Abstract
Developments in the oil-refining industry, particularly in the catalytic-cracking process, have created a need for furnaces capable of carrying high pressures and sustaining high loadings. Direct-fired air heaters are in service which operate at pressures of 45 to 55 psi or higher, with furnace loadings of 500,000 to 2,500,000 Btu per hr per cu ft of volume. The design requirements of such heaters, their details of construction, and operating characteristics are discussed in this paper. The subject is of great importance since the possibility of wide application for this combustion system already exists. One of the most important fields under consideration is that of ship propulsion with power generated by gas turbines and direct-fired air heaters. “Package power” units made up of similar equipment may be used for power generation in small plants.
