Psychrometry
Topics References
• Air-Vapor Mixture Thermodynamics an Engineering Approach:
• Psychrometry: Definition 14-1, 14-2, 14-3, 14-4, 14-5
• Psychrometric Chart
• Psychrometry: Applications
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Psychrometry
Books:
1. Thermodynamics an Engineering Approach: Chapter 14 by Yunus A. Cengel
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Psychrometry
What do we study in psychrometry?
• Psychrometry involves the study of various properties of moist air (air with vapor
content), such as temperature, humidity, pressure, density, enthalpy, and specific
volume.
• Psychrometry examines various processes involving moist air, such as heating, cooling,
humidification, and dehumidification.
• Understanding these processes is crucial for designing HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and
Air Conditioning) systems and for environmental control in buildings.
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Pure Substance
Pure Substance
• A substance that has a fixed chemical • Exceptions – Impurities in Natural Elements.
composition throughout is called a pure Natural gold (Au) often contains traces of
substance. silver or copper, but pure gold (24K) is a pure
substance.
• Ex. All single-element substances, Water,
nitrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide.
• Example: The chemical composition of water
(H₂O) remains the same it's in liquid, solid
(ice), or gas (vapor) form.
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Pure Substance
Pure Substance
• A mixture of various chemical elements or
compounds also qualifies as a pure
substance as long as the mixture is
homogeneous. Ex. Air.
• Is a mixture of oil and water considered a
pure substance?
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Pure Substance
Pure Substance
• A mixture of two or more phases of a pure • As the composition of liquid air is different
substance is still a pure substance as long as from the composition of gaseous air, and
the chemical composition of all phases is the thus the mixture is no longer chemically
same. homogeneous. This is due to different
• A mixture of ice and liquid water, for components in air condensing at different
example, is a pure substance because both temperatures at a specified pressure.
phases have the same chemical composition.
• A mixture of liquid air and gaseous air,
however, is not a pure substance.
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Gas vs. Vapor
• Vapor: At temperatures below the
critical temperature, the gas phase of a
substance is referred to as a vapor.
• The term vapor implies a gaseous state
that is close to the saturation region of
the substance, raising the possibility of
condensation during a process.
• For Water: Tcr= 373.95°C at a pressure of
22.06 MPa.
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Saturation Temperature: At a given pressure, the
temperature at which a pure substance changes phase is
called the saturation temperature Tsat.
Saturation Pressure: At a given temperature, the pressure at
which a pure substance changes phase is called the
saturation pressure Psat.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Atmospheric Air Dry Air
• Air in the atmosphere normally contains • Air that contains no water vapor is called
some water vapor (or moisture) and is dry air.
referred to as atmospheric air.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Specific Heat Capacity of Dry Air
• The temperature of air in air-conditioning
applications ranges from about -100 to about 500C.
• The cp (specific heat capacity) of air can be assumed
to be constant at 1.005 kJ/kg·0C in the temperature
range -10 to 500C with an error under 0.2 percent.
Specific Heat Capacity of Water Vapor
• The average cp value of water vapor in the
temperature range -10 to 500C can be taken to be
1.82 kJ/kg·0C. 10
Air-Vapor Mixture
Enthalpy Enthalpy of Water Vapor
• In the analysis of certain types of processes, • The enthalpy of water vapor at 00C is 2500.9 kJ/kg.
particularly in power generation and refrigeration, we • The average cp value of water vapor in the
frequently encounter the combination of
properties 𝒖+𝑷𝒗.
temperature range -10 to 500C can be taken to be
1.82 kJ/kg·0C.
• For the sake of simplicity and convenience, this • Then the enthalpy of water vapor can be determined
combination is defined as a new property, enthalpy, approximately from
and given the symbol h:
• T in 0C
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Enthalpy of Water Vapor Enthalpy of Dry Air
• The enthalpy of water vapor at 00C is 2500.9 kJ/kg. • Taking 00C as the reference temperature, the
• The average cp value of water vapor in the enthalpy and enthalpy change of dry air can be
temperature range -10 to 500C can be taken to be determined from
1.82 kJ/kg·0C.
• Then the enthalpy of water vapor can be determined
approximately from
where
• T in 0C • T is the air temperature in 0C.
• In air-conditioning processes we are concerned with
the changes in enthalpy, h. which is independent of
the reference point selected.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Ideal Gas Law
• We will treat the water vapor in the air as an ideal gas.
• P: pressure of the gas,
• V: volume occupied by the gas,
• n: number of moles of gas,
• : ideal/universal gas constant
• R: Specific gas constant
• T: temperature of the gas in Kelvin.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Total Pressure of Air-Vapor partial pressure of water
Mixture vapor is usually referred
• Assuming the to as the vapor pressure.
atmospheric air can be • It is the pressure water
treated as an ideal gas vapor would exert if it
mixture whose pressure existed alone at the
is the sum of the partial temperature and volume
pressure of dry air Pa and of atmospheric air.
that of water vapor Pv.
• Vapor Pressure: The 14
Air-Vapor Mixture
𝒉𝒗 ( 𝑻 ) ≅ 𝒉𝒈 ( 𝑻 )
• The constant enthalpy lines coincide
with constant-temperature lines at
temperatures below 500C.
• The enthalpy of water vapor () in air can
be taken to be equal to the enthalpy of
saturated vapor () at the same
temperature.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
How do we specify the amount of water vapor in the air?
• Specific Humidity
• Relative Humidity
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Specific Humidity
• Also called absolute humidity or humidity ratio
• (see table A2)
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Points on Humidity
• Dry air contains no water vapor; thus, its specific humidity is zero.
• Saturated Air: Saturated air refers to air that contains the maximum amount of water
vapor it can hold at a given temperature and pressure.
• Any moisture introduced into saturated air will condense.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Relative Humidity
• The comfort level depends on the amount of moisture the air holds (mv) relative to the
maximum amount of moisture the air can hold at the same temperature (m g). The
ratio of these two quantities is called the relative humidity.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Relationship between Specific and Relative Humidity
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Total Enthalpy of Atmospheric Air
Dividing by ma gives
• as
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Q: A 5-m x 5-m x 3-m room shown in Fig.
contains air at 250C and 100 kPa at a relative
humidity of 75 percent. Determine
(a) Partial pressure of dry air.
(b) Specific humidity.
(c) Enthalpy per unit mass of the dry air.
(d) Masses of the dry air and water vapor in
the room.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Solution:
• cp = 1.005 kJ/kg·K (Table A–2a)
• For water at 250C, Psat = 3.1698 kPa (Table A–4)
• Hg @ 25 = 2546.5 kJ/kg (Table A–4)
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Air-Vapor Mixture
(a) Partial pressure of dry air?
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Air-Vapor Mixture
(b) Specific humidity?
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Air-Vapor Mixture
(c) Enthalpy per unit mass of the dry air?
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Air-Vapor Mixture
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Dew Point Temperature (
• Dew-point temperature: the
temperature at which condensation
begins when the air is cooled at constant
pressure.
• In other words, Tdp is the saturation
temperature of water corresponding to
the vapor pressure:
Fig.: Constant-pressure cooling of
moist air and the dew-point
temperature on the T-s diagram of
water.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Q: In cold weather, condensation frequently
occurs on the inner surfaces of the windows
due to the lower air temperatures near the
window surface. Consider a house, shown
in Fig., that contains air at 200C and 75
percent relative humidity.
At what window temperature will the
moisture in the air start condensing on the
inner surfaces of the windows?
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Air-Vapor Mixture
At what window temperature will the moisture in the air start condensing on the inner
surfaces of the windows?
Solution:
• The saturation pressure of water at 200C is Psat = 2.3392 kPa (Table A–4).
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Determining Absolute or Relative Humidity
Assumptions
• Makeup water is supplied to the channel
at the rate of evaporation.
• The process involves no heat or work
interactions.
• And the kinetic and potential energy
changes can be neglected.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Determining Absolute or Relative Humidity
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Determining Absolute or Relative Humidity
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Dry Bulb Temperature?
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Wet Bulb Temperature
• The wet-bulb temperature Twb can be
used in Eq. 14–14 in place of T2 to
determine the specific humidity of air.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Q: The dry- and the wet-bulb temperatures of atmospheric air at 1 atm (101.325 kPa)
pressure are measured with a sling psychrometer and determined to be 25 and 15 0C,
respectively. Determine
(a) the specific humidity,
(b) the relative humidity, and
(c) the enthalpy of the air.
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Solution:
• The saturation pressure of water is Psat@15 = 1.7057 kPa , and Psat@25 3.1698 kPa (Table
A–4).
• The constant-pressure specific heat of air at room temperature is cp = 1.005 kJ/kg·K
(Table A–2a).
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Solution:
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Air-Vapor Mixture
Solution:
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Psychrometry
What is Psychrometry?
• Psychrometry is the science and study of the properties of air and water vapor
mixtures.
• Psychrometry is crucial in various fields such as HVAC, agriculture, and industrial
processes where the control and manipulation of air moisture content are important.
• The data and principles derived from psychrometric analysis are used in designing
efficient heating and cooling systems, evaluating air quality, and understanding the
behavior of air-water vapor mixtures in different environments.
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Psychrometry
Psychrometric Properties
1. Dry-bulb temperature (DBT)
2. Wet-bulb temperature (WBT)
3. Dew point temperature
4. Relative humidity
5. Specific humidity
6. Specific enthalpy
7. Entropy
8. Specific Volume
9. Psychrometric charts
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Psychrometry
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Psychrometry
Psychrometric Chart
• A psychrometric chart is a graphical
representation of the properties of
moist air.
• It displays the relationships between
air temperature, humidity, and other
properties such as dew point
temperature, relative humidity,
enthalpy, and specific volume.
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Psychrometry
Psychrometric Chart
• These charts are widely used in various
engineering applications, particularly in
the fields of heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning (HVAC), as well as in
industrial processes where the
behavior of moist air is important.
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Psychrometry
Psychrometric Chart
• For saturated air, the dry-bulb, wet-
bulb, and dew-point temperatures are
identical.
• Therefore, the dew-point temperature
of atmospheric air at any point on the
chart can be determined by drawing a
horizontal line (a line of = constant or
Pv = constant) from the point to the
saturated curve.
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Psychrometry
Q: Consider a room that contains air at 1
atm, 350C, and 40 percent relative
humidity. Using the psychrometric chart,
determine
(a) the specific humidity,
(b) the enthalpy,
(c) the wet-bulb temperature,
(d) the dew-point temperature, and
(e) the specific volume of the air.
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