Air conditioning examples week 5

Refreshing: Boris Johnson on one of the new air-

conditioned Tube trains

1. What are the relative and specific humidity today? Both outside and in the room (this
requires wet (11C) and dry bulb (13C) temperatures).
2. An air conditioning unit draws in 0.5kg/s of atmospheric air at 30°C and specific humidity
0.012. What is the mass flow rate of water vapour in the air?
3. Using the formula relating specific humidity to partial pressure of the water vapour and the
atmospheric pressure, and assuming 1 atmosphere atmospheric pressure, what is the partial
pressure of the water vapour in question 2?
4. Find the pg of water in question 2. What is the relative humidity of the incoming air?
5. Find the dew point corresponding to the pressure pS in question 3. Sketch at T-v diagram
showing the process that the water vapour in the atmospheric air from question 2 must go
through to form dew.
6. An air conditioning unit operating in air at 1 atm, has air entering the dehumidifier with
absolute humidity 0.01. After the dehumidifier, the absolute humidity is 0.006. Calculate
the vapour pressure at each of these two points.
7. In Q5 the flow rate of atmospheric air into the air conditioning unit is 0.5 kg/s. Calculate the
mass flow rate of the dry air, and the mass flow rate of the water vapour in the air before
and after the dehumidifier.
8. For the air conditioning system in Q5, use the tables to find the temperature after the
dehumidifier.
9. For the air conditioning system in Q5, find the cp of the dry air at the average of the pre- and
post-dehumidifier temperatures, given the pre-dehumidifier temperature is 30°C.
10. For the air conditioning system in Q5 find from the tables the specific enthalpy of liquid
water at the dew point temperature after the dehumidifier. Find also the specific enthalpy
of the water vapour in the air before and after the dehumidifier.
11. For the air conditioning system in Q5, using the results of the questions Q5-Q10, calculate
the heat transfer out of the dehumidifier.
 Air conditioning solutions Week 5
1. The wet and dry bulb outside on that day (12th October 2009) in Nottingham at about 8.30
a.m. were 6.4°C and 8.4°C. Inside the lecture theatre at the same time, they were 13.2°C
and 19.5°C. We can use the psychrometric chart to plot these two points and produce the

13.5C

6.4C

Outside

8.4C
19.5C

Figure 1 section of the psychrometric chart at 1.01325 bar, for Question 1

relative and specific humidities.

From this the outside conditions are w = 0.005 and f = 70%, and inside w = 0.007 and f =
50%. Note that although the external relative humidity is high, when this air approaches the
skin, the temperature of the air rises as it receives heat from the skin, and since the air
cannot increase in humidity unless some moisture is added, the state point of the
atmospheric air will move horizontally right on the chart and the relative humidity drops as
it crosses the lines of RH.

2. 0.5 kg of atmospheric air with a dry bulb temperature tDB of 30°C and a specific humidity, w,
or 0.012. Use the formula for w in terms of mass fractions of water and air,

ṁs
ω=
ṁdry−air

and that the sum of the mass flow rates of dry air and moisture is known,

−1
ṁdry −air + ṁs =0.5 kg ∙ s

These are simultaneous equations and solve to produce,

−1
ṁs =0.0059 kg ∙ s
3. Use

ps
ω=0.622
( p− ps )
as instructed in the question. Note carefully that here, pS is NOT saturation pressure, but
just the peculiar case of air conditioning in which the subscript represents partial vapour
pressure.
We need pS. 1 atmosphere is known to be 1.01325 bar (see back page in tables for
properties of air). We can use any pressure units because the equation is in terms of
pressure only and is dimensionless overall.

ps ps
ω=0.622 =0.622 =0.012
( p− ps ) ( 1.01325−p s )
0.622 ps=0.012 ( 1.01325− ps )

0.622 ps +0.012 ps =0.01216

0.01216
ps = =0.0192 ¯¿
0.634

4. Note carefully that here, pg is saturation pressure of water vapour, i.e. the pressure at which
it will spontaneously boil, because this is the peculiar case of air conditioning in which
saturation pressure is represented by subscript g, short for ‘gas’ perhaps. In this case, for
30C dry bulb temperature, the corresponding saturation pressure for that saturation
temperature is from the tables
At 30°C, pSAT = 0.04242 bar = pg. The relative humidity, f = pS/pg = 0.0192/0.04242 = 0.453.
That is 45.3%.
5. Find dew point temperature for pS = 0.0192 bar. Look to the table, from which we see it
occurs at approximately T = 16.5C. Arrow indicates process direction on red lines.
 400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50 30C
16.5C
0
0.0001 0.01 1 100 10000

Figure 2 showing small section of data tables with temperature at 30 degree C,

saturation pressure of water vapour is 0.04242 bar, and section of the data
tables showing saturation pressure is 0.01817 bar and 0.01936 bar for 16 and
17 degree C respectively

Air conditioning
6. considering the entry to dehumidifier as point 2, and exit as point 3, and using:
ps ps
ω=0.622 =0.622 =0.01 → 0.622 p s 2=0.01× 1.01325−0.01 p s2
( p− ps ) ( 1.01325−p s )
0.01013=0.632 p s 2 → ps 2=0.016 ¯¿
pS3 must be 100% f, \pg = pSAT = pS3
ps3 0.622 p s 3
ω=0.622 →0.006= → 0.00608−0.006 p s 3=0.622 p s 3
( p− ps 3 ) ( 1.01325− p s 3 )
→ 0.00608=0.6 28 p s 3 → p s 3=0.0 097 ¯¿
7. atmospheric air mass flow rate at entry is given as 0.5 kg/s. We know
ω=[Link]−air𝜔=[Link]−air
and
[Link]−air+m.s=0.5 kg∙s−[Link]−air+m.s=0.5 kg∙s−1
\
m.s=0.005 kg∙s−1m.s=0.005 kg∙s−1
and ṁ dry air =0.495 kg /s
At exit ṁ dry air =0.495 kg /s still – it can only go out one way. We know that ω = 0.006, and
therefore we say
ṁs
ω= → 0.006 ×0.495=0.003 kg /s
0.495
8. At pS3, tSAT is approximately 6.5°C from tables of saturated steam and water pS3 must be 100%
liquid, or f subscript, and pg = pSAT = pS3.

The mean temperature of 6.5°C and 30°C is 18.25°C or 291K. Using the data for dry air at
low pressure,
cp,air)291K could be interpolated for accuracy, but we’ll just say it’s about 1.0045 kJ/kgK
here.
9. Saturated water and steam table is required again,

This version of the table is a bit crude on temperature since it wants p first, so look at the
version of the table that puts T first instead for accuracy,
 from which it can be seen that hf of liquid water at 6.5°C is about 27 kJ/kg, hg at 6.5°C is
2512.8 kJ/kg and at 30°C, hg at 30°C is 2555 kJ/kg.
10. Use the SFEE, which is the statement of the First Law (conservation of energy) for moving
fluids, and ignore the terms from kinetic and potential energy as negligible, Q+W=DH. In the
air conditioning unit between 2 and 3, there is no fan or other working device, so W=0. We
need the change in enthalpy of the fluids in the section 2 to 3 in order to work out the heat
transfer to cause it.

Referring to the schematic, the enthalpy flows in at 2 and out at 3 and through the
condensate collection chute, are all indicated in terms of mass flow rate and specific
enthalpy. The flow of enthalpy can then be compared in the SFEE:
Q̇= ṁdry air h dry air ,2− ṁdry air h dry air ,3 + ṁw , 2 h g ,2− ṁw, 3 h g , 3−ṁcond hf ,cond

Theory note: Bear in mind here that to work out the enthalpy change of the atmospheric air,
in the absence of a psychrometric chart, the h_g of the water vapour in the air, for which we
can do delta Hg (H depending on mass in and outgoing on the section of interest) and for the
dry air part, we have to use m_air*c_p_air*delta T because there is no table of h for dry air.
So I take c_p for the approximate air in the back of the tables here. We can use H=mCpT
for the enthalpy change of dry air, which is 0.495×1.004×(30-6.5) = 11.68 kW, just to cool the
dry air. The change in enthalpy of the water vapour carried in the air, is mainly due to the
loss of mass as vapour which condenses. Therefore, with the data for hg and mass flow rate
of vapour going in at 2 and out at 3, we have 0.006×2555-0.003×2485 = 5.32kW. The
condensate is assumed to leave at 6.5°C, and it has a mass rate of 0.003 kg/s, therefore
enthalpy flow rate is 0.003×27 = 1.27 kW. Putting all this in the SFEE, we have
Q=11.68+5.32-1.27 = 15.73 kW.