Abstract Rifled evaporating tubes are applied in the steam boilers with the aim to increase the steam–water mixture turbulization and to prevent the burnout of tubes walls. The rifled evaporating tubes and the working fluid forced circulation are applied in the steam boiler at the Thermal Power Plant “Kolubara B” that is being built by the Electric Power Utility of Serbia. In order to investigate operating characteristics of the steam boiler of such an advanced design, a simulation and analysis of complex coupled thermal processes on the furnace gas side and thermal–hydraulics inside the evaporating tubes were performed for the whole range of plant operating loads. In this paper a methodology for hydraulic calculations of both forced and natural circulation loops is presented. The increased thermal safety margin of rifled tubes is predicted and compared with the safety margin of smooth tubes for uniform and variable heat loads among walls of the boiler furnace. The rifled tube provides an acceptable temperature of its wall even under a high void fraction of the coolant and prevents the occurrence of critical heat transfer conditions. The influence of the rifled tubes on an increase of the hydraulic resistance in the circulation loop is analyzed. Also, a range of operating conditions under which there is no need for the circulation pumps operation is determined.