ME 4506

Energy Conversion Laboratory

MASS Transfer
Objective:
● To learn how to calculate the evaporation rate of water and see its effects.
● To understand the mass transfer in substances.
● To find the mass transfer coefficient for water.
Theory:
When two substances are not uniformly distributed in one another then the phenomenon of mass
transfer occurs. Fick Law of diffusion is the mass transfer analogous to Fourier law of heat
conduction. We have a relation i.e.
NA"= - D ∇CA
Transforming, NA" = hm (CAw -CA∞)
Where,
NA" = mass flux (kg/m2s) of component A,
D = Diffusivity,
∇C = Concentration gradient.
Equipment:
 Fan
 Aluminum Plate
 Pilot tube or hot wire anemometer
 Electronic balance
 Other measurement devices like thermocouples and psychrometers.

Procedure:
 First of all, measure the aluminum plate dimensions.
 Then measure the air temperature and humidity.
 After that, place fan at some distance from the balance and turn ON.
 Measure the air velocity.
 Turn off the fan and place aluminum plate on the balance. Turn ON balance and zero. Load
plate with water until plate is covered.
 Measure the water temperature. Turn ON fan and record mass readings from balance every
minute for up to 15 minutes.

Observations and Calculations:

The data that is recorded is presented in tabular form below:
 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 1
Time (min) Mass (g) Time (min) Mass (g) Time (min) Mass (g)
0 134.2 0 134.3 0 134.02
1 132.78 1 132.54 1 132.61
2 131.6 2 131.98 2 131.97
3 131.38 3 131.61 3 131.87
4 131.23 4 131.52 4 131.51
5 130.77 5 131.36 5 131.37
6 129.92 6 130.68 6 130.97
7 129.74 7 130.86 7 130.72
8 129.54 8 130.54 8 130.29
9 129.2 9 129.79 9 129.67
10 128.84 10 129.47 10 128.87
11 127.91 11 129.31 11 128.67
12 127.69 12 129.08 12 128.47
13 127.55 13 128.94 13 128.27
14 127.03 14 128.03 14 128.05
15 126.89 15 127.33 15 127.87

The following graphs are plotted from above data to show the water evaporated in 15 minutes of
time. It can be observed that the water mass is decreasing with the passage of time as the water
evaporates in air.
The speed of fans is recorded as:
Slope Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
Fan Speed 1 0.437368 0.363676 0.38167647 0.39424
Fan Speed 2 0.373029 0.347103 0.33989706 0.353343

Conclusion:
By virtue of this experiment, mass transfer phenomenon is learned and observed. The experiment
is performed in real time environment. The mass of water evaporated with respect of time is
observed at different time interval and graphs are plotted for 3 trials. Also, the amount of water
evaporated is calculated with help of example 7.3. The water that is evaporated is approximately
0.136466104 kg/day. This amount is calculated in excel.