PSYCHROMETRICS

Psychrometrics:
Psychrometrics is the study of air-water vapour mixtures. Atmospheric air is considered to be a mixture
of dry air and water vapour. The control of moisture content in air is essential for the satisfactory
operation of hygroscopic materials like paper and textiles and also plays a role oin comfort air
conditioning.
Dry air: 23% oxygen & 77% nitrogen by mass
21% oxygen & 79% nitrogen by volume

Relative Humidity:
Ratio of partial pressure of water vapour at a particular temperature to the saturation pressure of water
at the same temperature.
(

Specific Humidity:
Mass of water vapour per unit mass of dry air.

W=m/G

W=0.622pw (p-pw)
(

Ra = 0.287 ;Rv=0.4615

Degree of saturation:
Ratio of actual specific humidity to saturated specific humidity.
=W/WS

=
If a mixture of dry air and unsaturated water vapour is cooled at constant pressure, the partial pressure
of the constituents remains the same until the water vapour reaches the saturated state. Further
cooling causes condensation. The temperature at which water vapour starts condensing is called dew
point temperature of the mixture tdp. It is equal to the saturation temperature at the partial pressure of
the water vapour.
At any dbt, greater the difference between the dbt & wbt; smaller is amount of water vapour held in the
mixture.
When unsaturated air flows over a long sheet of water in an insulated chamber, water evaporates and
specific humidity of air increases. Both air and water are cooled as evaporation occurs. This process
continues till the energy transferred from air to water is equal to the energy requited to vaporize the
water. When this point is reached; air, water & water-vapour are said to be in thermal equilibrium with
each other and consequently air is saturated. The equilibrium temperature is called adiabatic saturation
temperature or thermodynamic wet bulb temperature.
For saturated air, dry bulb, wet bulb and dew point temperatures are the same.

Equations:
Mass balance of air:
Mass balance of water:
Energy balance: Qin + Win + minhin = Qout + Wout +mouthout
H = CpT + Whg
H = 2501.3 + 1.83T

Psychrometric Processes:
a) Sensible Heating or Cooling:
W=Constant
Only dry bulb temperature of air changes.
G1 = G2
Qin = G(h2-h1) ; Qout = G(h1-h2)

b) Heating & cooling with humidifying/dehumidifying:

G1=G2=G3

mw,1 + mw,in = mw,out

Qin +mihi = moho
Hw,in = hg @ T

c) Evaporative coolers
Tw,in = T2 ; h1=h2