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MEC551 WANWM

Chapter 7
AIR CONDITIONING

Air conditioning systems are commonly encountered in daily engineering application. The
medium of study is air itself, where properties important for thermodynamics analysis are
identified, most importantly temperature, pressure, mass, humidity, and enthalpy. To achieve
the objectives of an air-conditioning system, these properties are modified using a series of air
treatment processes. At the end of the chapter, discussions on the various types of air-
conditioning loads are made as basis for air-conditioning design and building management
requirements.

1.0 Definition of air-conditioning

The process of treating air to control simultaneously its temperature, humidity, cleanliness,
and distribution to meet the comfort requirements of the occupants in the conditioned space.
Air humidity
Air humidity

Tin A/C System


Tout

Cleanliness and
Cleanliness and
distribution
distribution

Therefore, air-conditioning cannot be interpreted as just a process to cool the surrounding air,
but it also involves a wide variety of air treatment processes using a wide range of devices
and technology to achieve the target of comfort set by the occupant, or occupants, of the
space. Standards of air quality requires modern air-conditioning systems to integrate heating,
cooling, velocity regulation, humidity level control, filtration of foreign particles and vapors, as
well as removal of bacteria, into the technology of air-conditioning systems.

1.1 Properties of Atmospheric air

The study of a/c systems starts with understanding the properties of atmospheric air.
Analyzing it as a mixture of gases, air is a mixture of mainly nitrogen and oxygen, with small
amounts of other gases. Physically, atmospheric air is made up of two portions; dry air and
water vapor (moisture).
Water vapor, v
Dry air, a
1.1.1 Dry air denoted by the subscript a

The composition of dry air is usually constant, and its portion is far larger than the portion of
water vapor in the atmospheric air. Therefore, most atmospheric air properties refers to the
properties of dry air. However, for accurate thermodynamics analysis, the properties of water
vapor must also be accounted for.

At the temperature range of -10 to 50, dry air can be treated as an ideal gas following the
law of PV = mRT.

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The specific heat of dry air, Cp,a =1.005 kJ / (kg C).

Enthalpy change of dry air,


ha C p , a .T (1)

1.1.2 Water vapor (moisture) denoted by the subscript v

Water vapor is usually referred to as moisture. Water vapor amount in the atmospheric air may
change drastically due to condensation and evaporation from oceans, lakes, rivers, as well as
human body. Water vapor is very important to human comfort, and under thermodynamics
considerations, water vapor contains heat energy that should be analyzed as it undergoes
change due to certain processes.

For water vapor, it can be treated as an ideal gas for vapor pressures below 12.3 kPa. The
average specific heat for water vapor from -10C to 50C can be taken as

Cp,v = 1.82 kJ / (kg C)

The enthalpy of water vapor in air can be taken to be equal to the enthalpy of saturated vapor
at the same temperature.

hv@T hg@T . (2)

An approximation approach can also be made to determine the enthalpy of water vapor, by
considering the enthalpy of water at 0oC, where the enthalpy of water vapor at 0oC (hv@o) is
2501.3 kJ/kg.

approximate enthalpy for water vapor


hg@T hv@o + Cpv T (3)
hg@T 2501.3 + 1.82 T (range 10C to 50C only)

1.1.3 Daltons Law of partial pressures

The Law states that the pressure of a gas mixture is the sum of the partial pressures of the
individual components in the gas mixture. Therefore, the pressure for atmospheric air is
actually dependant on the pressures of dry air and water vapor.

For atmospheric air which is treated like an ideal gas, the atmospheric air pressure
P = Pa + Pv (4)
In reality, the pressure of dry air is far more dominant due to its higher mass percentage in
atmospheric air.

1.1.4 Specific and relative humidity of air

Humidity is a measurement of water vapor in the air. Air without water vapor can be called as
dry air, such as the condition of air found in hot surroundings, ie. a desert. A human skin is
very sensitive to the changes of moisture in the air. Therefore, the control of the humidity level
is an important criteria in an air-conditioning analysis.

Humidity can be analyzed in two ways specific humidity and relative humidity.

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Specific humidity,

mass of water vapor mv kg v


=
mass of dry air ma kg a
(5)

water vapor and dry air may be assumed as ideal gasses, and the above relation can be
solved by substituting the mass with
PvV /( Rv T ) Pv / Rv
(6a)
PaV /( Ra T ) Pa / Ra

kPa.m 3
For water vapor, the gas constant, Rv = 0.4615 .
kg .K
kPa.m 3
For dry air, the gas constant, Ra = 0.287 .
kg .K

Therefore, equation (6a) is simplified to

Pv 0.622 Pv
0.622 (6b)
Pa P Pv

Relative Humidity,

Relative humidity is a ratio that measures the amount of moisture, m v, against the maximum
amount of moisture the air can hold, m g, at the same temperature. The maximum amount
changes with temperature as the air volume expands. If = 0%, the air is said to be dry. For
= 100%, the air is said to be saturated.

mv P
v (%) (7)
mg Pg

where Pg = Psat@T, or the saturation pressure at the air temperature.

Equations (8) and (9) can be used to relate to both specific and relative humidities.

P
(8)
(0.622 ) Pg

0.622 Pg
and (9)
P Pg

1.1.5 Total enthalpy of atmospheric air

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Note that equations (1) and (2) only gives the enthalpies of dry air and water vapor
respectively. To calculate the total enthalpy of atmospheric air at the specified conditions,

kJ
h = ha + hg (10)
kg a

1.1.6 Temperature

Air temperature is divided into three important quantities:

1) Dry-bulb temperature, Tdb

- the ordinary temperature of air measured under normal conditions using


temperature measurements devices such as thermometer, thermocouple etc.

2) Wet-bulb temperature, Twb

- temperature of air at adiabatic saturation condition, or the air temperature at


maximum moisture absorption, at constant pressure.
- measured using a sling psychrometer.
- Important for directly measuring the specific humidity of air.

C p (T2 T1 ) 2 h fg 2
1 subscripts
hg 1 h f 2
1: atmospheric air
0.622 Pg 2 2: saturation state
2 T2: wet-bulb temperature
P2 Pg 2

3) Dew Point Temperature, Tdp

- the temperature at which condensation begins if the air is cooled at constant


pressure.
- Tdp = Tsat@Pv
- If the air temperature drops below Tdp, some water vapor condenses from the
air into the surrounding, creating the dew effect normally found at early
mornings.

1.2 Psychrometric Chart

The use of a psychrometric chart is to simplify design calculations of air conditioning systems,
where the properties of air at specific conditions is easily determined compared to using
calculation analysis.

The chart is an extensive data of air properties at constant pressure. The seven properties
that can be determined from the chart is the dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, dew
point temperature, specific humidity, relative humidity, enthalpy, and specific volume.

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Example

Consider a room which contains air at l atm, 35C & 40% relative humidity. Using the
psychrometric chart , determine

(a) the specific humidity

Draw a horizontal line from the specified state to the right until it intersects with the axis.

= 0.014 kgv / kga

(b) enthalpy of air per unit mass of dry air (total enthalpy)

Draw a line paralled to the h = constant lines until it intersects the enthalpy scale

h = 72.5 kJ/ kga

(c) wet bulb temp

Draw a line parallel to the Twb= constant line (dotted line) from the specified point until it
intersects the saturated line (100% relative humidity), and read the temperature.

Twb= 24C

(d) dew point temperature

Draw a horizontal line to the left from the specified point until it interests the saturation line
(100% relative humidity), and read the temperature.

Tdp = 18.4C

(e) specific volume of the air

Approximate the distance between the specified state & the = constant lines.

= 0.893 m3/kga

1.3 Human Comfort

The human bodys comfort depends on 3 factors.

(1) the temperature (dry bulb)

between 22 C 27 C

at cold temperatures, body will lose more heat due to temperature difference.

In a hot environment, heat is trapped in body. The method of heat rejection from the
body is mainly by perspiration.

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(2) relative humidity

relative humidity is a measure of air ability to absorb more moisture.

effects the amount of heat a body can dissipate through evaporation.

high relative humidity the air is nearly saturated and can only absorb limited
moisture from the human skin. Therefore, high relative humidity slows down heat
rejection by evaporation of sweat.

40% - 60% relative humidity is the comfortable range for human comfort.

(3) Air motion

Air motion removes the warm, moist air that builds up around the body, & replaces it
with fresh air.
Comfortable level in the range of 15 m/min air velocity.
If the air motion is too high, the body will feel discomfort due to wind-chill factor
(cold).

Other factors effecting comfort includes air cleanliness, odor, noise, and radiation effect.

1.4 Air conditioning processes

(1) Simple heating ( T )


(2) Simple cooling ( T)
(3) Humidifying (+ moisture)
(4) Dehumidifying (- moisture)
(5) Adiabatic mixing of air streams (increases fresh air circulation)

Air conditioning processes can be modeled as steady-flow processes :

Mass conservation;

Dry air m a ,i m a,e
i inlet
e - exit

Water m w, i m w, e
or m a,i i m
a,e e

For energy conservation, disregard kinetic and potential energy changes. Therefore the
steady-flow energy balance :


Ei Eo

Q i W i mi hi Q e W e m e he

1.4.1 Simple Heating & Cooling

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The amount of moisture for simple heating and cooling remains constant because no
moisture is added or removed into the air stream. Therefore, the specific humidity at
the inlet and exit remains equal ( i e ).
Heating method : the air stream flows inside a duct and passes through electrical
resistance wires (heaters). Heat is added to the air stream, so the dry-bulb
temperature increases (Te > Ti).

Cooling method : the air stream passes through cooling coils (evaporator tubes of a
refrigeration system). Heat transfer occurs from the hotter air stream to the cooler
refrigerant of chilled water flow, and the dry-bulb temperature decreases (Te < Ti).

Conservation of mass:

m a1 m a 2 m and 1 2
Conservation of energy :

Q m a (h2 h1 )

1.4.2 Heating with humidification

Simple heating process produces low relative humidity (air is dry), because the
moisture amount is constant (mv and constant) but the maximum moisture
absorption capacity (mg) increases with temperature rise.
The average value of relative humidity should be between 40% to 60% for human
comfort.
Heated air should be humidified, or add moisture, by passing the air through a
humidifier section.

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If the humidifying agent used is steam, this will result in additional heating (T3 > T2).
If water is sprayed, the air stream will be partially cooled (T3 < T2).
Humidification will certainly result in the increase of specific humidity of the air due to
the absorbed moisture.

Dry air mass balance : ma1 ma 2 ma 3 ma

Water mass balance : ma1 1 ma 2 2 1 2 (heating section)

ma 2 2 mw ma 3 3 (humidifying section)

1.4.3 Cooling with Dehumidification

The specific humidity of air remains constant during a simple cooling, but its
relative humidity increases due to lower amount of maximum moisture (m g) that
can be absorbed as the air temperature decreases.
Dehumidification is a process to remove excess water in the air by condensation. It
is achieved by altering the cooling process.
The air is allowed to cool at a longer period until it reaches its dew point (saturation
state). Further cooling along the saturation state (100% relative humidity) will result
in condensation of part of the moisture in the air.

Dry air mass balance : ma1 ma 2 ma



Water mass balance : ma1 1 ma 2 2 mw m w m ( )
a 1 2

Energy balance : m h i i Qout me he

Q out m a ( h1 h2 ) m w hw

1.4.4 Evaporative cooling

In hot and dry climates, evaporative cooling (swamp coolers) is used based on the
principle that water absorbs heat from the air as it evaporates :

As water evaporates, the latent heat of vaporization is absorbed from the water body
and the surrounding air. As a result, both the water and the air are cooled during the
process.

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The enthalpy of the airstream can be assumed constant during an evaporative cooling
process.

1.4.5 Adiabatic Mixing of Airstreams

For large buildings, process plants, hospitals etc. requires conditioned air to be mixed
with a fraction of fresh outside air before it is recirculated into the required space.
The mixing process is assumed to be adiabatic (no heat transfer with the surrounding).
Two streams of air (treated air from a/c processing and fresh outside air) is merged
and exits as one single stream with combined properties.

Dry air mass balance : ma1 ma 2 ma 3

Water mass balance : ma1 1 ma 2 2 ma 3 3

Energy balance : ma1 h1 ma 2 h2 ma 3 h3


Eliminating m a 3 from the above relations


m a1 2 3 h2 h3


ma 2 3 1 h3 h1

When 2 airstreams at different states (1 and 2) are mixed adiabatically, the state of the
mixture (3) will lie on the straight line connecting states 1 and 2 on the psychrometric
chart, and the ratio of the distances 2-3 and 3-1 is equal to the ratio of mass flow rates

m a1 and m a 2 .

1.4 Additional information on air-conditioning systems design

Heating and Cooling Loads

Loads estimated capacity required for the a/c components to work and maintain comfort
(desired temperature) within a space, expressed in power units or Watts. For the purpose of
cooling a space, a certain amount of heat load from the space must be quantified based on
the existing conditions within the space. This heat load must then be removed by the a/c
system. For the purpose of heating a space, a required amount of heat to be supplied must
also be identified.

Loads can be divided into four categories :

1) Transmission load : heat loss or gain due to temperature difference across a building
element. The effect is larger in industrial areas where the surrounding residential areas
are exposed to heat generated from industrial activities. To reduce the thermal
transmission gain, proper insulation materials are required to increase the thermal
resistance of the incoming heat flux.

2) Solar load : heat gain due to transmission of solar energy, through transparent
components of the space. Again, adequate insulation facilities are required to reduce the
heating effect.

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3) Infiltration load : Heat gain or loss due to entry of outside air. Infiltration can be defined
as an uncontrollable entry of unconditioned outside air due to natural forces such a wind,
buoyancy and temperature difference. Ventilation is a condition caused by intentional
infiltration of outside air into a space by mechanical methods, and is allowed to leave the
space, which lowers the space temperature.

4) Internal load : heat gain due to release of energy within a space (equipments or
activity). Primary sources of heat gains are from lights, occupants, computers, furnace,
machineries etc. the heat generated must be quantified to select the proper a/c systems
to remove it.

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