Your oil platform supply vessel is fitted with a two-pass, fire-tube, oil-fired auxiliary boiler. What is the most practical way of determining if the outside surface of the boiler tubes are excessively scaled with hard scale deposits?
• Fire-tube auxiliary boiler construction – where the gases flow and where scale or deposits typically form • Difference between internal (water-side) scale and external (fireside) deposits/scale • What each option actually measures: diameter measurement vs pump pressure readings vs direct inspection
• Which of these methods would show a direct change on the outside surface of the tubes, rather than an indirect system effect? • Think about what hard scale on the tube’s outside would realistically affect: tube size, water circulation, feedwater delivery, or visible surface condition? • Ask yourself which test a chief engineer could actually and reliably perform during maintenance on an auxiliary boiler to confirm the condition of the tube surfaces.
• Re-read the question and focus on the words “outside surface of the boiler tubes” and “hard scale deposits” • For each option, ask: Does this method react mainly to water-side conditions, flow/pressure changes, or to physical/visible tube condition? • Decide which choice would give the most direct and practical evidence of scale on the tube exterior, with the least assumptions.
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