MTX311

Gas Mixtures
Study Theme 3: Borgnakke and Sonntag, Chapter 11
Lecture 2
Dr WG Le Roux

Additional Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdIB1sEpWVI

Çengel, Y.A. and Boles, M.A., Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 8 th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2015.
Partial pressure (Dalton model)
For a mixture of ideal gases, the pressure is
the sum of the partial pressures of the
individual components:

Consider
air as an
example
Partial pressure (Dalton model)
For a mixture of dry air and water vapour:

P = P a + Pv

Pa = ya P
Dry air + water vapour

P v = yv P
 Relative humidity: ϕ
Ratio of the partial pressure of
the vapour P1, to the
saturation pressure (Psat) of
the vapour at the same
temperature, P4:

See
Figure 11.3:
 Humidity ratio: ω
The mass of water vapour
present in a unit mass of dry air:
 Dew Point Temperature
The temperature at which
condensation begins when air is cooled at constant
pressure. As the air cools at constant pressure, the
vapour pressure Pv remains constant.

Image extracted from: Çengel & Boles (2015)

 Class Example 1
A 5-m × 5-m × 3-m room contains air at
25°C and 100 kPa at a relative humidity
of 75 percent.
Determine:
(a) the partial pressure of dry air,
(b) the humidity ratio,
(c) the masses of the dry air and water
vapor in the room.
 Class Example 2
In cold weather, condensation occurs on
the inner surfaces of windows due to the
lower air temperatures near the window
surface. Consider a car that contains air
at 20°C and 75 percent relative humidity.
At what window temperature will the
moisture in the air start condensing on
the inner surfaces of the windows?