Applied Thermal Engineering - 15ME206

Unit – 5 - Psychrometry and air conditioning.

 Objectives

• To apply the principles of the conservation of mass and energy to the

various air conditioning processes.

• To use the psychrometric chart to determine the properties of the

atmospheric air.

• To appreciate the difference between the specific humidity and the

relative humidity.

• To study the various air conditioning systems used.

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 Introduction 

•  Below the critical temperature of the air (-140.740 C), the gas phase of the
air is referred to as a vapour.

• The air exists as a gas in the supercritical state at the room temperature.
The term vapour is related with the condensation. A gas-vapour mixture is
different from a gas mixture.

• The air - water vapor mixture is the most commonly used gas - vapor
mixture in practice.
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 Properties of the atmospheric air
• 
• Absolute humidity or the specific humidity (ɷ): The atmospheric air
containing the water vapour is known as the absolute or the specific humidity
or the humidity ratio. i.e. the ratio of the mass of the water vapour to the mass
of the dry air.

• The air that contains no water vapour is called the dry air.

• ɷ (kg of the water vapour / kg of the dry air)

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 Contd..
•   (after simplification)

• Saturated air: The air that cannot hold any further moisture in it. For
saturated air, the vapor pressure is equal to the saturation pressure of
the water.

• Relative humidity (ɸ): The ratio of the amount of the water vapour
that air can hold relative to the maximum amount of the water vapour
that the same air can hold at the same temperature and pressure.

• =Psat @ T, T=Temperature (degree C)

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 Specific humidity ɷ and the relative humidity ɸ

•• or
  (after simplification)
• The relative humidity is 0 for the dry air and 1 for the saturated air.

• The amount of moisture air can hold depends on the temperature.

• The relative humidity of the air changes with the temperature even when the specific
humidity remains constant.

• The amount of the dry air in the air – water-vapor mixture remains constant, but the
amount of water vapor changes. Therefore, the enthalpy of atmospheric air is
expressed per unit mass of dry air instead of per unit mass of the air–water vapor
mixture.
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 The governing relations

• 
• The ideal gas equation is given by

• The total pressure of the atmospheric air is given by where

P = Total pressure of the atmospheric air, = Partial pressure of the

dry air and = Partial pressure of the water vapour in the atmospheric

air.

• The vapour pressure is also known as the partial pressure (From the
Dalton’s law of the partial pressures).
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 Enthalpy of the moist air
• 
• The total enthalpy of the atmospheric air is the sum of the
enthalpies of the dry air and the water vapour.

• The specific enthalpy of the atmospheric air is given by

• (dividing by the )

• i.e. as

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 Dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature and the dew point
temperature
• 
• The temperature of the atmospheric air measured by a thermometer is
known as the dry bulb temperature (DBT).

• The wet-bulb temperature (WBT) , is the temperature measured by a

thermometer whose bulb is covered by a wetted cotton wick.

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

condensation begins when the air is cooled at constant pressure. It is the
saturation temperature of water corresponding to the vapour pressure.

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 Example – 1 - Determining the properties of the moist air

• 
• A 5 m x 5 m x 3 m room contains air at 25°C and at 100 kPa pressure at
a relative humidity of 75%. Determine (a) the partial pressure of the
dry air (b) the specific humidity, (c) the enthalpy per unit mass of the
dry air, and (d ) the masses of the dry air and the water vapour in the
room.

Assumptions: The dry air and the water vapour are considered as ideal
gases. . From the steam tables, for the water at 25 degree C, 3.1698 kPa.

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 Contd..
• 

Specific humidity

The enthalpy of the air per unit mass of the dry air is

(0.0152 X 2546.5) = 63.8 kJ/kg of dry air

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 Contd..
• 
•

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 The Psychrometric chart

• The most commonly used chart is the ω–DBT chart. The major axis and the minor axis are the dry

bulb temperature and the specific humidity respectively.

• The psychrometric chart is a graphical representation of the properties of air–water vapour mixture

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 Example - 2
• Air at 40°C DBT and 25°C WBT is cooled down in an air conditioning plant to
25°C DBT and 60% RH. Calculate the heat to be removed per kg of air if the
COP of the unit is 3.5. Also, find the work required to cool 3 kg of air.

• To find out the

• (i) Heat removed per kg of air, and
• (ii) Work input to system to cool 3 kg of air.

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 Contd..
•  From the psychrometric chart,

• At 40°C DBT and 25°C WBT, enthalpy of the air,

• At 25°C DBT and 60% RH, enthalpy of air, h2 = 55.2 kJ/kg of dry air

(i) Heat removed per kg of dry air,

(ii) The coefficient of performance of the refrigerator is given by

Work input for 3 kg of air = = 3 X 6.085 = 18.26 kJ

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 Air conditioning
The basic thermodynamic processes of the moist air are
•Sensible heating and cooling,

•Humidification and dehumidification,

•Humidification with heating / cooling,

•Dehumidification with heating /cooling,

•Mixing of the two air streams.

An air-conditioning system can provide heating effect, cooling effect or both.

•It conditions a given space (humidity, temperature, air purity etc.) and gives comfort for the occupants. The
size and the complexity can range from a window unit for a small room to a large system for a building
complex, the basic principle being the same.
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 Classification of the air conditioners
1. According to the season
(a) Summer air-conditioning system
(b) Winter air-conditioning system
(c) Year-round air-conditioning

2. According to the purpose

(a) Comfort air-conditioning system
(b) Industrial air-conditioning system

3. According to the arrangement of the equipment

(a) Unitary air-conditioning system
(b) Central air-conditioning system
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 Summer air conditioning systems
• Cooling and dehumidification of the air occurs and the dry bulb temperature is
higher at the entry of the air conditioner.

• Cooling is achieved by the cooling coils and the moisture is removed from the hot air
with the dehumidifier. The fresh air is mixed with the recirculated air, enters the
filter (removes unwanted materials, moisture, dust etc.) and enters the air
conditioner.

• Sensible cooling is done with the cooling coil and the cooled air is passed through a
perforated membrane to remove the moisture from the air and the air is
conditioned.
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 Contd..
• The condensed water is collected in the swap and the air is heated
by the heating coil and enters the conditioned space by a circulating
fan.

• The conditioned air provides the comfort in the space. A portion of

the air is exhausted, the remaining air is circulated with the fresh
air and the next cycle continues.

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Summer air conditioning systems and the process in the psychrometric
chart.

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 Winter air conditioning systems
• Heating and humidification of the air occurs. The dry bulb temperature is
lower at the entry of the air conditioner. Heating is done by the heating coils.

• The cold air is usually dry and has a lower moisture content. Therefore
moisture is added to improve the relative humidity. The air enters the air
conditioned space through the ducts (square, rectangular etc.)

• The preheated air is passed through the humidifier in which the required
moisture is added to improve the relative humidity of the air.

• When the air flows through the dehumidifier the temperature reduces and is
reheated to the required temperature with the help of a reheater and the air is
sent to the conditioned space through the ducts.
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 Winter air conditioning systems
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 Year round air conditioning systems

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• In the tropical countries, the air conditioning system design is mainly concerned
with the year round cooling and humidification/dehumidification. Thus, the year-
round air-conditioning system is the combination of both summer and winter air
conditioning systems. 
• The essential components of a year round air-conditioning system are shown in
the figure 8.31.
• For the summer air conditioning system, the cooling and dehumidification coils
are made active. The air is passed over a cooling coil. The temperature of the
cooling coil is kept slightly lower than the summer air conditioning system in
order to allow the condensation of some of the water particles from the air to
lower the relative humidity of the air.
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• During the winter, the heating coil and humidifier are made active. The
heating coil heats the air and the humidifier adds the humidity to the  air
if it is dry. Thus, the year-round air-conditioning system can be used in any
ambient conditions.
• The air conditioner has a dehumidifier and a cooling coil or a humidifier and
a heating coil. 
• The fresh air is taken from the atmosphere and is mixed with the
recirculated air in suitable proportion and the mixture is passed through the
air filters to remove dust and other unwanted materials from the  air and
is about to enter the system. 
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 Window air conditioner
It is a simple air conditioner unit made as an
enclosed assembly as shown in the Figure. 8.32.
It is designed as a unit for mounting in a window
or through a wall. It provides the comfort to the
occupants in a room by circulating clean, cool air.
Their capacity is such that one unit is adequate.
Approximately 0.08 to 0.10 tonnage of refrigeration
capacity is required for cooling of 1 m2 room area. It
does not require the duct for the free delivery of the
conditioned air to the space. The unit is divided into two
parts06/05/2020
(a) Indoor part (b) outdoor part.Applied Thermal Engineering - 15ME206 26
• The indoor part includes a filter, evaporator, a motor driven fan or a blower
and an expansion device. The outdoor portion includes a hermetically sealed
motor driven compressor unit, a condenser and a fan.

• A fan is used to force the outside air over the condenser coil to remove the heat
from the compressed refrigerant. In order to draw air through the filter and
force it over the evaporator coil to cool the atmospheric air, another fan is
provided in the indoor portion.

• For driving the two fans, either the same motor or separate motors can be
used. A window air-conditioner works on the principle of the vapour
compression refrigeration system.
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 Split air conditioner
• It is also known as a remote mounted air conditioner. It is basically an air
conditioning system built in two different units: an indoor unit and an outdoor
unit. The two units are connected by the piping lines. The indoor unit consists
of a fan and a cooling coil. It is located in the space to be conditioned.

• It is a well designed single casing, well insulated on the inside housing the
evaporator coil, twin blower system with a motor, capillary tubes for
refrigerant expansion, electronic controls and condensate drain provision.
• The outdoor unit consists of a compressor, condenser coil and propeller fan
with a motor, and is connected to an indoor unit by an extended suction and
liquid pipelines. They require less space in the room, no wall opening and
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have better air circulation inside due to the flexibility..
• The condenser, compressor and the fan can be located at any convenient place,
where the noise is less and more accessible for the maintenance.

• They have the flexibility of multiple evaporators in different rooms using a

single condenser – compressor unit.

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 Centralized air conditioning systems

They provide fully controlled heating, cooling

and ventilation. The system is complex and is
generally installed when the building is
constructed.
It provides the coolant from one central location to different parts of a building. In this
system, all the components are grouped together in one central room and the conditioned
air is distributed from the central room to the required places through the insulated
ducts. It is generally used for a refrigerating load above 25 tonnage and 2500 m3/minute
of the conditioned air.

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 Heat load calculations
Cooling load estimate:
• Room load: The load which the room has to take.
• Room sensible heat (heat gained from the solar energy) and the room latent heat
(infiltration, leakages etc.):
• Total load: The load for which the air conditioner is designed.
• Total load = sensible heat + latent heat
Bypass factor of the coil:

• It is a part of the total air through the coil which fails to come into contact
with the surface of the cooling coil or the heating coil.

• The coil efficiency is measured from the bypass factor.

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 References
• Thermal engineering - I, Mahesh.M.Rathore, Tata McGraw Hill publishing (India)
Private Ltd, Print Edition: ISBN-13: 978-93-5316-083-8, E-book Edition: ISBN-
13: 978-93-5316084-5.
• Thermodynamics - An Engineering approach, Yunus.A.Cengel, Michael. A.Boles,
Tata McGraw Hill publications, 5th edition.
• Thermal engineering in S.I units, R.K.Rajput, 8th edition, Laxmi publications (P)
Ltd.

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