CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Before the advent of modern refrigeration, evaporative cooling was used for millennia, for

instance in qanats, windcatchers, and mashrabiyas. A porous earthenware vessel would cool

water by evaporation through its walls; frescoes from about 2500 BCE show slaves fanning

jars of water to cool rooms. Alternatively, a bowl filled with milk or butter could be placed in

another bowl filled with water, all being covered with a wet cloth resting in the water, to keep

the milk or butter as fresh as possible.

Our body makes use of the evaporative process when sweating. Sweat, which consists of 90

percent water, starts to evaporate. The necessary heat of evaporation is extracted from the

sweat itself, which leads to a heat transfer from the liquid into the gaseous state. This results

in a cooling effect (called evaporative cooling) that helps to maintain body temperature and

cools the body down when it gets too hot. The degree of cooling is dependent on the

evaporation rate and heat of evaporation. Evaporative cooling uses evaporation to help cool

the air. Based on the principles of evaporation, hot and dry outside air is drawn through

water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is pushed through these pads, the water evaporates and

the heat in the air is absorbed, which lowers the air temperature. A fan then pushes the cool

air throughout the house via a network of ducts. In order to turn into a gas the molecules held

together inside the liquid have to break free to get into the air. This means the hydrogen

bonds holding the molecules together need to be broken. Thus, molecules that are able to

form lots of hydrogen bonds among themselves are much harder to turn into a gas and have a

higher heat of evaporation. This also affects the boiling temperature of a liquid. Molecules

that attract one another very strongly start to boil at higher temperatures compared with those

that have weak attractions. A lower boiling point generally means a liquid will evaporate

more quickly. Water, for example, with one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, can form two

1
hydrogen bonds per molecule. Its heat of evaporation is 2,260 joules per gram, or 541

calories per gram, and it starts boiling at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit).

The key to effective evaporative cooling is ensuring that each of the cooling pads are

completely saturated during operation and that the systems fan and motor are sized and

designed to deliver the appropriate airflow for the space. The evaporative cooling air process

works by evaporating liquid water into vapor using heat from the air while the total energy in

the air is maintained.

The heat used to evaporate water into water vapor is called latent heat (hidden heat that

cannot be detected with a thermometer) of evaporation. For example, it is the heat from the

hot pavement that evaporates the water after a summer rainstorm. As the liquid water changes

its state into vapor, it absorbs heat from its surroundings; the energy it absorbs is contained in

the molecular structure of the vapors.

Evaporative cooling is only possible because of this natural phenomenon of latent heat. This

results in the temperature and the sensible heat (that you can feel or sense) i the air dropping.

The moisture vapor that is added to the air increases the humidity and the latent heat of the

air. An evaporative cooler is a system that cools air through the evaporation of water.

Evaporative cooling is different from traditional air conditioning systems, which use

chemical vapor compression refrigeration cycles.

Evaporative cooling and evaporative coolers describe this natural phenomenon, however,

there are many other terms that are commonly used with the same meaning including

evaporative air conditioning, adiabatic cooling, ducted evaporative cooling, swamp coolers,

and desert coolers.

2
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 EVAPORATION: AN OVERVIEW

Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into

the gas phase. The surrounding gas must not be saturated with the evaporating substance.

When the molecules of the liquid collide, they transfer energy to each other based on how

they collide with each other. When a molecule near the surface absorbs enough energy to

overcome the vapor pressure, it will escape and enter the surrounding air as a gas. When

evaporation occurs, the energy removed from the vaporized liquid will reduce the

temperature of the liquid, resulting in evaporative cooling. Aerosol of microscopic water

droplets suspended in the air above a cup of hot tea after the water vapor has sufficiently

cooled and condensed. Water vapor is an invisible gas, but the clouds of condensed droplets

refract and scatter the sunlight and are thus visible.

On average, only a fraction of the molecules in a liquid have enough heat energy to escape

from the liquid. The evaporation will continue until an equilibrium is reached when the

evaporation of the liquid is equal to its condensation. In an enclosed environment, a liquid

will evaporate until the surrounding air is saturated.

Evaporation is an essential part of the water cycle. The sun (solar energy) drives evaporation

of water from oceans, lakes, moisture in the soil, and other sources of water. In hydrology,

evaporation and transpiration (which involves evaporation within plant stomata) are

collectively termed evapotranspiration. Evaporation of water occurs when the surface of the

liquid is exposed, allowing molecules to escape and form water vapor; this vapor can then

rise up and form clouds. With sufficient energy, the liquid will turn into vapor.

3
2.1 THEORY OF VAPOUR

For molecules of a liquid to evaporate, they must be located near the surface, they have to be

moving in the proper direction, and have sufficient kinetic energy to overcome liquid-

phase intermolecular forces. When only a small proportion of the molecules meet these

criteria, the rate of evaporation is low. Since the kinetic energy of a molecule is proportional

to its temperature, evaporation proceeds more quickly at higher temperatures. As the faster-

moving molecules escape, the remaining molecules have lower average kinetic energy, and

the temperature of the liquid decreases. This phenomenon is also called evaporative cooling.

This is why evaporating sweat cools the human body. Evaporation also tends to proceed more

quickly with higher flow rates between the gaseous and liquid phase and in liquids with

higher vapor pressure. For example, laundry on a clothes line will dry (by evaporation) more

rapidly on a windy day than on a still day. Three key parts to evaporation are

heat, atmospheric pressure(determines the percent humidity), and air movement.

On a molecular level, there is no strict boundary between the liquid state and the vapor state.

Instead, there is a Knudsen layer, where the phase is undetermined. Because this layer is only

a few molecules thick, at a macroscopic scale a clear phase transition interface cannot be

seen.

Liquids that do not evaporate visibly at a given temperature in a given gas (e.g., cooking oil

at room temperature) have molecules that do not tend to transfer energy to each other in a

pattern sufficient to frequently give a molecule the heat energy necessary to turn into vapor.

However, these liquids are evaporating. It is just that the process is much slower and thus

significantly less visible.

4
2.2 EVAPORATIVE EQUILIBRIUM

If evaporation takes place in an enclosed area, the escaping molecules accumulate as

a vapor above the liquid. Many of the molecules return to the liquid, with returning molecules

becoming more frequent as the density and pressure of the vapor increases. When the process

of escape and return reaches an equilibrium, the vapor is said to be "saturated", and no further

change in either vapor pressure and density or liquid temperature will occur. For a system

consisting of vapor and liquid of a pure substance, this equilibrium state is directly related to

the vapor pressure of the substance, as given by the Clausius–Clapeyron equation.

The rate of evaporation in an open system is related to the vapor pressure found in a closed

system. If a liquid is heated, when the vapor pressure reaches the ambient pressure the liquid

will boil.

The ability for a molecule of a liquid to evaporate is based largely on the amount of kinetic

energy an individual particle may possess. Even at lower temperatures, individual molecules

of a liquid can evaporate if they have more than the minimum amount of kinetic energy

required for vaporization.

2.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING THE RATE OF EVAPORATION

Note: Air used here is a common example; however, the vapor phase can be other gases.

2.3.1 Concentration of the substance evaporating in the air

If the air already has a high concentration of the substance evaporating, then the given

substance will evaporate more slowly.

2.3.2 Flow rate of air

This is in part related to the concentration points above. If "fresh" air (i.e., air which is neither

already saturated with the substance nor with other substances) is moving over the substance

all the time, then the concentration of the substance in the air is less likely to go up with time,

thus encouraging faster evaporation. This is the result of the boundary layer at the

5
evaporation surface decreasing with flow velocity, decreasing the diffusion distance in the

stagnant layer.

2.3.4 The amount of minerals dissolved in the liquid

2.3.5 Inter-molecular forces

The stronger the forces keeping the molecules together in the liquid state, the more energy

one must get to escape. This is characterized by the enthalpy of vaporization.

2.3.6 Pressure

Evaporation happens faster if there is less exertion on the surface keeping the molecules from

launching themselves.

2.3.7 Surface area

A substance that has a larger surface area will evaporate faster, as there are more surface

molecules per unit of volume that are potentially able to escape.

2.3.8 Temperature of the substance

The higher the temperature of the substance the greater the kinetic energy of the molecules at

its surface and therefore the faster the rate of their evaporation. In the US, the National

Weather Service measures the actual rate of evaporation from a standardized "pan" open

water surface outdoors, at various locations nationwide. Others do likewise around the world.

The US data is collected and compiled into an annual evaporation map. The measurements

range from under 30 to over 120 inches (3,000 mm) per year.

Because it typically takes place in a complex environment, where 'evaporation is an

extremely rare event', the mechanism for the evaporation of water isn't completely

understood. Theoretical calculations require prohibitively long and large computer

simulations. 'The rate of evaporation of liquid water is one of the principal uncertainties in

modern climate modeling.'

6
2.4 THERMODYNAMICS OF EVAPORATION

Evaporation is an endothermic process, in that heat is absorbed during evaporation.

Evaporative cooling is based on the thermodynamics of evaporation of water, i.e. the change

of the liquid phase of water into water vapor. This phase change requires energy, which is

called latent heat of evaporation- this is the energy required to change a substance from liquid

phase to the gaseous one without temperature change. When non- saturated air (i.e. air that

does not contain liquid water but only water vapor) comes in direct contact with water

evaporation occurs. It is obvious that during this process the moisture content of air is

increased. This process is represented on the psychometric chart by a displacement along a

constant wet bulb line, AB. The air to be cooled is initially at point A. The air, as a result of

the direct evaporative cooling process, reaches point B. This is a constant wet bulb

temperature process and therefore line AB is parallel to the wet bulb temperature lines.

When evaporation occurs in the primary circuit of a heat exchanger, while the air to be

cooled circulates in the secondary circuit, the air temperature decreases but its humidity ratio

remains constant. It must be noted that since the air temperature drops, its relative humidity

will increase, but less than during the direct evaporative cooling process. Since the humidity

ratio of the air does not change.

2.5 APPLICATIONS OF EVAPORATION

Industrial applications include many printing and coating processes; recovering salts from

solutions; and drying a variety of materials such as lumber, paper, cloth and chemicals.

The use of evaporation to dry or concentrate samples is a common preparatory step for many

laboratory analyses such as spectroscopy and chromatography. Systems used for this purpose

include rotary evaporators and centrifugal evaporators.

7
When clothes are hung on a laundry line, even though the ambient temperature is below the

boiling point of water, water evaporates. This is accelerated by factors such as low humidity,

heat (from the sun), and wind. In a clothes dryer, hot air is blown through the clothes,

allowing water to evaporate very rapidly.

The Matki/Matka, a traditional Indian porous clay container used for storing and cooling

water and other liquids.The botijo, a traditional Spanish porous clay container designed to

cool the contained water by evaporation.

Evaporative coolers, can significantly cool a building by simply blowing dry air over a filter

saturated with water.

Fuel droplets vaporize as they receive heat by mixing with the hot gases in the combustion

chamber. Heat (energy) can also be received by radiation from any hot refractory wall of the

combustion chamber.

Internal combustion engines rely upon the vaporization of the fuel in the cylinders to form a

fuel/air mixture in order to burn well. The chemically correct air/fuel mixture for total

burning of gasoline has been determined to be 15 parts air to one part gasoline or 15/1 by

weight. Changing this to a volume ratio yields 8000 parts air to one part gasoline or 8,000/1

by volume.

8
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 COOLING BY EVAPORATION

Evaporative cooling uses evaporation to help cool the air. Based on the principles of

evaporation, hot and dry outside air is drawn through water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is

pushed through these pads, the water evaporates and the heat in the air is absorbed, which

lowers the air temperature. A fan then pushes the cool air throughout the house via a network

of ducts.

The key to effective evaporative cooling is ensuring that each of the cooling pads are

completely saturated during operation and that the systems fan and motor are sized and

designed to deliver the appropriate airflow for the space. The evaporative cooling air process

works by evaporating liquid water into vapor using heat from the air while the total energy in

the air is maintained.

The heat used to evaporate water into water vapor is called latent heat (hidden heat that

cannot be detected with a thermometer) of evaporation. For example, it is the heat from the

hot pavement that evaporates the water after a summer rainstorm. As the liquid water changes

its state into vapor, it absorbs heat from its surroundings; the energy it absorbs is contained in

the molecular structure of the vapors.

Evaporative cooling is only possible because of this natural phenomenon of latent heat. This

results in the temperature and the sensible heat (that you can feel or sense) i the air dropping.

The moisture vapor that is added to the air increases the humidity and the latent heat of the

air. An evaporative cooler is a system that cools air through the evaporation of water.

Evaporative cooling is different from traditional air conditioning systems, which use

chemical vapor compression refrigeration cycles.

Evaporative cooling and evaporative coolers describe this natural phenomenon, however,

there are many other terms that are commonly used with the same meaning including

9
evaporative air conditioning, adiabatic cooling, ducted evaporative cooling, swamp coolers,

and desert coolers.

3.1 MEANING OF COOLING

The term "cold" describes the feeling a person has when you do not feel warm enough.

Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or phase change.

Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling. Heat is a

form of energy produced by molecular motion or agitation. The more agitation there is, the

more heat is produced. A person begins to feel "cold" when the temperature of the air around

him falls to 70F or below.

In heating, heat is transferred from a substance of higher temperature to another substance of

lower temperature. In cooling, the heat travels from the body, which is warmer, to the air

which is colder.

There are a number of terms used in a discussion of cooling solution which we use in

measuring changes in the state or temperature of air, water or other materials.

One method is by measuring in degrees on a F scale of temperature. Another is in calories of

heat or in British thermal units called BTUs. One BTU may be defined as the amount of heat

required to raise the temperature of one pound water one degree F. There are 252 calories of

heat in one BTU. Really that is more info than you need.

Sensible heat changes the temperature of a substance without changing it's form. Ordinary

heating or cooling of air is an example of sensible heat. Such temperature changes are

measured in degrees on a thermometer. This is known as Dry Bulb temperature.

Latent heat changes the form of a substance without changing it's temperature. An example is

the cooling which causes water vapor in the air at 75F to condense into the form liquid water

at 75F. Another example of latent heat is the cooling required to change liquid water at 32F

10
into ice at 32F. Cooling the liquid water from 75F down to 32F requires the removal of

sensible heat not latent heat.

Much more heat must be removed to change water vapor into liquid water or liquid water into

ice than to merely change it's temperature. For example 144 BTUs must be removed from 1

lb of liquid water at 32F into ice at 32F.

In designing a heating system we are concerned only with sensible heat. In a cooling solution

both sensible and latent heat must be considered in calculating the load that will be put on the

air conditioning equipment and therefore the size of the unit needed.

This is because a comfort cooling system must not only cool air but it also must remove

moisture from it to reduce the relative humidity to a comfortable level. This process of

removing moisture from air is one of changing the state of water from gas to a liquid.

Therefore a greater number of BTUs will be used in this process than would be in just

changing the temperature of the air. I hope this page will explain cooling in buildings.

3.2 HISTORY OF COOLING BY EVAPORATION

An earlier form of evaporative cooling, the windcatcher, was first used in ancient

Egypt and Persia thousands of years ago in the form of wind shafts on the roof. They caught

the wind, passed it over subterranean water in a qanat and discharged the cooled air into the

building. Modern Iranians have widely adopted powered evaporative coolers.

The evaporative cooler was the subject of numerous US patents in the 20th century; many of

these, starting in 1906 suggested or assumed the use of excelsior (wood wool) pads as the

elements to bring a large volume of water in contact with moving air to allow evaporation to

occur. A typical design, as shown in a 1945 patent, includes a water reservoir (usually with

level controlled by a float valve), a pump to circulate water over the excelsior pads and

a centrifugal fan to draw air through the pads and into the house. This design and this

material remain dominant in evaporative coolers in the American Southwest, where they are

11
also used to increase humidity. In the United States, the use of the term swamp cooler may be

due to the odor of algae produced by early units.

Externally mounted evaporative cooling devices (car coolers) were used in some automobiles

to cool interior air—often as aftermarket accessories—until modern vapor-compression air

conditioning became widely available.

Passive evaporative cooling techniques in buildings have been a feature of desert architecture

for centuries, but Western acceptance, study, innovation, and commercial application is all

relatively recent. In 1974, William H. Goettl noticed how evaporative cooling technology

works in arid climates, speculated that a combination unit could be more effective, and

invented the "High Efficiency Astro Air Piggyback System", a combination refrigeration and

evaporative cooling air conditioner. In 1986, University of Arizona researchers W.

Cunningham and T. Thompson built a passive evaporative cooling tower, and performance

data from this experimental facility in Tucson, Arizona became the foundation of evaporative

cooling tower design guidelines developed by Baruch Givoni.

3.3 EVAPORATIVE COOLER

An evaporative cooler (also evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert

coolerand wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water.

Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning systems, which use vapor-

compression or absorption refrigeration cycles. Evaporative cooling uses the fact that water

will absorb a relatively large amount of heat in order to evaporate (that is, it has a

large enthalpy of vaporization). The temperature of dry air can be dropped significantly

through the phase transition of liquid water to water vapor (evaporation). This can cool air

using much less energy than refrigeration. In extremely dry climates, evaporative cooling of

air has the added benefit of conditioning the air with more moisture for the comfort of

building occupants.

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The cooling potential for evaporative cooling is dependent on the wet-bulb depression, the

difference between dry-bulb temperature and wet-bulb temperature. In arid climates,

evaporative cooling can reduce energy consumption and total equipment for conditioning as

an alternative to compressor-based cooling. In climates not considered arid, indirect

evaporative cooling can still take advantage of the evaporative cooling process without

increasing humidity. Passive evaporative cooling strategies can offer the same benefits of

mechanical evaporative cooling systems without the complexity of equipment and ductwork.

3.4 METHODS OF COOLING

3.4.1 Direct evaporative cooling

Direct evaporative cooling (open circuit) is used to lower the temperature and increase the

humidity of air by using latent heat of evaporation, changing liquid water to water vapor. In

this process, the energy in the air does not change. Warm dry air is changed to cool moist air.

The heat of the outside air is used to evaporate water. The RH increases to 70 to 90% which

reduces the cooling effect of human perspiration. The moist air has to be continually released

to outside or else the air becomes saturated and evaporation stops.

13
 Figure 3.1: Direct evaporative cooling

A mechanical direct evaporative cooler unit uses a fan to draw air through a wetted

membrane, or pad, which provides a large surface area for the evaporation of water into the

air. Water is sprayed at the top of the pad so it can drip down into the membrane and

continually keep the membrane saturated. Any excess water that drips out from the bottom of

the membrane is collected in a pan and recirculated to the top. Single-stage direct evaporative

coolers are typically small in size as they only consist of the membrane, water pump, and

centrifugal fan. The mineral content of the municipal water supply will cause scaling on the

membrane, which will lead to clogging over the life of the membrane. Depending on this

mineral content and the evaporation rate, regular cleaning and maintenance is required to

ensure optimal performance. Generally, supply air from the single-stage evaporative cooler

will need to be exhausted directly (one-through flow) because the high humidity of the supply

air. A few design solutions have been conceived to utilize the energy in the air, like directing

the exhaust air through two sheets of double glazed windows, thus reducing the solar energy

absorbed through the glazing. Compared to energy required to achieve the equivalent cooling

load with a compressor, single stage evaporative coolers consume less energy. Passive direct

evaporative cooling can occur anywhere that the evaporatively cooled water can cool a space

without the assist of a fan. This can be achieved through use of fountains or more

architectural designs such as the evaporative downdraft cooling tower, also called a "passive

cooling tower". The passive cooling tower design allows outside air to flow in through the

top of a tower that is constructed within or next to the building. The outside air comes in

contact with water inside the tower either through a wetted membrane or a mister. As water

evaporates in the outside air, the air becomes cooler and less buoyant and creates a downward

flow in the tower. At the bottom of the tower, an outlet allows the cooler air into the interior.

Similar to mechanical evaporative coolers, towers can be an attractive low-energy solution

14
for hot and dry climate as they only require a water pump to raise water to the top of the

tower. Energy savings from using a passive direct evaporating cooling strategy depends on

the climate and heat load. For arid climates with a great wet-bulb depression, cooling towers

can provide enough cooling during summer design conditions to be net zero. For example, a

371 m2 (4,000 ft2) retail store in Tucson, Arizona with a sensible heat gain of 29.3 kJ/h

(100,000 Btu/h) can be cooled entirely by two passive cooling towers providing 11890 m3/h

(7,000 cfm) each. For the Zion National Park visitors' center, which uses two passive cooling

towers, the cooling energy intensity was 14.5 MJ/m2 (1.28 kBtu/ft;), which was 77% less than

a typical building in the western United States that uses 62.5 MJ/m2 (5.5 kBtu/ft2).[16] A

study of field performance results in Kuwait revealed that power requirements for an

evaporative cooler are approximately 75% less than the power requirements for a

conventional packaged unit air-conditioner.

3.4.2 Indirect evaporative cooling

Indirect evaporative cooling (closed circuit) is a cooling process that uses direct evaporative

cooling in addition to some heat exchanger to transfer the cool energy to the supply air. The

cooled moist air from the direct evaporative cooling process never comes in direct contact

with the conditioned supply air. The moist air stream is released outside or used to cool other

external devices such as solar cells which are more efficient if kept cool. This is done to

avoid excess humidity in enclosed spaces, which is not appropriate for residential systems.

15
Figure 3.2: Indirect evaporative cooling

3.5 TWO-STAGE EVAPORATIVE COOLING

In the first stage of a two-stage cooling, warm air is pre-cooled indirectly without adding

humidity (by passing inside a heat exchanger that is cooled by evaporation on the outside). In

the direct stage, the pre-cooled air passes through a water-soaked pad and picks up humidity

as it cools. Since the air supply is pre-cooled in the first stage, less humidity is transferred in

the direct stage, to reach the desired cooling temperatures. The result, according to

manufacturers, is cooler air with a RH between 50 and 70%, depending on the climate,

compared to a traditional system that produces about 70–80% relative humidity in the

conditioned air.

16
Figure 3.3: Two stage evaporating cooling

3.6 OTHER TYPES OF PHASE-CHANGE COOLING

A closely related process, sublimation cooling, differs from evaporative cooling in that

a phase transition from solid to vapor, rather than liquid to vapor, occurs.

Sublimation cooling has been observed to operate on a planetary scale on the planetoid Pluto,

where it has been called an anti-greenhouse effect.

Another application of a phase change to cooling is the "self-refrigerating" beverage can. A

separate compartment inside the can contains a desiccant and a liquid. Just before drinking, a

tab is pulled so that the desiccant comes into contact with the liquid and dissolves. As it does

so, it absorbs an amount of heat energy called the latent heat of fusion. Evaporative cooling

works with the phase change of liquid into vapor and the latent heat of vaporization, but the

self-cooling can uses a change from solid to liquid, and the latent heat of fusion, to achieve

the same result.

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3.7 NEWTON’S LAW OF COOLING

Newton’s law of cooling describes the rate at which an exposed body changes temperature

through radiation which is approximately proportional to the difference between the object’s

temperature and its surroundings, provided the difference is small.

Definition: According to Newton’s law of cooling, the rate of loss of heat from a body is

directly proportional to the difference in the temperature of the body and its surroundings.

Newton’s law of cooling is given by, dT/dt = k(Tt – Ts)

Where,

i. Tt = temperature of the body at time t and

ii. Ts = temperature of the surrounding,

iii. k = Positive constant that depends on the area and nature of the surface of the body

under consideration.

3.8 NEWTON’S LAW OF COOLING FORMULA

Greater the difference in temperature between the system and surrounding, more rapidly

the heat is transferred i.e. more rapidly the body temperature of body changes. Newton’s law

of cooling formula is expressed by,

T(t) = Ts + (To – Ts) e-kt-----------------------------------------------------------3.1

Where,

i. t = time,

ii. T(t) = temperature of the given body at time t,

iii. Ts = surrounding temperature,

iv. To = initial temperature of the body,

v. k = constant.

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3.9. METHODS TO APPLY NEWTON’S LAW OF COOLING

Sometime when we need only approximate values from Newton’s law, we can assume a

constant rate of cooling, which is equal to the rate of cooling corresponding to the average

temperature of the body during the interval.

i.e. dθ\dt = k(<q> – q0) ---------------------------------------------------------------3.2

If qi and qf be the initial and final temperature of the body then,

<q> = (qi + qf)/2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------3.3

Remember equation (5) is only an approximation and equation (1) must be used for exact

values.

3.10 LIMITATIONS OF NEWTON’S LAW OF COOLING

i. The difference in temperature between the body and surroundings must be small

ii. The loss of heat from the body should be by radiation only.

iii. The major limitation of Newton’s law of cooling is that the temperature of

surroundings must remain constant during the cooling of the body

3.11 SOLVED EXAMPLES ON NEWTON’S LAW OF COOLING

Example 1: A body at temperature 40ºC is kept in a surrounding of constant temperature

20ºC. It is observed that its temperature falls to 35ºC in 10 minutes. Find how much more

time will it take for the body to attain a temperature of 30ºC.

Solution:

From Newtons law of cooling, qf = qi e-kt

Now, for the interval in which temperature falls from 40 to 35oC.

(35 – 20) = (40 – 20) e-k.10

e-10k = 3/4

k = [ln 4/3]/10 . . . . -------------------------------------------------------------------------3.4

Now, for the next interval;

19
(30 – 20) = (35 – 20)e-kt

e-kt = 2/3

kt = ln 3/2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.5

From equation (3) and (4);

t = 10 × [ln(3/2)/ln(4/3)]= 14.096 min.

Aliter : (by approximate method)

For the interval in which temperature falls from 40 to 35oC

<q> = (40 + 35)/2 = 37.5ºC

From equation (4);

dθ/dt = k(<q> – q0)

(35 – 40)/10 = k(37.5 – 20)

k = 1/32 min-1

Now, for the interval in which temperature falls from 35oC to 30oC

<q> = (35 + 30)/2 = 32.5oC

From equation (4);

(30 – 35)/t = (32.5 – 20)

Therefore, the required time t = 5/12.5 × 35 = 14 min.

Example 2: The oil is heated to 70oC. It cools to 50oC after 6 minutes. Calculate the time

taken by the oil to cool from 50oC to 40oC given the surrounding temperature Ts = 25oC.

Solution:

Given:

Temperature of oil after 6 min, T(t) = 50oC,

i. Ts = 25oC,

ii. To = 70oC,

iii. t = 6 min

20
On substituting the given data in Newton’s law of cooling formula, we get;

T(t) = Ts + (Ts – To) e-kt

[T(t) – Ts]/[To – Ts] = e-kt

-kt ln = [ln T(t) – Ts]/To – Ts

-kt = [ln 50 – 25]/70 – 25 = ln 0.555

k = – (-0.555/6) = 0.092

If T(t) = 45oC (average temperature as the temperature decreases from 50oC to 40oC)

Time taken is -kt ln e = [ln T(t) – Ts]/[To – Ts]

-(0.092) t = ln 45 – 25/[70 – 25]

-0.092 t = -0.597

t = -0.597/-0.092 = 6.489 min.

Example 3: Water is heated to 80oC for 10 min. How much would be the temperature if k =

0.56 per min and the surrounding temperature is 25oC?

Solution:

Given:

i. Ts = 25oC,

ii. To = 80oC,

iii. t = 10 min,

iv. k = 0.56

Now, substituting the above data in Newton’s law of cooling formula,

T(t) = Ts + (To – Ts) × e-kt

= 25 + (80 – 25) × e-0.56 = 25 + [55 × 0.57] = 56.35 oC

Temperature cools down from 80oC to 56.35 oC after 10 min.

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3.12. COOLING PERFORMANCE

Understanding evaporative cooling performance requires an understanding

of psychrometrics. Evaporative cooling performance is variable due to changes in external

temperature and humidity level. A residential cooler should be able to decrease the

temperature of air to within 3 to 4 °C (5 to 7 °F) of the wet bulb temperature.

It is simple to predict cooler performance from standard weather report information. Because

weather reports usually contain the dewpoint and relative humidity, but not the wet-bulb

temperature, a psychrometric chart or a simple computer program must be used to compute

the wet bulb temperature. Once the wet bulb temperature and the dry bulb temperature are

identified, the cooling performance or leaving air temperature of the cooler may be

determined.

For direct evaporative cooling, the direct saturation efficiency, , measures in what extent the

temperature of the air leaving the direct evaporative cooler is close to the wet-bulb

temperature of the entering air. Evaporative media efficiency usually runs between 80% to

90%. Most efficient systems can lower the dry air temperature to 95% of the wet-bulb

temperature, the least efficient systems only achieve 50%. . The evaporation efficiency drops

very little over time.

Typical aspen pads used in residential evaporative coolers offer around 85% efficiency while

CELdek type of evaporative media offer efficiencies of >90% depending on air velocity. The

CELdek media is more often used in large commercial and industrial installations.

As an example, in Las Vegas, with a typical summer design day of 42 °C (108 °F) dry bulb

and 19 °C (66 °F) wet bulb temperature or about 8% relative humidity, the leaving air

temperature of a residential cooler with 85% efficiency would be:

= 42 °C – [(42 °C – 19 °C) × 85%] = 22.45 °C or 72.41 °F

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 However, either of two methods can be used to estimate performance:

i. Use a psychrometric chart to calculate wet bulb temperature, and then add 5–7 °F as

described above.

ii. Use a rule of thumb which estimates that the wet bulb temperature is approximately equal to

the ambient temperature, minus one third of the difference between the ambient temperature

and the dew point. As before, add 5–7 °F as described above.

Some examples clarify this relationship:

iv. At 32 °C (90 °F) and 15% relative humidity, air may be cooled to nearly 16 °C (61 °F). The

dew point for these conditions is 2 °C (36 °F).

v. At 32 °C and 50% relative humidity, air may be cooled to about 24 °C (75 °F). The dew point

for these conditions is 20 °C (68 °F).

vi. At 40 °C (104 °F) and 15% relative humidity, air may be cooled to nearly 21 °C (70 °F). The

dew point for these conditions is 8 °C (46 °F).

(Cooling examples extracted from the June 25, 2000 University of Idaho publication,

"Homewise").

Because evaporative coolers perform best in dry conditions, they are widely used and most

effective in arid, desert regions such as the southwestern USA, northern Mexico,

and Rajasthan.

The same equation indicates why evaporative coolers are of limited use in highly humid

environments: for example, a hot August day in Tokyo may be 30 °C (86 °F) with 85%

relative humidity, 1,005 hPa pressure. This gives a dew point of 27.2 °C (81.0 °F) and a wet-

bulb temperature of 27.88 °C (82.18 °F). According to the formula above, at 85% efficiency

air may be cooled only down to 28.2 °C (82.8 °F) which makes it quite impractical.

23
3.13. APPLICATIONS

Before the advent of modern refrigeration, evaporative cooling was used for millennia, for

instance in qanats, windcatchers, and mashrabiyas. A porous earthenware vessel would cool

water by evaporation through its walls; frescoes from about 2500 BCE show slaves fanning

jars of water to cool rooms. Alternatively, a bowl filled with milk or butter could be placed in

another bowl filled with water, all being covered with a wet cloth resting in the water, to keep

the milk or butter as fresh as possible (see zeer, botijo and Coolgardie safe).

Evaporative cooling is a common form of cooling buildings for thermal comfort since it is

relatively cheap and requires less energy than other forms of cooling.

The figure showing the Salt Lake City weather data represents the typical summer climate

(June to September. It is mainly explained by the combination of a higher air speed on one

hand and elevated indoor humidity when the region permits the direct evaporative cooling

strategy on the other hand. Evaporative cooling strategies that involve the humidification of

the air should be implemented in dry condition where the increase in moisture content stays

below recommendations for occupant's comfort and indoor air quality. Passive

cooling towers lack the control that traditional HVAC systems offer to occupants. However,

the additional air movement provided into the space can improve occupant comfort.

Evaporative cooling is most effective when the relative humidity is on the low side, limiting

its popularity to dry climates. Evaporative cooling raises the internal humidity level

significantly, which desert inhabitants may appreciate as the moist air re-hydrates dry skin

and sinuses. Therefore, assessing typical climate data is an essential procedure to determine

the potential of evaporative cooling strategies for a building. The three most important

climate considerations are dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and wet-bulb

depression during a typical summer day. It is important to determine if the wet-bulb

24
depression can provide sufficient cooling during the summer day. By subtracting the wet-

bulb depression from the outside dry-bulb temperature, one can estimate the approximate air

temperature leaving the evaporative cooler. It is important to consider that the ability for the

exterior dry-bulb temperature to reach the wet-bulb temperature depends on the saturation

efficiency. A general recommendation for applying direct evaporative cooling is to

implement it in places where the wet-bulb temperature of the outdoor air does not exceed

22 °C (72 °F). However, in the example of Salt Lake City, the upper limit for the direct

evaporative cooling on psychrometric chart is 20 °C (68 °F). Despite the lower temperature,

evaporative cooling is suitable for similar climates to Salt Lake City.

Evaporative cooling is especially well suited for climates where the air is hot and humidity is

low. In the United States, the western and mountain states are good locations, with

evaporative coolers prevalent in cities like Albuquerque, Denver, El Paso, Fresno, Salt Lake

City, and Tucson. Evaporative air conditioning is also popular and well-suited to the southern

(temperate) part of Australia. In dry, arid climates, the installation and operating cost of an

evaporative cooler can be much lower than that of refrigerative air conditioning, often by

80% or so. However, evaporative cooling and vapor-compression air conditioning are

sometimes used in combination to yield optimal cooling results. Some evaporative coolers

may also serve as humidifiers in the heating season. In regions that are mostly arid, short

periods of high humidity may prevent evaporative cooling from being an effective cooling

strategy. An example of this event is the monsoon season in New Mexico and central and

southern Arizona in July and August.

In locations with moderate humidity there are many cost-effective uses for evaporative

cooling, in addition to their widespread use in dry climates. For example, industrial plants,

commercial kitchens, laundries, dry cleaners, greenhouses, spot cooling (loading docks,

warehouses, factories, construction sites, athletic events, workshops, garages, and kennels)

25
and confinement farming (poultry ranches, hog, and dairy) often employ evaporative cooling.

In highly humid climates, evaporative cooling may have little thermal comfort benefit beyond

the increased ventilation and air movement it provides.

3.14 OTHER APPLICATIONS

Trees transpire large amounts of water through pores in their leaves called stomata, and

through this process of evaporative cooling, forests interact with climate at local and global

scales. Simple evaporative cooling devices such as evaporative cooling chambers (ECCs) and

clay pot coolers, or pot-in-pot refrigerators, are simple and inexpensive ways to keep

vegetables fresh without the use of electricity. Several hot and dry regions throughout the

world could potentially benefit from evaporative cooling, including North Africa, the Sahel

region of Africa, the Horn of Africa, southern Africa, the Middle East, arid regions of South

Asia, and Australia. Benefits of evaporative cooling chambers for many rural communities in

these regions include reduced post-harvest loss, less time spent traveling to the market,

monetary savings, and increased availability of vegetables for consumption.

Evaporative cooling is commonly used in cryogenic applications. The vapor above a

reservoir of cryogenic liquid is pumped away, and the liquid continuously evaporates as long

as the liquid's vapor pressure is significant. Evaporative cooling of ordinary helium forms

a 1-K pot, which can cool to at least 1.2 K. Evaporative cooling of helium-3 can provide

temperatures below 300 mK. These techniques can be used to make cryocoolers, or as

components of lower-temperature cryostats such as dilution refrigerators. As the temperature

decreases, the vapor pressure of the liquid also falls, and cooling becomes less effective. This

sets a lower limit to the temperature attainable with a given liquid.

Evaporative cooling is also the last cooling step in order to reach the ultra-low temperatures

required for Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). Here, so-called forced evaporative cooling is

used to selectively remove high-energetic ("hot") atoms from an atom cloud until the

26
remaining cloud is cooled below the BEC transition temperature. For a cloud of 1 million

alkali atoms, this temperature is about 1μK.

Although robotic spacecraft use thermal radiation almost exclusively, many manned

spacecraft have short missions that permit open-cycle evaporative cooling. Examples include

the Space Shuttle, the Apollo command and service module (CSM), lunar

module and portable life support system. The Apollo CSM and the Space Shuttle also had

radiators, and the Shuttle could evaporate ammonia as well as water. The Apollo spacecraft

used sublimators, compact and largely passive devices that dump waste heat in water vapor

(steam) that is vented to space. When liquid water is exposed to vacuum it boils vigorously,

carrying away enough heat to freeze the remainder to ice that covers the sublimator and

automatically regulates the feedwater flow depending on the heat load. The water expended is

often available in surplus from the fuel cells used by many manned spacecraft to produce

electricity.

27
CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Evaporative cooling is used in both biological and mechanical processes. Evaporative cooling

uses evaporation to help cool the air. Based on the principles of evaporation, hot and dry

outside air is drawn through water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is pushed through these

pads, the water evaporates and the heat in the air is absorbed, which lowers the air

temperature. Our bodies are designed to sweat to release heat and keep our body at its natural

temperature when it gets too hot. Our skin releases sweat, which contains water. The water

absorbs the heat from our skin and it eventually evaporates, taking the extra heat in our skin

with it. This decreases our body temperature and keeps us from overheating in the summer.

Air conditioners use evaporative cooling to decrease the temperature inside a

building. Evaporative coolers work by pumping warm air into the air conditioner and filtering

it through a pad soaked with water, which can absorb heat from the air and evaporate. As the

water absorbs heat from the air, the air temperature decreases and is returned to the room.

Evaporative cooling is also used to cool nuclear power plants. The heat from the nuclear core

flows into water cooling systems. The water absorbs the heat and is released as steam from

the power plant. Without proper cooling systems, nuclear power plants overheat and a

nuclear meltdown occurs; radioactive material can escape into the environment.

28
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