubes, without needing to dismantle an entire bank.
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A wide range of fuels may be burned, aided by a large grate area that may easily be increased further, should a poor-quality fuel require it. The original boilers were developed to burn
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Feedwater is supplied to the final steam drum and distributed via an internal trough. The cold feedwater descends slowly through the last tube bank and into the last water drum.
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As the gas flow passes through each tube bank in turn, the later banks are at a significantly lower temperature. This encourages an "extremely efficient" circulation by the
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tubes in the upper part of the boiler between the first two steam drums. The baffles direct the gas-flow through this area first, so it may reach the highest temperature.
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The grate area may easily be varied without affecting the design of the water circuit. This allows the use of large grates for burning low-grade fuels, such as waste and
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build-up within the major heating tubes. Since the final water drum may also be used to catch the "mud" (i.e. a "mud collector"), it is sometimes known as a "mud drum".
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effect. Water level is maintained with the steam drums approximately half-full, so the tubes operate in the "drowned" state with their upper ends permanently submerged.
64:, having water-tubes that are around 3¼ inches (83 mm) in diameter. The tubes are arranged in near-vertical banks between a number of cylindrical, horizontal
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98:. The steam drums and, (in a 5-drum boiler) the water drums, are however linked by short horizontal pipes and these form part of the circulation circuit.
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form, circulation within the middle bank may be split between a descending circuit with the first bank and an ascending circuit with the following bank.
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Owing to the multiple passes through the tube banks and the careful arrangement of circulation and feedwater, the boiler is generally quite efficient.
32:, used to generate steam in large land-based stationary plants. Although widely used around 1900, it has now fallen from favour and is rarely seen.
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The brick-built setting was replaced with a box-like steel housing, lined with firebrick. The water-tube diameter was reduced to between 2 and
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Stirling boilers may be made in very large sizes. It is usual for a standard design to be used, but in varying widths, according to need.
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The arrangement of tubes encouraged efficiency in the boiler, but not superheater temperature. Again, as developments moved away from
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This is a more complex form, which uses an extra tube bank to gain efficiency. It is most popular for large installations, such as
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and also generated combustible waste products, the
Stirling boiler could use one to generate the other. This was commonly done in
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Brick enclosure of a
Stirling boiler in Queensland, Australia, originally fired on sugarcane bagasse. Chimney is to the right.
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All circulation, both up and down, is through the heating tubes and there are no separate external
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This simpler form is mainly used for low powers, or for heat-recovery from other furnace gases.
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This is the main form of the boiler and gives efficient results with economical construction.
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Although broadly similar, variations with different numbers of tube banks are produced.
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to burn domestic waste in cities, the steam then being used for power generation. (
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72:(below). The number of drums varies, and the Stirling designs are categorized into
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Gas flow from the furnace passes through each bank in turn. Partial baffles of
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boilers. The number of tube banks is one less than this, i.e. 2, 3 or 4 banks.
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water-tubes that zig-zag between multiple steam drums and water drums.
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in later years made this burning of 'uncontrolled' waste impractical).
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Five-drum form, section. Note the chain-grate automatic stoker (left).
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mills burning bark waste. The
Stirling boiler was also used before
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in favour of turbines, this became a significant limitation.
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may also be fitted, where a heavy firing rate is required.
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They are amongst the older, "large-tube" designs of
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336:was also used as a marine boiler, to power large
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411:. Vol. VI. London: Caxton. pp. 63–69.
409:The Book of Modern Engines and Power Generators
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254:The boiler is physically large for its power.
332:Although generally a land-based boiler, the
312:version of the boiler is also of this form.
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217:. Where an industrial process both required
285:Small three-drum form, furnace to the right
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125:is fitted, it is installed as straight or
476:. The American Society of Power Engineers
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430:Prof. William Ripper, Sheffield Univ.
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453:Kennedy, Modern Engines, Vol VI
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751:Internally rifled boiler tubes
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438:. London: Longmans. pp.
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146:chain-fed automatic stoker
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101:The tubes themselves are
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407:Kennedy, Rankin (1912).
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328:Marine Stirling boilers
155:form is also used as a
293:Three-drum or 'V' form
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53:
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44:Typical four-drum form
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720:Electric water boiler
715:Electric steam boiler
471:"The Stirling Boiler"
316:Five-drum or 'W' form
301:Four-drum or 'B' form
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259:compound steam engine
51:
43:
19:
639:Babcock & Wilcox
374:Ripper, Heat Engines
157:heat-recovery boiler
28:is an early form of
858:Steam boiler types
853:Water-tube boilers
795:Boiler peripherals
631:Water-tube boilers
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239:Emissions controls
62:water-tube boilers
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734:Boiler components
573:Fire-tube boilers
455:, pp. 69–70.
30:water-tube boiler
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812:Feedwater heater
725:Electrode boiler
708:Electric boilers
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469:Larry Tarvin.
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463:External links
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249:Disadvantages
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807:Boiler water
756:Safety valve
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684:Thimble tube
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478:. Retrieved
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435:Heat Engines
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235:World War II
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169:thermosyphon
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117:Superheaters
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68:(above) and
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55:
25:
23:
832:Superheater
786:Water gauge
644:Corner tube
163:Circulation
123:superheater
70:water drums
66:steam drums
847:Categories
776:Steam drum
771:Steam dome
689:Three-drum
649:Field-tube
616:Transverse
601:Locomotive
558:Lancashire
480:2015-02-20
361:References
277:Variations
231:paper pulp
225:, burning
202:Advantages
153:three-drum
96:downcomers
543:Egg-ended
432:(1909) .
186:Feedwater
180:four-drum
108:expansion
89:firebrick
822:Injector
761:Smokebox
694:Vertical
679:Stirling
669:Sentinel
664:Monotube
621:Vertical
553:Haystack
229:, or in
121:Where a
741:Firebox
591:Haycock
581:Cochran
538:Cornish
519:Boilers
352:⁄
227:bagasse
178:In the
127:hairpin
699:Yarrow
674:Spiral
659:LaMont
611:Scotch
606:Pistol
596:Launch
310:marine
215:refuse
82:5-drum
36:Design
654:Flash
563:Wagon
548:Flued
474:(PDF)
442:–212.
338:ships
196:scale
133:Fuels
766:Stay
308:The
151:The
139:coal
80:and
24:The
533:Box
440:211
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417:^
381:^
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144:A
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78:4-
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74:3-
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