Benha University

Faculty of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Department
Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Course

2006-2007

1.1 Historical Background

Leonardo

da vinci by the end of the 15 century used a ventilating fan.

Boyle in 1659 & Dalton 1800 discovered their well known laws.
The first text on heating and ventilating was written by Robertson Buchanan
(1853).
Fans, Boiler and Radiators has been invented in the middle of 19 th century.
th

1.1 Historical Background (Cont.)

Prof. Alexander Twining, produced 725 kg of ice a day using a double acting
vacuum and compression pump employing the 1834 invention of vapor
compression cycle by Jacob Perkins.

1.1 Historical Background (Cont.)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

W.H. Carrier (1876-1950) (Father of Air Conditioning)

Developed formulae for optimizing the application of forced draft fans.
Developed ratings of pipe-coil heater and setup a research lab.
Engineered and installed the first year-round AC (H-C & Humid.-De-humid.).
Made use of air washer for controlling the dew point of air by heating or chilling recirculated water.
In 1911 presented his remarkable paper Rational Psychometric Formulae.
In 1922 employed the centrifugal compressor for refrigeration.

1.2 The meaning of Air Conditioning

Full air conditioning implies the automatic control of an atmospheric environment either for comfort
human beings or animals or for the proper performance of some industrial or scientific process.

Full means: The purity, movement, temperature, and relative humidity of the air to be controlled

Air Conditioning versus Simple Ventilation

Refrigeration

1.3 Importance of Air

The individual needs daily about 1.2 kg of water, 2.7 kg of food and 16 kg of air.
Air may carry dusts, bacteria, be still, hot and humid and this result in heath
hazards.
Stagnant air has a temperature difference 8-16 oC between the face level and
ceiling.
Healthy standard; states that the person needs more than 2.5 L/s of air (30% fresh
and 70 re-circulated). Also, the air velocity inside the conditioned spaces ranges
(0.15 0.25 m/s)

1.4 Comfort Conditions

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

For human comfort the following five factors are to be treated:

Dry bulb temperature (cooling or heating is required).
Humidity Ratio (humidification or de-humidification is required).
Air Motion (Air flow and distribution to feel all persons the same feeling).
Air Purification Air filters to get rid off dust and bacteria.
Ventilation (Use of fresh air)

Factors affecting human comfort

1.
2.
3.
4.

There are six factors that affecting the human comfort; four of them are
environmental and two are personal
Dry bulb temperature.
Mean radiant temperature.
Relative humidity.
Air velocity.

1.
2.

Clothes insulation.
Type of activity.

Effective Temperature
It is equivalent to the temperature at saturation which give the same feeling of
hotness to different temperatures and relative humility when the air velocity
ranges from 15-25 fpm.
In winter it is 20 C and in summer is 22 C.
o

Winter Combinations

Summer Combinations

Comfort Zone

1.5 Fundamental properties of moist air

The working substance in air conditioning is the moist air; which is considered as a
mixture of dry air and water vapor.
Is the moist air pure substance?
Dry air is a good example of pure substance (homogeneous and invariable
composition).
Water vapor is also, a pure substance; but the moist air not a pure substance in
any process in which evaporation or condensation of moisture occurs.

Composition of Dry Air

Component

Molecular
Weight

% by
Volume

% by
mass

N2

28.02

0.7803

0.7547

O2

32.0

0.2099

0.2319

Ar

39.91

0.0094

0.0129

CO2

44.0

0.0003

0.0005

H2

2.02

0.0001

0.0000

Cont.
Molecular

weight of dry air

= 28.08x0.78084 + ----- = 28.969 kg/kmol.
Molecular weight of water vapor
=2x1.01+1x16=18.02 kg/kmol.
Standard adopted
Density of air = 1.293 kg/m3 at 101325 Pa, 0 oC.
Density of water=1000 kg/m3 at 4 oC. 1

Cont. Standard adopted

Barometric pressure =101325 Pa.

Both the temperature and pressure fall with increasing altitude up to 10000 m. ASHRAE
(1997)gives;

P 101.325(1 2.25577 X 10

Z)

5.2559

and
t 15 0.0065Z
where P in KPa and t in K and Z in m
above the sea level

Gas Laws

Boyles law

pV Const.
where p in Pa and V in m

Charles law

V T
3

where V in m and T in K

The general gas law

It is possible to combine Boyles and Charles laws as one equation;

pV mRT
Where;
p= the pressure of the gas in Pa.
3
V=the volume of the gas in m
m=the mass of the gas in kg.
R=the gas constant. J/kg K.
T=the gas temperature in k

Daltons law of partial pressure

1.
2.

If a mixture of gases occupies a given volume at a given temperature, the total

pressure exerted by the mixture equals the sum of the pressure of the
constituents, each being considered at the same volume and temperature.
It can be re-expressed as:
The pressure exerted by each gas in the mixture is independent of the presence
of the other gases.
The total pressure exerted by a mixture of gases equal the sum of the partial
pressures.

Properties of moist air

Dry bulb temperature DBT or Tdb

The

temperature recorded by a thermometer when its bulb is dry.

Wet bulb temperature WBT or Twb

The temperature recorded by a thermometer when its bulb is covered by a
wet cloth or wick cotton.

The wet bulb temperature is known as the adiabatic saturation temperature

This is because the heat required to evaporate water from the wetted wick is taken from the
atmospheric air passing through it when the temperature of the thermometer reaches to its lowest
value.
The wet bulb temperature is measured by a device called Psychrometer

Sling Psychrometer

Dew point temperature DPT, Tdp

The temperature at which the water vapor existing the atmospheric

condenses if its cooled at cooled at constant pressure p v
Note

starts to

It is the saturation temperature corresponding to the partial pressure of water vapor.

Moisture content (Humidity Ratio) W

It

is defined as the mass of water vapor in kg which is associated with one kg of

dry air in an air-water vapor mixture. It is sometimes called

Absolute Humidity).

(Specific or

w m v / ma

By using Daltons law and applying the general gas law to each of the two constituents of
moist air.

p v Vv m v R v Tv
p a Va m a R a Ta
mv
w
ma

Note :
Ra Mv

0.622
R v Ma
pv
w 0.622
p atm p v

It is clear from the above equation that the vapor content (Humidity ratio) increases with the
increase of partial pressure of the water vapor existing the moist air and it become maximum
when the dew point become maximum i.e. equal to the dry bulb temperature Tdp=Tdb

Relative humidity RH or

This is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure in moist air at a given temperature t, to the
partial pressure of saturated water vapor in the air at the same temperature, t

pv

x100
(p v ) sat

Cont. Relative humidity RH or

Specific volume V

This is the volume in m3 of one kg of dry air mixed with w kg of water vapor. In the mixture each
constituent occupies the same volume.
The general gas law may be transposed to express the specific volume V

mRT
V
p

Enthalpy of moist air

The

enthalpy h used in psychometry is the specific enthalpy of moist air expressed in

kJ/kg dry air, and is defined as:
h= ha+ w hv
ha

=1.007 t -0.026 (10-60 C) or

ha

=1.005 t (down to -10 C)

hv=2501+1.84
h=

1.007 t -0.026 +w(2501+1.84 t)

Example

Solution

Cont.

Cont.