Psychrometry
Dr. Md. Kharshiduzzaman
Professor
Department of MPE,
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
Psychrometry
❖ Dry air does not exist in nature. Always there are some water
vapor diffused in air.
Atmospheric air or Moist air = Dry air + Water vapor
Nitrogen (78.1%) + Oxygen (21%) + Others
Psychrometry is the science of studying the thermodynamic
properties of moist air and the use of these properties to
analyze conditions and processes involving moist air or
atmospheric air.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
The composition of dry air remains relatively constant, but the
amount of water vapor changes as a result of condensation and
evaporation from oceans, lakes, rivers, howers, and even the human
body.
It certainly would be very convenient to also treat the water vapor in
the air as an ideal gas. Therefore, water vapor in air behaves as if it
existed alone and obeys the ideal-gas relation Pv = RT.
Then the atmospheric air can be treated as an ideal-gas mixture
whose pressure (P) is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air (Pa)and
that of water vapor (Pv).
The partial pressure of water vapor is usually referred to as the
vapor pressure.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Important definitions
Specific Humidity (humidity ratio): Mass of water vapor per unit
mass of dry air.
mv
ω= (Kg water vapor/ Kg dry air)
ma
Adding or spraying water in dray air will increase . If the amount of
water vapor in the air reaches a maximum for the existing temperature
and pressure, the condition of air is referred to as saturated. Any moisture
introduced into saturated air will condense. In this study, for saturated air
the we will use ‘g’ for subscript instead of ‘v’ to denote water vapor.
Relative Humidity: Ratio of the amount of moisture air holds (mv) to the
maximum amount of moisture (mg) air can hold at the same temperature.
mv
= (%)
mg
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Where,
The total enthalpy (an extensive property) of atmospheric air is the sum of
the enthalpies of dry air and the water vapor:
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Important definitions
Dew point temperature (Tdp):
The temperature at which condensation begins when the air is
cooled at constant pressure.
Tdp is the saturation temp. of
Water corresponding to vapor
pressure.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Dry bulb temperature: The temperature of air measured
by a thermometer freely exposed to the air but shielded from
radiation and moisture.
Wet bulb temperature: Temperature measured by a wet
bulb thermometer.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Psychrometric chart
A graphical representation of the thermodynamic
properties of moist air, where all data essential for the
complete thermodynamic and psychrometric analysis
of air conditioning process can be summarized.
Most commonly used psychrometric chart is an x-y plot
with dry bulb temperature as abscissa and specific
humidity as ordinate.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Psychrometric chart
On standard psychrometric chart, the following moist-
air properties are plotted.
Vapor pressure(not always shown)
Relative humidity
Wet bulb temperature
Specific volume
Enthalpy
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Schematic for a Psychrometric chart
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Psychrometric chart
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Psychrometric chart
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Psychrometric chart
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Problems
1. Consider a room that contains air at 1 atm, 35oC , and 40%
relative humidity. Using the psychrometric chart, determine
a) Specific humidity
b) Enthalpy
c) Wet-bulb temperature
d) Dew-point temperature
e) Specific volume of air
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Air conditioning processes
Maintaining a living space or an industrial facility at the
desired temperature and humidity requires some
processes called air-conditioning processes.
These processes include simple heating (raising the
temperature), simple cooling (lowering the temperature),
humidifying (adding moisture), and dehumidifying (removing
moisture).
Sometimes two or more of these processes are needed to
bring the air to a desired temperature and humidity level.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Various air conditioning processes
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Air conditioning processes
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Simple Heating and Cooling ( = constant)
The amount of moisture in the air remains constant during
this process since no moisture is added to or removed from
the air.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Heating with Humidification
The location of state 3 depends on how the humidification is
accomplished.
T3 > T2 (if steam is introduced for humidification)
T3 < T2 (if water is sprayed for humidification)
This process is used in winter air conditioning system.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Cooling with dehumidification
Used in Summer air conditioning.
If the cooling section is sufficiently long, air reaches its dew
point and further cooling of air results in the condensation
of part of the moisture in the air.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
Adiabatic humidification/ Evaporative
Cooling/Adiabatic Saturation
❖ The heat transfer between the airstream and the surroundings is usually
negligible.
❖ Enthalpy as well as the wet bulb temperature remains almost constant
throughout the process.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
All processes at a glance
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
❑ For a hall to be air-conditioned, the following conditions are
given:
Outdoor condition: 40oC dbt, 20oC wbt
Required comfort condition: 20oC dbt, 60% RH
Seating capacity of hall: 1500 guests
Amount of outdoor air supplied: 0.3 m3/min per person.
If the required condition is achieved first by adiabatic
humidification and then cooling. Estimate:
(a) capacity of cooling in tonnes &
(b) the capacity of humidifier in kg/hr.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST
❑ For a hall to be air-conditioned, the following conditions are
given:
Outdoor condition: 30oC dbt, 75% RH
Required comfort condition: 22oC dbt, 70% RH
Amount of free air circulated: 4.5 m3/s.
Coil dew point temperature: 14oC
If the required condition is achieved first by cooling &
dehumidification and then by heating. Estimate:
(a) capacity of cooling coil in tonnes &
(b) the capacity of heating coil in kW and
(c) amount of vapor removed in kg/s.
Dr. Md Kharshiduzzaman; Professor; AUST