DRY AND ATMOSPHERIC AIR

 Air is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen and small amount of other gases.

 Air in the atmosphere normally contains some water vapor(moisture) and

is referred to as atmospheric air.

 It is often convenient to treat air as a mixture of water vapor and dry air,
since the composition of dry air remains relatively constant, but the water
vapor changes as a result of condensation and evaporation from oceans,
lakes, rivers and even the human body.

 Although the amount of water vapor in the air is small, it plays a major role
in human comfort; therefore, it is an important consideration in air-
conditioning applications.

 The temperature of air in air-conditioning applications ranges from about

-10 to about 50°C. In this range, dry air can be treated as an ideal gas with
constant Cp value of 1.005kJ/kg°C with negligible error under 0.2 %.

Taking 0°C as the reference temperature, the enthalpy and enthalpy change
of dry air can be determined from

hdry air = Cp T = 1.005kJ/kg°C (kJ / kg) ----- (1-a)

&

∆hdry air = Cp ∆T = (1.005 kJ/kg°C) ∆T (kJ / kg) ------- (1-b)

 At 50°C, the saturation pressure of water is 12.3 kPa. At pressures below
this value, water vapor can be treated as an ideal gas with negligible error,
even when it is saturated vapor and obeys the ideal-gas relation PV = RT.
Then the atmospheric air can be treated as an ideal-gas mixture whose
pressure is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air pa and that of water
vapor pv.

P = Pa + Pv ---------- (2)

 The partial pressure of water vapor is usually referred to as the vapor

pressure.
 Since water vapor is an ideal gas, the enthalpy of water vapor is a function
of temperature only.

h = h(T)

This can also be observed from the t-s diagram of water where the constant
enthalpy lines coincide with constant temperature lines at temperatures
below 50°C. Therefore, the enthalpy of water vapor in air can be taken to be
equal to the enthalpy of saturated vapor at the same temperature.

hv = hg -------(3)

 The enthalpy of water vapor at 0°C is 2500.9 kJ/kg. The average Cp value of
water vapor in the temperature range -10 to 50°C can be taken to be 1.82
kJ/kg °C.

Then the enthalpy of water vapor can be determined approximately from,

hg = 2500.9 + 1.82T (kJ / kg) (T in °C) ------- (4)

hg = 1060.9 + 0.435T (Btu/lbm) (T in °F) ------- (5)

SPECIFIC & RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AIR
The amount of water vapor in the air can be specified in various ways. Probably,
the most logical way is to specify directly the mass of water vapor present in a unit
mass of dry air. This is called absolute or specific humidity (also called humidity

ratio) and is denoted by;

w = mv / ma (kg water vapor / kg dry air) -------- (6)

or

w = 0.622Pv / P – Pv (kg water vapor / kg dry air) -------- (7)

 Consider 1 kg of dry air. By definition, dry air contains no water vapor, and
thus its specific humidity is zero. Now let us add some water vapor to this
dry air. The specific humidity will increase. As more vapor/moisture is
added, the specific humidity will keep on increasing until the air can hold no
more moisture. At this point, the air is said to be saturated with moisture,
and it is called saturated air. Any moisture introduced into saturated air
will condense.

 For saturated air, the vapor pressure is equal to the saturation pressure of
water.

 The amount of moisture in the air has a definite effect on how comfortable
we feel in an environment. However, the comfort level depends more on the
amount of moisture the air holds (mv) relative to the maximum amount of
moisture the air can hold at the same temperature (mg). The ratio of these
two quantities is called the relative humidity (ϕ).

relative humidity (ϕ) = mv / mg = Pv / Pg -------- (8)

where, Pg = Psat @ T ------ (9)

 Combining eq: (7) and (8), relative humidity can also be expressed as:

ϕ = wP / (0.622 + w) Pg -------- (10-a)

&

w = 0.622 ϕ Pg / (P – ϕPg) -------- (10-b)

 The relative humidity ranges from 0 for dry air to 1 for saturated air.
Note that the amount of moisture, the air can hold depends on its
temperature even when its specific humidity remains constant.
 The total enthalpy of atmospheric air is the sum of the enthalpies of
dry air and the water vapor.

H = Ha + Hv = maha + mvhv

Dividing by ma gives,

h = H / ma = ha + whv

or

h = ha + whg (kJ / kg dry air) Since, hv = hg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEW POINT TEMPERATURE

When the moisture capacity (the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold) of
air equals its moisture content, the air is saturated and its relative humidity is
100%. Any further drop in temperature results in the condensation of some of the
moisture and this is the beginning of the dew formation.

The dew-point temperature Tdp is defined as the temperature at which

condensation begins when the air is cooled at constant pressure. In other words, Tdp
is the saturation temperature of water corresponding to the vapor pressure.

Tdp = Tsat @ Pv

As the air cools at constant pressure, the vapor pressure Pv remains constant.
Therefore, the vapor in the air(state-1) undergoes a constant-pressure cooling
process until it strikes the saturated vapor line (state-2). The temperature at this
point is Tdp, and if the temperature drops any further, some vapor condenses out.
As a result the amount of vapor in the air decreases, which results in a decrease in
Pv.

ADIABATIC SATURATION & WET-BULB

TEMPERATURES
Relative humidity and specific humidity are frequently used in engineering and
atmospheric sciences, and it is desirable to relate them to easily measurable
quantities such as temperature and pressure. One way of determining the relative
humidity is to determine the dew-point temperature of air, as discussed. Knowing
the dew-point temperature, we can determine the vapor pressure Pv and thus the
relative humidity. This approach is simple but not quite practical.

Another way of determining the absolute / relative humidity is related to an

adiabatic saturation process, shown schematically on T-s diagram.

The system consists of a long insulated channel that contains a pool of water. A
steady stream of unsaturated air that has a specific humidity of w 1 (unknown) and a
temperature of T1 is passed through this channel. As the air flows over the water,
some water evaporates and mixes with the airstream. The moisture content of air
increases during this process, and its temperature decreases, since part of the latent
heat of vaporization of water that evaporates comes from the air. If the channel is
long enough, the air stream exits as saturated air ( ϕ = 100 %) at temperature T 2,
which is called the adiabatic saturation temperature.
ṁa =ṁa =ṁa
1 2

(The mass flow rate of dry air remains constant)

 ṁw + ṁf =ṁw
1 2

( The mass flow rate of vapor in the air increases by an amount

equal to the rate of evaporation ṁf ¿

OR

ṁa w1 + ṁf =ṁa w 2

ṁf =ṁa (w2−w 1)

Energy balance:

Ė¿ = Ė out (Since Q̇=0∧Ẇ =0 ¿

ṁa h1 + ṁf h f =ṁa h2

2

OR

ṁa h1 + ṁa ( w2 −w1 ) h f =ṁa h2 2

Dividing by ṁa gives

h1 + ( w2−w1 ) hf =h2 2

OR

( C p T 1 +w 1 h g ) + ( w2−w1 ) hf =(C p T 2 + w2 hg )
1 2 2

which yields,
C p ( T 2−T 1 ) + w2 hfg
w 1= 2
… … ..(11)
h g −h f
1 2

Where, from eq. 10-b,

 0.622 P g
w 2= 2
… … … (12)
P2−P g 2

Since ∅ 2=100 % .Thus we conclude that the specific humidity (and relative
humidity) of air can be determined from eq:11 and eq: 12 by measuring
the pressure and temperature of air at the inlet and the exit of an adiabatic
saturator.

If the air entering the channel is already saturated, then the adiabatic
saturation temperature T2 will be identical to the inlet temperature T1 ,
in which case eq. 11 yields w 1=w 2. In general, the adiabatic saturation
temperature is between the inlet and dew-point temperatures.

The adiabatic saturation temperature discussed above provides a means

of determining the absolute / relative humidity of air, but it requires a
long channel or a spray mechanism to achieve saturation conditions at the
exit. A more practical approach is to use a thermometer whose bulb is
covered with a cotton wick saturated with water and to blow air over the
wick, as shown in fig. The temperature measured in this manner is called
wet-bulb temperature Twb, and it is commonly used in air –conditioning
applications.

The basic principle involved is similar to that in adiabatic saturation.

When unsaturated air passes over the wet wick, some of the water in the
wick evaporates. As a result, the temperature of the water drops, creating
a temperature difference ( which is the driving force for heat transfer)
between the air and the water. After a while, the heat loss from the water
by evaporation equals the heat gain from the air, and the water
 temperature stabilizes. The thermometer reading at this point is the wet-
bulb temperature.

 Wet-bulb temperature can also be measured by sling psychrometer.

 Today, with the advancement in electronics, humidity can also be

measured by hand-held electronic humidity measurement devices.

 In general, the adiabatic saturation temperature and the wet-bulb

temperature are not the same. However, for air-water-vapor mixtures

at atmospheric pressure, the wet-bulb temperature happens to be

approximately equal to the adiabatic saturation temperature.
Therefore, the wet-bulb temperature can be used in eq. 11 in place of
T2 to determine the specific humidity of air.

Example # 14.3 The specific & relative humidity of Air (H.W)

THE PSYCHROMETRIC CHART

 It is a graphical representation of the psychrometric properties of air.

 It serves as a valuable aid in visualizing the air-conditioning processes.

  The dry-bulb temperatures are shown on the horizontal axis.

 Specific humidity/humidity ratio shown on the vertical axis.

 On the right hand side, there is a curve called saturation curve (a curve of
100% RH). All the saturated air states are located on this curve. Other
constant relative humidity curves have the same general shape.
 Lines of constant wet-bulb temperature have a downhill appearance to the
right.
 Lines of constant specific volume (in m3 /kg of dry air) look similar, except
they are steeper.
 Lines of constant enthalpy (in kJ/kg dry air) lie very nearly parallel to the
lines of constant wet-bulb temperature.
 For saturated air, the dry-bulb, wet-bulb and dew-point temperatures are
identical. Therefore, the dew-point temperature of atmospheric air at any
point on the chart can be determined by drawing a horizontal line ( line of
w = constant or Pv = constant ) from the point to the saturated curve.
The temperature value at the intersection point is the dew-point
temperature.
 Any ordinary heating/cooling process appears as a horizontal line on this
chart if no humidification / dehumidification is involved (i.e, w = constant).
Any deviation from a horizontal line indicates that moisture is added or
removed from the air during the process.

THE USE OF PSYCHROMETRIC CHART

AIR-CONDITIONING PROCESSES
Maintaining a living space / an industrial facility at the desired temperature and
humidity requires some processes called air-conditioning processes. These
processes include simple heating (raising the temperature), simple cooling
(lowering the temperature), humidifying (adding moisture) and dehumidifying
(removing moisture). Sometimes two or more of these processes are needed to
bring the air to the desired temperature and humidity level.

Various air-conditioning processes are illustrated on the psychrometric chart in fig.

Notice that simple heating and cooling processes appear as horizontal lines on this
chart since the moisture content of the air remains constant (w = constant) during
these processes. Air is commonly heated and humidified in winter and cooled and
dehumidified in summer. Notice how these processes appear on the psychrometric
chart.

Most air-conditioning processes can be modeled as steady-flow processes, and thus

the mass balance relation ṁ¿ =ṁout can be expressed for dry air and water as:
 Mass balance for dry air:
∑¿ ṁa=∑ ṁa ( kgs )−−−−(13)
out

Mass balance for water:

∑¿ ṁw=∑ ṁw
out

OR

∑¿ ṁa w=∑ ṁa w−−−−(14)

out

Disregarding the kinetic and potential energy changes, the steady-flow energy
balance relation Ė¿ = Ė out can be expressed in this case as:
Q̇¿ + Ẇ ¿ + ∑ ṁh=Q̇out + Ẇ out + ∑ ṁh−−−−(15)
¿ out

The work term usually consists of the fan work input, which is small relative to the
other terms in the energy balance relation.

Next we examine some commonly encountered processes in air-conditioning.

SIMPLE HEATING & COOLING (ω=CONSTANT ¿

 During simple heating, specific humidity remains constant, but relative
humidity decreases.
  During simple cooling , specific humidity remains constant, but relative
humidity increases.

The conservation of mass equations for a heating / cooling process that involves no
humidification /dehumidification reduce to ṁa =ṁa =ṁa i.e dry air and w 1=w 2 for
1 2

water. Neglecting any fan work that may be present, the conservation of energy
equation in this case reduces to
Q̇= ṁa (h2−h 1) OR q=h 2−h1
where, h1 and h2 are enthalpies per unit mass of dry air at the inlet and the exit of
the heating / cooling section, respectively.

HEATING WITH HUMIDIFICATION

Problems associated with the low relative humidity resulting from simple heating
can be eliminated by humidifying the heated air. This is accomplished by passing
the air first through a heating section (process 1 – 2) and then through a
humidifying section (process 2 – 3), as shown.

The location of state 3 depends on how the humidification is accomplished. If

steam is introduced in the humidification section, this will result in humidification
with additional heating (T3 > T2). If humidification is accomplished by spraying
water into the airstream instead, part of the latent heat of vaporization comes from
the air, which results in the cooling of the heated airstream (T3 < T2). Air should
be heated to a higher temperature in the heating section in this case to make up for
the cooling effect during the humidification process.