This article provides an industrial application method for monitoring and regulating the secondary air through the burner nozzle of a tangentially fired boiler. A geometric model from the inlet of the damper to the burner nozzle was established, which divides the grid for numerical calculation of the flow field to get the drag coefficients of the nozzle and damper under different opening ratios of the damper. In the range of 20–70% opening, the damper has perfect regulation performance, which has the main resistance comparing with that of nozzle. The disc-type damper has a slightly larger resistance than that of the splayed one. A precise corresponding function relationship between the opening ratio and the gas flow rate was established, and base on which, an exact control method on the secondary air damper was proposed. The result can apply to the intelligent transformation of thermal power plants to save energy and reduce consumption. • A control module of secondary air damper for tangentially fired boiler is established. • The results can provide a reference for the adjustment of secondary air at the boiler. • By establishing the partial models to reduce the amount of calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]