PSYCHROMETRY
NOTES
Qualification: Bachelor of Engineering – Level 3
Subject: Unit Operation (UNOP 101)
Lecturer: Mrs T.P. Lubisi
Definitions and formulas
• Psychrometry is the science of studying thermodynamic properties of moist air and the use of these to analyze
humid air conditions and processes.
• Humidification - transfer of water from the liquid phase into a gaseous mixture of air and water vapor.
• Dehumidification - reverse transfer where the water vapor is transferred from the vapor state to the liquid state.
Humidity, H – the kg of water vapor contained in 1 kg of dry air.
• Saturated air is air in which the water vapor is in equilibrium with liquid water at given T an P. In this mixture the
partial pressure of the water vapor is equal to the vapor pressure,pAS of pure water at given T. Hence, the
saturation humidity Hs is
:
Definitions and formulas
• Percentage humidity, Hp, is defined as 100 times the actual humidity H of the air divided by the
humidity Hs if the air were saturated at the same temperature and pressure:
• Percentage relative humidity, HR, The amount of saturation of an air-water vapor mixture is also given
as percentage relative humidity HR using partial pressures
EXAMPLE 1: Humidity from Vapor-Pressure Data
• The air in a room is at 26.7°C and a pressure of 101.325 kPa and contains water vapor with a partial
pressure pA = 2.76 kPa. Calculate the following:
(a) Humidity, H. (b) Saturation humidity, Hs, and percentage humidity, Hp. (c) Percentage relative humidity,
HR
Definitions and formulas
• Dew point - the temperature at which a given mixture
of air and water vapor would be saturated/ or
temperature at which vapor begins to condense when
the gas phase is cooled at constant pressure.
• Humid heat, CS - amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of 1 kg of dry air plus the watervapor
present by 1 K.
• Humid volume, vH - total volume (m3 ) of 1 kg of dry
air plus the vapor it contains at 1 atm abs pressure and
the given gas temperature in Kelvin.
Definitions and formulas
• Total enthalpy of an air-water mixture, HY - the total enthalpy of 1 kg of air plus its water vapor/ or sensible
heat of the air-water vapor mixture plus the latent heat if Tref for both components = 0 ºC.
If the total enthalpy is referred to a base temperature To of 0°C the equation becomes
Psychrometric chart
Air conditioning processes can be determined with psychrometric charts and Mollier diagrams.
Common properties in the charts includes
• dry-bulb temperature
• wet-bulb temperature
• relative humidity (RH)
• humidity ratio
• specific volume
• dew point temperature
• enthalpy
With at least two known properties it is possible to characterize the air in the intersection of
the property lines - the state-point. With the intersection point located on the chart or
diagram other properties can be read directly. (Video)
How to read the psychrometric chart
Class example: Chart reading
EXAMPLE 2: Use of Humidity Chart
Air entering a dryer has a temperature (dry bulb temperature) of 95 oF and a dew point of 57°F. Using the
humidity chart, determine the actual humidity H, percentage relative humidity HR, enthalpy and humid volume
v H.
• Solution :
Adiabatic Saturation temperatures
• Consider the process shown below where the entering gas of air-water vapor mixture is contacted with a
spray of liquid water. The gas leaves having a different humidity and temperature and the process is
adiabatic. The water is recirculated, with some makeup water added, as shown in Figure 2.
• Figure 3: Adiabatic air-water saturator system
• The temperature of the water being recirculated reaches a steady-state temperature called the adiabatic
saturation temperature, Ts.
Adiabatic Saturation temperatures
• If the entering gas at temperature T having a humidity of H is not saturated, Ts will be lower than T. If the
contact between the entering gas and the spray of droplets is enough to bring the gas and liquid to
equilibrium, the leaving air is saturated at Ts, having humidity Hs.
• Writing an enthalpy balance (heat balance) over the process, a datum of Ts is used. The enthalpy of the
makeup H20 is then zero. This means that the total enthalpy of the entering gas mixture = enthalpy of
the leaving gas mixture, or,
Adiabatic Saturation temperatures
• This equation is the equation of an adiabatic humidification curve when plotted on the phychrometric
curve, which passes through the point Hs and Ts on the 100% saturation curve and other points of H and
T. These series of lines, running upward to the left, are called adiabatic humidification lines or adiabatic
saturation lines. Since cs contains the term H, the adiabatic lines are not quite straight when plotted on
the humidity chart.
• If a given gas mixture at T1 and H1 is contacted for a sufficiently long time in an adiabatic saturator, it will
leave saturated at HS1 and TS1. The values of HS1 and TS1 are determined by following the adiabatic
saturation line going through point T1, H1 until it intersects the 100% saturation line. If contact is not
sufficient, the leaving mixture will be at a percentage saturation less than 100% but on the same line.
Class example: adiabatic systems
Adiabatic Saturation of Air
• An air stream at 87.8°C having
a humidity H = 0.030 kg H20/kg
dry air is contacted in an
adiabatic saturator with water.
It is cooled and humidified to
90% saturation.
• (a) What are the final values of
H and T?
• (b) For 100% saturation, what
would be the values of H and
T?
Solution:
Wet bulb temperature
• Steady-state nonequilibrium temperature reached when a small amount of water is contacted under
adiabatic conditions by a continuous stream of gas.
• The amount of liquid is small so the T and H of the gas is not changed.
• Method to measure Tw – thermometer is covered by wet wick or cloth
• A steady state water is evaporating to the gas stream. The water and wick cooled to Tw and stay at this
constant temperature.
• Latent heat of evaporation is balance by the convective heat flowing from the gas stream at T to the wick
temperature Tw
• The below equation can be assumed quite similar with adiabatic saturation lines with reasonable accuracy
• Hence wet bulb determination is often used to measure the humidity of an air-water vapor mixture
Class example: Wet bulb and humidity
A water vapor-air mixture
having a dry bulb
temperature of T = 600C is
passed over a wet bulb, as
shown in the following
figure, and the wet bulb
temperature obtained is
Tw = 29.5°C. What is the
humidity of the mixture?
