DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

ASME Project
American Society of Mechanical Engineering, UET Lahore chapter this year, like every year, organised a
team for the Thermodynamic Section and assigned a project, Design Analysis and Fabricate of Water Tube
Boiler. The team comprises of 18 members working as a unit to put forth their immense effort in reaching
a new milestone. The Water Tube Boiler that is being worked on is to be forwarded in various project
exhibitions to demonstrate the calliper of ASME UET Lahore chapter.

Some Specifications and Details of the Boiler

What is a water tube boiler?
A water-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes which are heated externally by the
fire. Water-tube boilers are used for high-pressure boilers. Fuel (coal) is burned inside the furnace, creating
hot gas which heats up water in the steam-generating tubes. In smaller boilers, additional generating tubes
are separate in the furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the water-filled tubes that make up the walls
of the furnace to generate steam.
A water tube boiler is more
geared towards the latter setting
than the former though, since
water tube boilers can create
large amounts of steam and
recycle water for use again and
again if kept in a closed system.
There are several, important
pieces that make up a water tube
boiler, though.
In water tube boilers, water is
circulated though the tubes and hot
flue gases flow outside the tubes,
e.g. Bob cock & Wilcox, Admiralty
three drum, Y-160 and Foster
wheeler D-type. The water tube
boiler is employed for high
pressure, high temperature, high
capacity steam applications, e.g.
providing
steam
for
main
propulsion turbines of cargo pump
turbines.

Parts of a water tube boiler

Furnace - Furnace is usually membrane walled and gas tight. Most of the heat transfer occurs in the furnace
in the form of direct radiation.
Super Heater - Inverted 'U' is most widely used. There are other types like vertical 'S' type drainable. Super
heater is usually embedded in the boiler bank. When superheat temperature is high, part of the super
heater section is directly place in the furnace to increase direct radiation and reduce size.

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

Boiler Bank - Boiler bank connects both the drums. Natural circulation occurs without the aid of any
external down comers
Economisers - Economizer is used downstream of Boiler bank to preheat the feed water absorbing heat
from hot exhaust gases

Pipes- In a water tube boiler, water runs through pipes. The pipes are heated by surrounding fire or hot
gases, and the more the water is heated, the higher it goes until it becomes steam. The pipes then allow the
steam to escape into the upper drum.
Upper Drum- The upper drum is where the steam goes once it's travelled the length of the pipes. The
steam collects in the upper drum, away from the heated pipe, and begins to condense back into water. As
the steam once more becomes liquid it drips down from the upper drum and is collected in a lower drum,
or the mud drum.

Lower Drum- The lower drum is set at the bottom of the water tube boiler beneath the upper drum. The
condensed steam collects here and from the mud drum it goes back into the pipes. The more pressure from
built-up water, the more water that will be turned back into steam and passed through the pipes yet again.
Re-heater- The function of Re-heater is to reheat the steam coming out from high pressure turbine. The Reheater is composed of two sections.

Burners- As evident from the name, these are used for burning pulverized coal or oil.

Working Principle of a Water Tube Boiler

In the water-tube boiler, water flowed through tubes heated externally by combustion gases, and steam
was collected above in a drum. Water tube boilers are very huge and their water holding capacity is
enormous. The water-tube boiler became the standard for all large boilers as they allowed for higher
pressures than earlier boilers, higher than 30 b. Example, Babcock & Wilcox boiler manufactured at
Thermax Boilers Limited. It is a horizontal, externally fired, stationary, high pressure, and water tube boiler
with a super heater
The coal is fed from hopper on to the grate
where it is burnt. The flue gases are deflected by
the fire brick baffles so that they pass across the
left side of the tubes in a beneficial path
transferring heat to water in the tubes and to
the steam in the super heater and finally they
escape into the atmosphere through the
chimney. The drought is regulated by a damper
placed at the back chamber.
The position of water tubes near the furnace is
heated to a higher temper than the rest. Owing
to higher temperature, the density of water
decreases and hence the water rises through the

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

uptake header and short tube to the drum. The water at the back end, which is at a lesser temperature,
now travels down through the long tube and the downcomer header. Thus, a continuous circulation of
water called as natural circulations established between the water tubes and the drum. The steam
produced gets collected above the water in the drum. Here, saturated steam is drawn off the top of the
drum Since water droplets can severely damage turbine blades, dry steam from the steam-drum is again
heated to generate superheated steam at 730F (390C) or higher in order to ensure that there is no water
entrained in the steam. Cool water at the bottom of the steam drum returns to the feed-water drum via
large-bore 'down comer tubes', where it helps pre-heat the feed-water supply. To increase the economy of
the boiler, the exhaust gasses are also used to pre-heat the air blown into the furnace and warm the
feedwater supply. Such water-tube boilers in thermal power station are also called steam generating unit

Visit to Descon Engineering Private Limited

The ASME, Student body of UET Lahore chapter,
Thermodynamic Section organized an educational and field
trip to Descon Engineering Private Limited(Lahore
Manufacturing Works )for all ASME members to aid them in
the learning of the working of Boiler and its manufacturing
process. The feedback from all the Thermodynamic Section
members, the executive body members and the faculty of
Descon was appreciable. A delegation was sent from UET
Lahore to Descon prior to the visit to asking for permission to
visit them during their working hours so that students could
visually see and learn the various processes carried out in the
industry and workshops.
A bus was arranged to take the members from UET to Descon
and bring them back to UET. The visit timings were from 12-3
pm. After we reached there, all members were first given a
brief introduction of Descon by a presentation on multimedia
in a hall, by Descon employees followed by a tea break. A short
question- answering session was also conducted and all the
queries of members were appropriately answered by the
Descon faculty. Later on we were allowed to explore the
industry on foot and observe all the processes being carried
out that could be relevant and useful for our boiler
manufacturing. Some of the relevant processes included
welding, forging, casting and operations of a lathe machine.
After a knowledge filled visit to all the workshops the
members were offered lunch at their local restaurant.
The Descon representatives later on the day handed out their
brochures and a hardcopy of their productive data to the
executive body members of the Thermody-namic ASME
section which was intended to allow students to boost their
knowledge about Descon and later on assist them in job
interviews.
Thus a successful and informative field trip came to an end
with executive members briefing the section members of the

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

manufacturing processes with appropriate sequence to be used for boiler construction. A technical
discussion session was carried out eventually to clarify any further queries regarding the manufacturing.
As a result of the field trip new dates, deadlines and revised tasks were then planned to propagate the
fabrication process.

DESCON ENGINEERIG
Descon Engineering Limited is an integrated engineering services and manufacturing company operating in
Pakistan, South East Asia and the Middle East since its inception in 1977. It has evolved into a leading
engineering company serving various sectors. With major operations in Pakistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, a workforce of over 38,000 extensive equipment resources, and a
history of executing large-scale construction and manufacturing projects. The integrated package of
services encompasses engineering, procurement, manufacturing, construction, commissioning
and maintenance.
With over 30 years of engineering, procurement, construction, manufacturing and project management
experience, alliances with the worlds leading process equipment technology developers and multiple
state-of-the-art fabrication facilities. Descon delivers high quality process equipment solutions at the most
competitive prices.

PROJECTS
Descon has executed major projects in the sectors of oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical, fertilizer,
power, cement and infrastructure. These projects have been delivered to clients who are investors,
operators or themselves EPC contractors. Major international exploration and production companies, oil
marketing companies and owners/operators have had their investments secured by entrusting Descon to
implement their projects according to their budgets and time schedules while adhering to international
quality standards and with zero tolerance towards unsafe practices and damage to the environment.
The combination of an experienced human resource pool and well established project management
systems have enabled us to succeed and grow in a competitive environment. From compact process plants
to large civil infrastructure projects we have delivered a wide variety of projects of national importance.
Descon has executed power projects with a total capacity of approximately 10,000 MW. Descon has to a
large extent helped shape the fertilizer sector in the region. The fertilizer complexes include Ammonia,
Urea, DAP and NP Plants as well as CO2 recovery units. In chemical and petrochemical industry a wide
range of plants, such as; PTA, Ethylene, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, PDH, Hydrogen, Nitrogen Peroxide
etc. Descon manufacturing facilities have delivered a wide range of cement plant equipment, including
kilns, silos, hoppers/bins and conveying equipment in middle-east. Descon has rapidly established itself as
a key player in infrastructure projects and successfully execute large-scale projects like dams, barrages,
canals, highways and hydro-electric units. Heavy lifts and rigging expertise is based on a demonstrated
track record and an extensive fleet of cranes, the largest of which is of 1200 tons capacity.

MANUFACTURING
Descon has seven manufacturing/fabrication facilities strategically located in Pakistan and the Gulf
Cooperation Countries. Each shop specializes in producing a specific type of product.
In general the product range spans industrial process equipment and fabricated items. Complete
packages such as boilers, process skids, tanks, heat transfer equipment are tailored to the client
requirements and delivered on a turnkey basis.

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

Descon has provided over 134 boilers, with cumulative steam production of more than 5000 tons per
hour, over 1100 pressure vessels (columns, drums, separators etc), 500 heat exchangers, 450 storage
tanks and over 100,000 tons of steel structure.
Descon is authorized to produce ASME certified equipment (A, PP, S, U and U2 stamps). Additional
certifications include R Stamp issued by National Board of Boiler and Pressure vessel inspectors and CE
marking (specifically for European Region). Manufacturing strength is complemented with global
technological alliances for specialized equipment. Integrated customized management systems ensure
cross functional monitoring of the processes and timely delivery of the goods. Use of quality management
system assures quality at each step of planning, design, fabrication & production.

PRODUCTS

Process Equipment
Pressure Vessels
Columns
Separators
Knock-out Drums
Slug Catchers

Heat Transfer Equipment

Heat Exchangers
Air Fin Coolers
Furnaces
Heaters

Boilers
Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs)
Once Through Steam Generators (OTSG)
Direct Fired
Process
Fossil or Non-Fossil Fuel Fired

Pre-Engineered Skids
Amine / TEG Units
Dew Point Control Units
Separator Packages
Glycol Dehydration
Chemical Injection

LPG Road Tankers

Rigid bobtail delivery truck
Articulated
Field Erected Storage Tanks
Flare Stacks
Steel Structure
Piping Spools
Wind Tower
Salt Heaters
Cement Plants

MILESTONES IN MANUFACTURING WORKS

It all started in a small one room office in Lahore. The pioneers of the company came from a fertilizer plant.
It was the entrepreneurial spirit of four people who had a vision of building a lasting institution prominent
for its professionalism and distinguished by the desire of creating a world-class engineering powerhouse.
1977 Company established
1980 Olayan Descon JV formed in Olayan Saudi Arabia
1982 Descon Manufacturing Works commissioned
1982 Office established in Abu Dhabi
2000 JV engineering company formed with JGC Corporation
2000 Presson Descon (PDIL) formed, a JV with Presson Canada
2001 Fabrication shop established in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi
2002 Yanbu workshop commissioned
2004 Descon Engineering Qatar, LLC established
2005 Hamriyah Manufacturing Works in Sharjah commissioned

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

2006 Rousch Power Plant and Altern Energy acquired by Descon
2007 Karachi Manufacturing Works commissioned
2007 First major EPC contract acquired from Fertil, Abu Dhabi
2008 Descon Oxychem commissioned
2010 JGC-Descon becomes Descon Integrated Projects., Limited
2010 Fabrication shop commissioned in Qatar

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

There are three distinct groups for engineering and the total number exceeds 600 design engineers:
Plant design
Product design
Infrastructure design
A strong in-house design and engineering capability exists to support proposal generation and project
exhibition. The design and engineering team has extensive experience of working to international industry
codes, standards, software and the best practices. The in-house capability to perform the following:

Basic Engineering
Detailed Engineering
Preparation of equipment specification and data sheets
Preparation of operation and maintenance manuals.

DESIGN CODES AND STANDARDS

ASME
EN
ASTM
ANS
AISC

API
TEMA
AWS
ADR
TRD

SOFTWARE
Civil
STAAD Pro
STAAD Foundation
SAP-2000
Piping
CADPipe
CASESAR II
Mechanical
TANK
ASPEN B-JAC
DISASU
Electrical

ETAP
LUXICON
Smart Plant
Electrical

Process
Chempro
PRO II
FLARENET
HYSIS
PIPESIM
HTRI
ASPEN Plus / ASPEN ZYQAD
Tray 2000
Best Pipe
Paula
ASPEN (HTFS)
ESTPRO

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

FABRICATION
Fabrication resources include:
Overhead Mobile Cranes
Fork Lifters
Shearing Machines
Radial Drilling
Magnetic Base Drill Machine
Column and Boom Welding Machi

QUALITY CONTROL AND ASSURANCE

A strong commitment to quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) is inherent throughout the
manufacturing business process and is governed by a comprehensive ISO: 9001:2000 Quality Management
Systems.
Salient functions of QA/QC include the following:

Design verification

Inspection of incoming materials

Stage inspections

Non-destructive inspections

Visual and dimensional examination

Pressure testing

Liaising with third party inspection agencies

Preparation of inspection data manuals

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

QUESTION SESSION BY STUDENTS

The students of ASME, UET Lahore Chapter, were given a reception in conference room and Production
and Marketing engineer of Descon Mr. Umar khan delivered a presentation about the Descon. At the end
and during presentation, the students asked him questions.
Rizwan Ail asked about the industrial softwares. Mr. Umar khan Answered that Industry has its own
softwares that are purchased by that Company. The Engineers are specially trained to work on these
softwares. The duration of training is specific. These softwares are very productive and advance.
Another question asked by student was what type of Engineers do you hire? Mr. Umar Khan replied him
that here we hire l the engineers of all the departments but mostly are those of Mechanical and
Metallurgical.
The students asked what sorts of projects you do? Mr. Umar Khan replied we have different sectors, oil
and Gas, electricity Generation, Boilers, cement, Chemical power plant and in these sectors we are doing
various sorts of projects like designing and fabrication of boiler, Generation of Electricity of 100MW and we
are selling this electricity to Wapda. He also told us that recently a group of students of UET had a project
with us.
Another student also asked him about the working hours. He replied that we work in different shifts.
Generally, we have three shifts in a complete day and employees are being changed after each shift.
After this we visited the whole working area. The students asked the questions about milling, rolling,
forging and honing. Then we also visited Boiler section. There the fabrication of Boiler was in Operation.
We asked about maintenance, designing, operation, different technical terms to the Engineers. He briefed
us well. The students also visited welding section and also asked about different questions about types of
welding SMAW, GMAW, TIG, MIG and others as well.

STUDENTS AND COMPANYS RESPONSE

All the students enjoyed this marvellous Study tour. All the ASME student members appreciated Manager,
Assistance Manager and the whole management who arranged this tour. We found it very useful for our
studies. We had an opportunity to see the things practically and visualize the things. We also got an
opportunity to see the Engineers who are working in industry. Most of them were UETIANZ. We were also
encouraged to see them at main posts of the industry. The students were very satisfied and encouraged
the management to arrange such tours more and more. The companys response was credible. They
treated us in a very nice way. They answered our questions, honoured us, serve us with tea .They had
already done these arrangements before our arrival. During our visit all the employees of Descon helped
and encouraged us. After the visit, they also served us lunch. After this they said us good-Bye with well
wishes.

DESCON ENGINEERING LIMITED

CONCLUSION
It was a very credible Industrial tour. All the students enjoyed this and from learning point of view it was
too much productive for all juniors and seniors members. The students of different departments also got
an opportunity to see each other. All appreciated the management and expected more such tours to
different multinational industries all over the Pakistan.

Rizwan Ali
Bsc. Mechanical Engineering Student
Assistant Manager
Thermodynamics Section
ASME UET Lahore, Pakistan
rizwanali976@gmail.com
+92-300-4094863