PSYCHROMETRICS

By
Lohith N
MED
CONTENTS
 What is PSYCHROMETRY?
 Properties of PSYCHROMETRY
 PSYCHROMETRIC CHART
 PSYCHROMETRIC Processes
 AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
Psychrometry
 Psychrometry is the science dealing
with the physical laws of air – water
vapour mixtures.
 When designing an air conditioning
system, the temperature and moisture
content of the air to be conditioned are
to be well known.
 In other words, we can say that
Psychrometry is the study of MOIST AIR
or mixture of dry air and water vapour.
 Atmospheric air: Air in the atmosphere always contains
some water vapor (or moisture). Air contains 79% of
nitrogen and 21% of oxygen by volume. And also small
amount of other gases also. Its molecular weight is 29.
 Dry air: Air that contains no water vapor.
 Moist air: it is a mixture of dry air and water vapour.
Water vapor in the air plays a major role in human
comfort. Therefore, it is an important consideration in
air-conditioning applications.

 DALTON’S LAW OF PARTIAL PRESSURES: the total

pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of partial
pressure exerted by each gas when it occupies the same
volume of the mixture at the same temperature of the
mixture.

Pa Partial pressure of dry air

Pv Partial pressure of vapor (vapor pressure)
PROPERTIES OF PSYCHROMETRY
 DEW POINT TEMPERATURE
 DRY-BULB TEMPERATURE
 WET BULB TEMPERATURE
 HUMIDITY RATIO OR SPECIFIC HUMIDITY
 RELATIVE HUMIDITY
 DEGREE OF SATURATION OR SATURATION RATIO
 ENTHALPY OF MOIST AIR
 ADIABATIC SATURATION PROCESS (ADIABATIC
SATURATION TEMPERATURE)
Dew Point Temperature (DPT)
 It is the temperature at which the
vapour starts to condense resulting in
the formation of liquid droplets or
DEW.
 Condensation always occurs at the
Dew Point Temperature
 It is denoted by Tdp.
Dew Point Temperature
 It is the temperature at which the
vapour starts to condense resulting in
the formation of liquid droplets or
DEW.
 Condensation occurs at the Dew Point
Temperature
Dry bulb Temperature (DBT)
 Itis the equilibrium temperature of
the mixture indicated by an ordinary
thermometer. It is denoted by Tdb.
Wet bulb Temperature (WBT)
 It is the temperature indicated by a
wet bulb thermometer which has its
temperature sensitive element (bulb)
covered with Wick soaked in water. It
is denoted by Twb.
SPECIFIC AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AIR
Absolute or specific humidity
(humidity ratio): (ω)
• The mass of water vapor
present in a unit mass of dry
air.

For saturated air, the vapor

pressure is equal to the
saturation pressure of water.

(Rv=0.461kJ/kgK and Ra= 0.287kJ/kgK)

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SPECIFIC AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AIR

Relative humidity: The ratio of the amount of moisture the

air holds (mv) to the maximum amount of moisture the air
can hold at the same temperature (mg).
or
It is the ratio of partial pressure of water vapour in a mixture
to the saturation pressure of water at dry bulb temperature.

The difference between specific

and relative humidities.

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 Relative Humidity
Amount of moisture that a given amount
of air is holding
Relative
=
Humidity
Amount of moisture that a given amount
(percentage)
of air can hold

50% RH 100% RH - Saturated

Degree of saturation or Saturation
Ratio (μ)
Specific humidity of actual air (ω)
Degree of
saturation =
Specific humidity of saturated mixture (ωs)
Enthalpy of Moist air (h) :
Enthalpy of a given air- water-
vapour mixture or enthalpy of moist
air is the sum of the enthalpies of
dry air (Ha) and water vapour (Hv)
The enthalpy of atmospheric air is
expressed per unit mass of dry air.

The enthalpy of moist (atmospheric) air is

expressed per unit mass of dry air, not per
unit mass of moist air.

h=1.005tdb+ω(2500+1.88tdb)
 Saturated air and unsaturated air: At
a given temperature and pressure the dry
air can only hold a certain maximum
amount of moisture. When this limit is
reached, the air is said to be saturated.
When air is saturated, the relative humidity
will be 100%. On the other hand, when the
air doesn’t contain the maximum amount of
water vapour, it is said to be unsaturated
for that temperature.
 Adiabatic saturation process ( Adiabatic saturation temperature)
In a insulated chamber when unsaturated air flows over a
long sheet of water, the water evaporates & specific
humidity of air increases. As the evaporation takes place
both air and water are cooled. The process continues till
the equilibrium is reached and air becomes saturated. This
equilibrium temperature is called adiabatic saturation
temperature.
PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES
 SENSIBLE HEATING or SENSIBLE COOLING
 DEHUMIDIFICATION or HUMIDFIYING
 COOLING AND DEHUMIDIFICATION
 HEATING AND HUMIDIFICATION
 ADIABATIC HUMIDIFICATION
 ADIABATIC MIXING OF TWO STREAMS
1. SENSIBLE HEATING : it is addition of heat to
moist air without the addition of moisture. It
follows a constant humidity ratio line on the
Psychrometric chart.

m m
1 2

t1 t2

h1 h2

Qs=ma(h2-h1) kJ/s
SENSIBLE HEATING
SENSIBLE COOLING: It is the removal of heat from
moist air without the removal of moisture. It also
follows a constant ω on the psychrometric chart.

m m
1 2
t1 t2
h1 h2
 SENSIBLE HEAT & COOLING PROCESSES

 Heating & Cooling

process – addition or
removal of sensible heat
without change in
absolute moisture
content.
 RH changes as
NOTE:
temperature changes.

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2.HUMIDIFICATION OR DEHUMIDIFICATION:
(LATENT HEAT) : It is the process which involves
change in specific humidity of air, but the dry
bulb temperature remains constant.

Qs=ma(ω2-ω1) kJ/s
3.COOLING AND DEHUMIDIFYING: It is the removal
of heat and moisture from moist air, it involves
sensible and latent heat transfer.
 When air is cooled below its dew point temperature
water vapour will be removed. As a result of the
cooling process, a portion of the vapour in the air is
condensed. Dehumidification will take place along
with cooling when the surface temperature of the
cooling coil is below the dew point temperature of
the cooling air.

 By pass factor.

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4. Heating and Humidifying: It is the addition of
heat and moisture to moist air, it also involves
sensible and latent heat transfer.
For example
 5. ADIABATIC
HUMIDIFICATION:

If the humidification is carried

out adiabatically, the energy
required for evaporation
comes from the entering air.
DBT of air decreases. This
process is also known as
evaporative cooling process.

h1=h2
 6. ADIABATIC MIXING OF TWO
STREAMS:

In this process two or more streams are

mixed to produce a stream with the
desirable state of temperature and
relative humidity.
SUMMER AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

HOT AND DRY OUTDOOR CONDITION

SUMMER AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

HOT AND HUMID OUTDOOR CONDITION

WINTER AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM
Breakdown of the Lines

Enthalpy Dry Relative

Blub Humidity

Dew
Grains of
Point
Moisture

Specific
100% Volume Wet
Saturation Blub
Psychrometric chart
description

 Vertical lines are dry-bulb temperature

 Horizontal lines are humidity ratio (right axis) or dew point temp
(left axis)
 Slanted lines are wet-bulb temp and enthalpy
 Specific volume are the “other” slanted lines
Any Questions???
-THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION….