MEC653

HVAC SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION & REVIEW
 UNIT
UNITCONVERSION
CONVERSION

SI Unit Common Unit Used in Practice

Area/Volum m2/m3 ft2/ft3
e
Air flow m3/s L/s, cfm
Flow rate m3/s L/s, gpm
Temperature °C °F
Force N lbf
Pressure Pa psi, bar
Cooling W Btu/hr, RT, hp
energy
 THERMODYNAMICS
THERMODYNAMICSFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL
(AIR-CONDITIONING)
(AIR-CONDITIONING)

Air-conditioning is a
process of treating air to
control simultaneously its:
temperature
humidity
cleanliness
distribution
Air-conditioning is purposed to maintain a confined space at
the desired conditions by:

cooling
heating
dehumidifying
humidifying
PSHYCHROMERIC
PSHYCHROMERICCHART
CHART
 ENERGY
ENERGYBALANCE
BALANCE

Energy balance is applied to every section of air-conditioning

processes:

. . . Vin
2
gz in 
Q in  W in   min  hin   

in  2000 1000 
. . .  Vout
2
gz out 
 Q out  W out   mout  hout   

out  2000 1000 
 MASS
MASSBALANCE
BALANCE

Conservation of mass for the steady-flow control volume:

 m   m
i e

For dry air: m a1  m a2  m a

For water vapor:  m   m

in
v
out
v   m a   m a

in out
 BASIC
BASICOF
OFAIR-CONDITIONING
AIR-CONDITIONING
Simple Heating

. . . Vin
2
gzin 
Q in  W in   min  hin   

in  2000 1000 
. . . Vout
2
gzout 
 Q out  W out   mout  hout   

out  2000 1000 
Heating coil

State 1 State 2 . .
T1 T2>T1 Q in  ma  h2  h1 
ω1 ω2 = ω1
Φ1 Φ2< Φ1
 Simple Cooling

. .  . Vin
2
gzin 
Q in  W in   min  hin   

in  2000 1000 
. . .  Vout
2
gzout 
 Q out  W out   mout  hout   

out  2000 1000 

Cooling coil

. .
Q out  ma  h1  h2 
State 1 State 2
T1 T2<T1
ω1 ω2 = ω1
Φ1 Φ2> Φ1
 Heating and Humidifying
Humidifier

Heating coil

State 3 : if steam is
introduced, it will result in
additional heating (T3>T2);
but if water is sprayed, it will
State 1 State 2 State 3
result in cooling of the heated
T1 T2>T1 T3 air stream (T3<T2)
ω1 ω2 = ω1 ω3 > ω2
Φ1 Φ2< Φ1 Φ3> Φ2

m v2  m s  m v3 
 m s  m v3  m v2
 m a   3   2 
 Cooling and Dehumidifying

Cooling coil

Meanwhile : some moisture

are removed to maintain the
relative humidity at desirable
level
State 1 Condensate State 2
removal
T1 T2<T1
ω1 ω2 < ω1
Φ1 Φ2 > Φ1
. . . .
m v1  m v2  m w
ma h1  Q out  ma h2  mw hw
m w  m v1  m v2
. . .
Q out  ma  h1  h2   mw hw  m a  1  2 
 Mixing Chamber

. . .
ma1 h1  ma 2 h2  ma 3 h3

. . .
ma1  ma 2  ma 3

. . .
mv1  mv 2  mv 3

m a1 h2  h3 2  3
 
m a 2 h3  h1 3  1
 APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS

Fan Coil Unit (FCU)

Cooling coil

return air (RA) supply air (SA)

 Air Handling Unit (AHU)

Mixing chamber
Cooling coil

return air (RA) supply air (SA)

outside air (OA)

 Air Flow Anatomy

Cool air moves downward Warm air raises up

 Cooling water flows

Cooling tower

Make-up
water tank
3 Condenser 2

Expansion valve Compressor

Refrigerant R-
134a flows Make-up
water flows
4 1

Evaporator

Incoming Treated air

air
 3 Condenser 2

Expansion valve Compressor

Refrigerant R-
134a flows

4 1

Evaporator

Incoming Treated air

air

Direct expansion system

 3 Condenser 2

Expansion valve Compressor

Refrigerant
flows

4 1

Evaporator

Chilled water
flows

Incoming Treated air

air

Indirect expansion system

 THERMODYNAMICS
THERMODYNAMICSFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL
(REFRIGERATION
(REFRIGERATIONSYSTEM)
SYSTEM)
Vapor Compression Refrigeration Cycle

The processes in the vapor compression refrigeration cycle are

as per following:

Process Process Description

1-2 Isentropic compression
2-3 Constant pressure heat rejection
3-4 Throttling process
4-1 Constant pressure heat absorption
Refrigeration cycle is based on the
modification of reversed Carnot cycle
 THERMODYNAMICS
THERMODYNAMICSFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL
(COOLING
(COOLINGTOWER)
TOWER)

A cooling tower is a heat rejection device, which extracts

waste heat to the atmosphere though the cooling of a water
stream to a lower temperature.

Common applications for cooling towers are providing cooled

water for air-conditioning, manufacturing plant and electric
power generation.

Idea of cooling tower – spray pond, but…

 [hot refrigerant gas
from compressor]

[cold liquid
refrigerant to
expansion
valve]

Make-up water
 APPLICATION
APPLICATION

Cooling tower

Control panel
of a cooling tower
 HEAT
HEATTRANSFER
TRANSFERFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL
Heat Transfer

All modes of heat transfer require the existence of a

temperature difference, and all modes are from the high-
temperature medium to a lower-temperature one.

HOT COLD
Heat can be transferred in three different modes;
conduction, convection and radiation.
Thermal Conductivity
Heat Transfer Coefficient
 FLUID
FLUIDMECHANICS
MECHANICSFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL

Liquid or gas flow through pipes or ducts are used in many

engineering applications and fluid distribution networks.
The fluid in such applications is usually forced to flow by a
fan or pump.
Full care should be given to friction, which is directly related
to the pressure drop and head loss during flow through pipes
and ducts.
The pressure drop is then used to determine the pumping
power requirement.
• Net Head

• Water horsepower

• Brake horsepower

• Pump efficiency
Dynamic Pumps

Dynamic pumps include

 centrifugal pumps: fluid enters
axially, and is discharged radially
 mixed-flow pumps: fluid enters
axially, and leaves at an angle
between radially and axially
 axial pumps: fluid enters and
leaves axially.
Centrifugal pump

Axial pump
For gases, pumps are further broken down into:

Fans: Low pressure gradient, high volume flow rate. Examples

include ceiling fan and cooling tower fan.
Blower: Medium pressure gradient, medium volume flow rate.
Examples include centrifugal and squirrel-cage blowers found
in ducting system.
Compressor: High pressure gradient, low volume flow rate.
Examples include refrigerant compressors for refrigerators, air-
conditioners and chillers.
 Conservation of Mass

D1

D2

V1 m V2 m
2

Mass flow rate remains the same, but the velocity increases due to
diameter (area!) reduction.

Q  A1V1  A2V2
Laminar and Turbulent Flows

Laminar: Smooth streamlines and

highly ordered motion.
Turbulent: Velocity fluctuations and
highly disordered motion.
Transition: The flow fluctuates
between laminar and turbulent flows.

Most flows encountered in practice are

turbulent.
 Reynolds Number

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the

geometry, surface roughness, flow velocity, surface
temperature and type of fluid.
The flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of inertial
forces to viscous forces (Reynolds number).
The friction factor in fully
developed turbulent pipe flow
depends on the Reynolds
number and the relative
roughness  /D.
 Types of Fluid Flow

1. Determining the pressure drop (or head loss) when the

pipe length and diameter are given for a specified flow
rate (or velocity)
2. Determining the flow rate when the pipe length and
diameter are given for a specified pressure drop (or head
loss)
3. Determining the pipe diameter when the pipe length and
flow rate are given for a specified pressure drop (or head
loss)
 Major Loss

A pressure drop due to viscous effects represents an

irreversible pressure loss, and it is called pressure loss PL.
For a specified flow rate, the pressure drop and thus the
required pumping power is proportional to the length of the
pipe and the viscosity of the fluid, but it is inversely
proportional to the fourth power of the diameter of the pipe.
 Minor Loss

The fluid in a typical piping system passes through various

fittings, valves, bends, elbows, tees, inlets, exits etc in the
piping system.
These components interrupt the smooth flow of the fluid and
cause additional losses because of the flow separation and
mixing they induce.
In a typical system with long pipes, these losses are minor
compared to the total head loss in the pipes (the major
losses) and are called minor losses.
Minor losses are usually expressed
in terms of the loss coefficient KL.
 Total Pressure Loss

General total head loss equation:

 Piping Network (Series)

For pipes in series, the flow rate is the same in each pipe,
and the total head loss is the sum of the head losses in
individual pipes.
 Piping Network (Parallel)

For pipes in parallel, the head loss is the same in each

pipe, and the total flow rate is the sum of the flow rates in
individual pipes.
 Pumps and Turbines

The steady-flow energy equation can be expressed as:

This equation will be used to analyze a wide range of piping

systems in order to determine the pump’s power input and/or
the turbine’s power output.
Combined Efficiency