Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Psychrometry A

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Psychrometry

• Psychrometry, is the study of air / water-vapour mixtures.

• The main applications of psychrometry are the design of air - conditioning
systems and cooling towers.

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9.1 PARTIAL PRESSURES

• Moist air is a mixture of dry air and water vapour in the form of superheated
steam.
• Following Dalton, the total pressure of the air will comprise the pressure due
to the dry air plus the pressure due to the steam i.e.

P = Pa + Ps

• The partial pressure of steam can be obtained directly from the steam
tables.

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9.1.1 EXAMPLE

Moist air has a temperature of 200C and a total pressure of 1 bar. Using steam
tables, determine the partial pressures of the component dry air and superheated
steam.

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 9.2 SATURATED AND UNSATURATED MIXTURES

• The thermodynamic state of a moist air mixture is fixed by its partial pressure
and temperature. The water-vapour content may be represented on a
conventional T-s diagram as shown.

• The condition at point (1) is termed unsaturated air. At point (d) the temperature
is equal to the saturation temperature. The mixture is now termed saturated.

• Physically a mixture at point (1) is capable of absorbing more moisture i.e. it is

unsaturated. By contrast, a mixture at condition (d) is totally saturated. Moisture
will start to condense out if the mixture is cooled further. 5
9.3 WET BULB & DRY BULB TEMPERATURES

(a) The term dry bulb thermometer is used to describe a conventional

thermometer.

(b) The phrase “dry bulb” is used in psychrometry to distinguish a “normal”

thermometer from the “wet - bulb” type of device. Technically it implies the
air temperature when no moisture is present.

(c) A wet bulb thermometer is a device that measures the temperature of air
when containing water vapour. It consists of a conventional thermometer
- see diagram –

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• The thermometer bulb is kept damp by absorbent material wrapped around the
bulb.
• The absorbent material is dipped into a pool of water to ensure that it is
permanently wet.
• Air movement across the thermometer bulb causes some of the moisture
on the cloth to evaporate - thus taking large quantities of heat with it.
• The thermometer thus gives a lower reading than a dry bulb thermometer in a
similar situation. The so-called “wet bulb” depression is a measure of the
moisture content of the air.

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9.4 THE T - S DIAGRAM

A slightly more elaborate T-s diagram can now be drawn which illustrates several
useful terms.
• Ps - is the partial pressure of the vapour.
• Pg - is the partial pressure of the vapour if it
were saturated at the mixture temperature.
• 1 - represents the conventional dry bulb
temperature.
• 2 - represents the wet bulb temperature.
• d - represents the saturation temperature at
the partial pressure of the vapour - or, as it
is usually termed, the DEW POINT
temperature.

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9.5 SPECIFIC HUMIDITY (ω)

Specific humidity is a measure of moisture content and is defined as follows:

• Ru = 8.31447 Jmol-1K-1
• R = Ru/M – (kJ/kgK)

P = Pa + Ps
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 9.6 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (φ)

This is a measure of degree of saturation at the same temperature, it is defined by

i.e. the ratio of the actual partial pressure to the partial pressure that would apply if
the mixture were saturated at the same temperature.
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 9.8 WET & DRY BULB OR SLING HYGROMETER

• An empirical equation, due to Carrier (1911), is normally used to calculate the

partial pressure of the moisture Ps.

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 9.9 PSYCHROMETRIC CHARTS

• Psychrometric charts are produced by various bodies, such as CIBSE

(Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers).

• They contain a great deal of information such as h, v, t, twet etc. However, in

essence, the psychrometric chart is a plot of φ, ω, and tsat.

• The principal limitation of the charts is that they are normally based upon
atmospheric pressure (1bar).

• It is thus necessary to use a completely analytical procedure for pressurised

systems.
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• Sensible heating
• Heating and humidification

Psychrometric chart

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9.10 PROPERTY DETERMINATION

(a) Enthalpy: Enthalpy is an extensive property and may thus be added,

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

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Constant pressure, P

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SUMMARY

h = cPa t +   [ hg d + cPg ( t − t d )]

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9.10 PROPERTY DETERMINATION

h = cPa t +   [ hgd + cPg ( t − td )]

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( 1 bar = 100 kPa )

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Pressurised systems, say 2atm.

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http://www.nauticadehumid.com/nautica_PDFs/Nautica_SI.pdf
9.10 PROPERTY DETERMINATION

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9.10 PROPERTY DETERMINATION

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9.11 PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES

• (a) Heating and Cooling without Phase Change moisture content will not
change hence ω = const.

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Steady Flow Energy Equation

0 0 0

m(C − C ) + m g (z2 − z1 ) + m(h2 − h1 )

• • • • •
Q−W = 1
2
2
2
2
1

𝑄ሶ = 𝑚ሶ ℎ2 − ℎ1

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Heating and Cooling without Phase Change

 ሶ ==
𝑚
You are given that : m 1 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
1 kg /s

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 h2 = 85 kJ/kg

h1 = 54 kJ/kg

ω=
0.0133kg/kg
air

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http://www.nauticadehumid.com/nautica_PDFs/Nautica_SI.pdf
h1 = 54 kJ / kg

𝑄ሶ = 𝑚ሶ ℎ2 − ℎ1

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9.11 PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES

• (b) Adiabatic Humidification - Also known as evaporative cooling. This

process consists essentially of spraying cool water into the air stream,

• As the cool spray hits the warm air, some of the added moisture will be
evaporated - thus increasing the humidity - some will simply fall through the
air stream into a ground tray.
• It will however be warmed up as it passes through the air stream.
• Both heating the water spray and evaporating part of the water spray
requires energy. This energy comes from the air - which is cooled
adiabatically.

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9.11 PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES

• Adiabatic humidification processes appear on a psychrometric chart as lines

of constant enthalpy.
• Note that since lines of constant enthalpy are approximately lines of constant
wet - bulb temperature, the lowest air temperature that can be achieved by
evaporative cooling is the wet bulb temperature.

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1. The adiabatic process does not involve the contribution of thermal energy
from an external source – heat only exchange within the system.

2. The heat required to transform the water from liquid to vapor is supplied by
the air, which is consequently cooled.

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Steady Flow Energy Equation

0 0 0 0

Q − W = 1 2 m(C22 − C12 ) + m g (z2 − z1 ) + m(h2 − h1 )

• • • • •

0 = 𝑚ሶ ℎ2 − ℎ1 ⇒ ℎ2 = ℎ1

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%

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 ω = 0.0160
kg/kg air

25 oC
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(c) Dehumidification by Cooling

• Water vapour may be removed from air by cooling it below its dew point
temperature.

• As a result of the cooling process, a proportion of the vapour in the air is

condensed out.

• In this instance the process line on a psychrometric chart will be a straight

horizontal line, at constant specific humidity, until the saturation line is reached.

• The process line will then follow the saturation line down to a lower temperature.

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Steady Flow Energy Equation

0 0 0

Q − W = 1 2 m(C22 − C12 ) + m g (z2 − z1 ) + m(h2 − h1 )

• • • • •

𝑄ሶ = 𝑚ሶ ℎ2 − ℎ1 ⇒ 𝑞 = ℎ1 − ℎ2

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 h1=78.5 kJ/kg

ω1 = 0.0148 kg/kg air

h3=29.5 kJ/kg

ω2 = 0.0077 kg/kg air

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http://www.nauticadehumid.com/nautica_PDFs/Nautica_SI.pdf
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(a) Heating and Cooling without Phase Change

(b) Adiabatic Humidification

(c) Dehumidification by Cooling

(d) Mixing Processes

9.12 AIR CONDITIONING PLANT

• Human comfort requires control of the air temperature and humidity.

• An air conditioning plant, such as the one shown below, provides a

comprehensive way of achieving such control.
(d) Mixing Processes: When two air streams mix both mass and energy are
conserved,

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• Since an air / water vapour mixture is mostly air, the ratio of dry air mass flow
rates may be replaced by the ratio of total mass flow rates i.e.

• In practice it will be found that, since the mixing point (3) lies on the straight line
connecting points (1) and (2), only one equation need to be used.
• This one value – usually the specific-enthalpy – can then be used to locate the
mixing point on the psychrometric chart.
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Mass balance:

Energy balance:

Outlet Inlet

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Example

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http://www.nauticadehumid.com/nautica_PDFs/Nautica_SI.pdf
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Adiabatic mixing of two moist air
streams
Adiabatic mixing of two moist air streams

Line segments
Example: Mixing of moist air streams
Example: Mixing of moist air streams

Geometrically:
 Sensible heat factor

The final state point of the moist air lies on a straight line whose
direction is fixed by the SHF or condition line drawn through the
initial state point of the moist air.
• SHF of 1.0 corresponds to no latent heat transfer and a
SHF of 0 corresponds to no sensible heat transfer.
• A SHF of 0.75 to 0.80 is quite common in air conditioning
systems in a normal dry-climate.
• SHF = 0.6, implies a high latent heat load such as that
occurs in a humid climate.
Example of SHF
Heating and humidification of moist air

m
Adiabatic humidification
 Adiabatic humidification processes

IF:
Example: Heating and humidification of
moist air
at 212oF, hg

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At 212oF water injection

1’
Adiabatic saturation
Summary