A rule-based industrial boiler selection system

Boiler is a device used for generating the steam for power generation, process use or heating, and hot water for heating purposes. Steam boiler consists of the containing vessel and convection heating surfaces only, whereas a steam generator covers the whole unit, encompassing water wall tubes, super heaters, air heaters and economizers. The selection of the boiler is very important to the industry for conducting the operation system successfully. The selection criteria are based on rule based expert system and multi-criteria weighted average method. The developed system consists of Knowledge Acquisition Module, Boiler Selection Module, User Interface Module and Help Module. The system capable of selecting the suitable boiler based on criteria weighted. The main benefits from using the system is to reduce the complexity in the decision making for selecting the most appropriate boiler to palm oil process plant.