EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

HUMIDITY AND MOISTURE MEASUREMENT

Humidity is basically the moisture content in air while moisture can be present in
any gas, liquid or gas.

A. HUMIDITY MEASUREMENT
Humidity is the quantity of water vapour retained by a gas. Specific definitions of
humidity are,

i. ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY (H): This is the weight of water vapour (Wv) in unit
weight of dry gas (Wg).

ii. SPECIFIC HUMIDITY (HS): This is the weight of the vapour in unit weight of
moisture.

iii. RELATIVE HUMIDITY (HR): This is the ratio of moisture content of the gas to
maximum that can contain at that temperature.

Or

It is the ratio of the partial pressure of the vapour

(Pv) in the gas to its saturated partial pressure
(Psat).

Or

For an ideal gas, this is the density of the vapour

(ρv) to that at saturation (ρsat).

iv. DEW POINT: This is the saturation temperature of the mix at

the corresponding vapour pressure.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

The humidity measurement method mostly measure relative humidity. The

classical method is dry and wet bulb system also known as psychrometer. Besides this there
are various hygrometers. Most popular hygrometers are,

1. Wet & Dry Bulb Type / Psychrometer

2. Hair Hygrometers

3. Electrical / Conductive Type

4. Dew Cell

5. Dew Point Method

1. WET AND DRY BULB HYGROMETER (PSYCHROMETER)

The instrument basically consists of two bulb thermometers. One thermometer

bulb is kept dry and is allowed to read the room temperature. The other bulb is kept wet by a
water soaked wick and this thermometer measures temperature of adiabatic saturation (the
temperature when thermodynamic equilibrium is reached between cooling by evaporation
and heating by convection). The wet thermometer is given a large draft of air for this purpose
so that the flowing air will not tend to cling moist surface. The calculation of HR from the
difference of temperatures is quite complicated and is approximately obtained from the
equation

Where, Pv partial vapour pressure

Psat saturation partial pressure

PT total pressure (All pressures in heights of Hg)

td , tw dry & wet bulb temperatures respectively (°F)

k a constant

But k is a constant which depends on tw and is of the form

Where A and B are empirical constants.

Values of PT and Psat are generally found from psychometric chart.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

Psychometric charts are also available which give directly the approximate HR
values for the reading of td and tw.

A commercial psychrometer is shown in figure 2.1. The filled system

thermometer bulbs are placed adjacent to each other and air draft is given through a blower
about 300m/min. One of the bulbs is coated with knitted or woven cotton wick and is
suspended into water reservoir. The temperatures are recorded by suitable recorder. The wick
accumulates dirt or other dissolved materials easily and gets stiffened to lose water
absorption capacity. The stiffened wicks can be reconditioned by boiling in hot water. Instead
of wick the bulb can be soaked by enclosing it in a porcelain sleeve and water is pumped into
the annular space at a constant rate.

Application

This type of psychrometer is used in air conditioning system for maintaining

humidity at a specific value.

Advantage

 More accurate than other type of hygrometer.

Disadvantages

 Slow response when compared with modern types.

 Need intermediate calculations.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

2. HAIR HYGROMETER

Many materials like wood, animal hair, animal membrane, paper etc are sensitive
to humidity. As humidity changes, their dimension also change. A hair hygrometer is shown
in figure 2.2. It was invented by De Saussure in 1783 and is still being used in different
forms.

Absorption of moisture by hair increases its length. The amount of moisture it can
absorb is dependent on the temperature and partial vapour pressure of the atmosphere and
hence the extension of the hair is a function of the relative humidity. A bunch of hair is used
to increase the mechanical strength of the instrument. The element is maintained at slight
tension by a spring. Excess of stress on the hair element may lead to a permanent set in it.
Compared to hair animal membrane has a longer elongation for the same relative humidity
but the calibration drift is also large. Apple wood has also a good extension property
particularly if it is cut at right angles to grain orientation.

Advantages

 It can be very cheap.

 Used for controlling humidity at specific values.
 Range of 25-95% of relative humidity.
 0-70ºC of operating temperature range.
Disadvantages

 Accuracy over a large range is quite poor.

 Calibration is needed before use.
 Slow response.
 Aging affects calibration and produces considerable drift.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

3. ELECTRICAL / CONDUCTANCE TYPE

Electrical type transducers are more suitable for continuous recording and control
of humidity. Resistance element types consist of two wires spaced out in a suitable backing and
a hygroscopic coating is given to it. Materials like lithium chloride, tin tetra chloride,
phosphoric acid, calcium chloride, zinc chloride etc are chosen for the coating. The resistance
wire act as two electrodes.

The hygroscopic material absorbs moisture and start dissociating. The dissociation
will depend on the absorption of moisture and will be measured by the change in the resistance
between the two wires. A form of this transducer is shown in figure 2.3.

The change in resistance is from 10MΩ to10KΩ. The measuring current should be
small to avoid heating. The transducer is sensitive to temperature variation and the specific
hygroscopic material must be chosen to be relatively free from these environmental effects.
Dynamic response depends on the coating thickness but a thin layer easily reaches saturation
and damage sensing element. The wires are made from noble metals to avoid contamination
and consequent damage. A hygroscopic coating on materials like polyvinyl alcohol or acetate
with dilute lithium chloride gives adequate protection but the useful range for single unit
transducer becomes limited because of the calibration characteristic as shown in figure 2.4.
Hence a number of such transducers with changed electrolytic concentrations are used to cover
the entire range of relative humidity. The measurement current is chosen ac to avoid
polarization. The accuracy is ±1.5% and the nonlinear scale is fixed by previous calibration.

An earlier form of this method is a hygroscopic material spread out between two
electrodes. Its stability was poor although the range covered was full.

4. DEW CELL

This is very similar to electrical type in design but with a different operating
principle. It is used to measure absolute humidity.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

A thin metal tube was covered with glass fibers or cloth and is impregnated with
lithium chloride as the hygroscopic material. A double winding of silver wires made helically
over it and is supplied from ac source as shown in figure 2.5. Lithium chloride absorbs
moisture and becomes conductive. Depending on the amount of moisture absorbed, the
resistance between two wires changes and the current flowing between them also changes
and heats up the lithium chloride to drive off moisture. Equilibrium in the system will reach
when the electrolyte acquires a temperature at which the partial pressure of water over the
saturated lithium chloride solution equals the water vapour pressure of the atmosphere. This
temperature is measured by a suitable resistance thermometer or a thermocouple. The
temperature measured can directly give the dew point and balancing of vapour pressure
makes the suitable for vapour pressure measurement. The saturated vapour pressures for
lithium chloride solution at different temperature are obtained from tables. For an absolute
humidity scale, the temperature scale is empirically calibrated. The device measures humidity
from 15-100% and dew point from 30 - 70°C. The lower limit of the temperature scale is the
ambient one.

Advantage

 Accuracy is quite good.

Disadvantages

 Response time is within 3 – 5 minutes.

 Requires reconditioning with fresh lithium chloride every 3 – 4 months.

5. DEW POINT METHOD

A method of dew point measurement is explained in figure 2.6. It measures

temperature of a polished surface when traces of condensation appear on its surface. The
method is automated by a feedback system. It consists of a polished mirror in a chamber
which receives the gas whose dew point is to be measured. The gas is continuously supplied.
There is provision for cooling or heating the mirror. Light falling on mirror from standard

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

sources is reflected onto a photocell. Another photocell receives light strait from the source.
If the mirror is foggy due to condensation, a difference signal is sent to actuating unit to start
the heater. If the condensation has not started then the freezer is on. A suitable temperature
measuring device records the temperature all the time. The system is automatic and always
maintains the dew point closely. The automation can be handled by microprocessor based
controller. It measures dew point in the range -40 to 25°C with an accuracy of ± 1.2°C.

B. MOISTURE MEASUREMENT
Moisture is often defined as the amount of water absorbed or adsorbed by a solid
or a liquid. The standard method of moisture determination is by weighing. It is sometimes
known as the gravimetric method and is used for calibration of other types of instruments.
The sample is weighed when wet and subsequently when dry by driving off the moisture by
desiccation. Percentage moisture content is then calculated from

Different types of moisture measuring devices are available for materials like
tobacco, grain, flour, coffee, wood, paper, pulp, textiles and other fibers, food and food
products, soap, salt, sand, coal, oil and many other minerals and organic samples. Some of
the methods are

1. Conductance / Resistance / Electrical Type

2. Infrared Spectroscopy

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

1. ELECTRICAL / CONDUCTANCE / RESISTANCE TYPE

For measurement of conductance or resistance, the sample must be in physical

contact with a pair of electrodes. Depending on the sample and process, two different
methods are there for conductance measurement. These are

i. Grab sample testing used for samples like tobacco, cereals, oil, wood etc

ii. Continuous online measurement for textiles and paper during manufacturing

The moisture content in such cases should be optimum for proper

manufacturing conditions and hence control of moisture is simultaneously involved.

Resistivity or conductivity methods are dc methods. Large voltages are used

for negligible polarization effects. Contact between the specimen and the electrode pair
sometimes is not complete because of sample structures. An optimum pressure is necessary to
establish good contact. Electrode structures are
different for different materials.

For granular materials, a construction is

shown in figure 2.7. It consists of a cup shaped
electrode assembly. Material in measured volume is
poured into the cup consisting of the electrodes as
shown. A spring loaded piston closes the cup and
maintains optimum pressure in the material.

For wood and wood products, the

electrodes consist of 2 – 6 sharp spear-headed
conductors each embedded in a suitable insulation
handle as shown in figure 2.8. The spacing of the spearheads in an electrode assembly is
more than 20 mm and the penetration length is larger than 8 mm. The spearheads are
introduced into the sample and the conductivity measured. The variation of resistance and
conductance with moisture is shown in figure 2.9.

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EI 602 Process Control Instrumentation – I Humidity & Moisture Measurements

For continuous measurement of

moisture in textile webs or paper sheets, the
electrodes consist of a live and dead roller. The
dead roller is the grounded one. The schematic
set-up is shown in figure 2.10.

2. INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

In recent years, a very reliable, accurate and sensitive moisture measurement

technique has been developed using infrared transmission measurement. The principle
depends on the fact that the water molecules have binding energy which corresponds to
certain specific wavelengths of the IR spectrum. Three such lines are 1.94µm, 2.95µm and
6.20µm. shorter wavelengths are more useful for measurement because of their higher
penetration through the substance whose moisture content is to be measured. The
diagrammatic sketch of the technique of measurement is shown in figure 2.11.

One of the techniques uses the ratio principle where two wavelengths are
chosen by a rotating filter such that one of them is absorbed by the base material where as
one is absorbed by water. When transmitted through the sample one becomes the reference
line while the other becomes the test or absorbed line. If the signal strengths measured by the
detector in the two cases are given respectively by SR and ST, then moisture content M is
given by

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