Gas Vapor Mixtures &

Air Conditioning
Chapter 14
Dry & Atmospheric Air
Air is a mixture of N
2
, O
2
and small amount of
other gasses.
Atmospheric air: Air in the atmosphere
normally contains some water vapor (a
moisture) and is referred to as atmospheric
air.
Dry air: Air that contains no water vapor is
called dry air.
The temperature of air in air-conditioning
application ranges between -10
O
C to 50
O
C.

Taking 0
O
C as reference temperature,
enthalpy and enthalpy change of dry air
can be determined from




In air-conditioning processes we are
concerned with the changes in the
enthalpy .

T C kg kJ T C h
O
P air dry
. / 005 . 1 = =
kg kJ
T C kg kJ T C h
O
P air dry
A A A . / 005 . 1 = =
h A
The atmospheric air can be treated as a n
ideal-gas mixture whose pressure is the
sum of the partial pressure of dry air P
a

and that of water vapor P
v
.


Vapor Pressure: The partial pressure of
water vapor is usually referred to as the
vapor pressure. It is the pressure water
vapor would exert if it existed alone at the
temperature and volume of atmospheric
air.
v a
P P P + =
kPa
The enthalpy of water vapor is a function
of temperature only, that is




The enthalpy of water vapor in air can be
taken to be equal to enthalpy of saturated
vapor at the same temperature.
( ) T h h =
T h P low T h
g v
= ,
Absolute or specific humidity:
The mass of water vapor present in a
unit mass of dry air. [Note: Also called
humidity ratio]

(kg water vapor / kg dry air)
a
v
m
m
= e
a
v
a a
v v
a a a
v v v
a
v
P
P
R P
R P
T R V P
T R V P
m
m
622 . 0 = = = = e
v
v
P P
P

=
662 . 0
e
For dry air: 0 = e
Saturated Air:

There is a limit on the amount of vapor
the air can hold at a given temperature.
Air that is holding as much moisture as it
can at a given temperature is called
saturated air.
Any moisture introduced into saturated air
will condense.
Relative Humidity (): The amount of moisture
the air holds relative to the maximum amount of
moisture the air can hold at the same
temperature.


where



The relative humidity ranges from 0 for dry air to 1
for saturated air.
See Example 13.1 (Text Book)
g
v
v g
v v
g
v
P
P
T R V P
T R V P
m
m
= = = |
T sat g
P P
@
=
( )
g
P
P
e
e
|
+
=
622 . 0
g
g
P P
P

=
|
e
622 . 0
Total enthalpy of atmospheric air is the
sum of the enthalpies of dry air and water
vapor:

(kJ/kg dry air)

Since
v v a a v a
h m h m H H H + = + =
g a
h h h e + =
g v
h h ~
Dry bulb temperature (T
db
): The
ordinary temperature of the atmospheric
air is refereed to as the dry bulb
temperature.
Dew point temperature (T
dp
): The
temperature at which condensation begins
when the air is cooled at constant
pressure.
v
P sat dp
T T
@
=
When the temperature of a cold drink is
below the dew-point temperature of the
surrounding air, it sweats.
Relative humidity and Sp. Humidity of air
can be determined by measuring the
adiabatic saturation temperature of air,
which is the temperature air attains after
flowing over water in a long adiabatic
channel until it is saturated
( )
2 1
2 1 2
1
f g
f P
h h
h T T C
g

+
=
e
e
2
2
2
622 . 0
2
g
g
P P
P

= e
Wet bulb temperature (T
wb
): A
thermometer whose bulb is covered with a
cotton wick saturated with water and to
blow air over the wick as shown in figure.
The temperature measure in this manner
is called wet bulb temperature.
Sling Psychrometer: The wet bulb
temperature can also be measured by
placing the wet wicked thermometer in a
holder attached to a handle and rotating
the holder rapidly. A device that works on
this principle is called Sling Psychrometer.

Psychrometric Chart

The properties of atmospheric air at a
specified total pressure are presented
in the form of easily readable charts
called Psycrometric Chart.
The dry bulb temperature are shown
on the horizontal axis.
The specific humidity is shown on the
vertical axis.

The psychrometric chart
A Absolute
Humidity Axis
B Specific Volume C
Dry Bulb Axis
D
Relative
Humidity
D
Dew Point E
Enthalpy
F
Wet Bulb &
Saturation Curve
G
For a saturated air, the dry bulb, wet
bulb and dew point temperature are
identical.
Air Conditioning Processes
Air-conditioning processes include:
Simple heating (raising the temperature),
Simple cooling (lowering the temperature)
Humidifying (adding moisture), and
Dehumidifying (removing moisture).
Simple Heating and Cooling ( =
constant)
There is no change in the absolute humidity of the air-
vapor mixture.
Cooling occurs from right to left.
Heating occurs from left to right.
There is a change in the sensible heat
of the air-vapor mixture.
Heat must be added or subtracted
to cause the temperature
change.
Dry Bulb Temperature
Heating
Cooling
Heating with Humidification
Cooling with Dehumidification
Evaporative Cooling
Evaporative cooling is based on a simple
principle: As water evaporates, the latent
heat of vaporization is absorbed from the
water body and the surrounding air. And
both the water and the air are cooled
during the process.
During evaporative cooling the wet bulb
temperature remains constant.

Adiabatic Mixing of Air streams
When two airstreams at two different states (states 1
and 2) are mixed adiabatically, the state of the
mixture (state 3) will lie on the straight line
connecting states 1 and 2 on the psychrometric
chart, and the ratio of the distances 2-3 and 3-1 is
equal to the ratio of flow rates and .
1 3
3 2
1 3
3 2
2
1
h h
h h
m
m
a
a

=
e e
e e

1
a
m
2
a
m
Wet Cooling Towers
An induced draft counter flow
cooling tower
A natural draft cooling tower
Used to reject waste heat to the atmosphere
Air is drawn from he bottom and leaves through the top.
Warm water is pumped and sprayed (to expose a large
surface area of water to the air) into the air-stream at the
top of the tower.
Small fraction of water evaporates (as it falls due to
gravity) and cools the rest.
Hence , the T and w of air increases.
The cooled water collected at the bottom is circulated
through the condenser to pick-up additional waste heat.
Make-up water is needed. Why?
Drift eliminators are installed. Where and Why?

Air Circulation is either forced (forced draft, Fig.
13.31) by a fan or natural (natural draft, Fig.
13.32).
The air in the tower has high water vapor
content and hence lighter than the outside air
hence natural draft.
Natural draft cooling towers cost much to build
compared to forced draft cooling towers.
Natural draft cooling towers are hyperbolic in
profile, why?
Waste heat can also be dumped into still cooling
pond. What is still cooling pond?