Air Conditioning

*
• Air Conditioning refers to the treatment of air so as to simultaneously control its:-
• Temperature,
• Moisture content,
• Cleanliness,
• Odor and circulation.
– as required by occupants, a process, or products in the space.
• Air-conditioning may be defined as the science of controlling four atmospheric
conditions simultaneously. The main four atmospheric conditions are:
• temperature of the surrounding
• humidity of air
• purity of air
• air velocity
• Atmospheric air makes up the environment in almost every type of air
conditioning system. Hence a thorough understanding of the properties of
atmospheric air and the ability to analyze various processes involving air is
fundamental to air conditioning design.

*
*
 Psychrometry
• Psychrometry :- is the study of the properties of mixtures of air and
water vapor.
• Atmospheric air is a mixture of many gases plus water vapor and a
number of pollutants
• The amount of water vapor and pollutants vary from place to place.
• The concentration of water vapor and pollutants decrease with
altitude, and above an altitude of about 10 km, atmospheric air
consists of only dry air. The pollutants have to be filtered out before
processing the air. Hence, what we process is essentially a mixture
of various gases that constitute air and water vapor. This mixture is
known as moist air.

*
• Based on the above composition the molecular weight of dry air is found to be 28.966 and
the gas constant R is 287.035 J/kg.K.
• As mentioned before the air to be processed in air conditioning systems is a mixture of dry air
and water vapor.
• While the composition of dry air is constant, the amount of water vapor present in the air
may vary from zero to a maximum depending upon the temperature and pressure of the
mixture (dry air + water vapor).
• At a given temperature and pressure the dry air can only hold a certain maximum amount of
moisture.
• When the moisture content is maximum, then the air is known as saturated air, which is
established by a neutral equilibrium between the moist air and the liquid or solid phases of
water.
• For calculation purposes, the molecular weight of water vapor is taken as 18.015 and its gas
constant is 461.52 J/kg.K.

*
Psychrometry is the study of air-water mixture.

Psychrometric terms
• dry and atmospheric air
• specific and relative humidity of air
• dew-point temperature
• wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures
• adiabatic saturation temperature

1. Dry and Atmospheric Air

Air is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and small amounts of some other
gases. Air in the atmosphere normally contains some water vapor or
moisture and is referred to as atmospheric air or wet air. By contrast,
air that contains no water vapor is called is dry air.

*
It is convenient to treat air as a mixture of water vapor and dry air
since 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, showers, and even the human body.
Although the amount of water vapor in the air is small, it plays a
major role in human comfort.
The temperature of air in air-conditioning application ranges about -
10 to 50 0C. In this range, air can be treated as an ideal gas with
negligible error (under 0.2%).
• The constant-pressure specific heat of air at room temperature is

Taking 00C as the reference temperature, the enthalpy and enthalpy

change of air can be determined from,

*
• The partial pressure of atmospheric air (p) is the sum of the partial
pressure of dry air (pa) and that of water vapor (pv).

• The partial pressure of water vapor (pv) is usually referred to as the

vapor pressure.
• The enthalpy of water vapor at 00C is 2500.9 kJ/kg. The average cp
value of water in the temperature range of -10 to 50 0C can be
taken as 1.82 kJ/kg. oC. Then the enthalpy of water vapor can be
determined from,

*
2. Specific and Relative Humidity of Air
Humidity: the amount of water vapor in the air. It can be specified in various
ways. The most logical way is to specify directly the mass of water vapor present
in a unit mass of dry air. This is called absolute or specific humidity or humidity
ratio. It is expressed as,

The amount of moisture in the air has a definite effect on how comfortable one
feel in an environment. The comfort level depends on the amount of moisture the
air can hold (mv) relative to the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold the
same temperature (mg). The ratio of these two quantities is called the relative
humidity. It is given by,

*
• Where,
or,

• The total enthalpy (an extensive property) of

atmospheric air is the sum of the enthalpies of dry
air and the water vapor:

*
• Example 1.
• A 5-m x 5-m x 3-m room shown in Fig. 1 contains air at 25°C and 100 kPa at a relative humidity of 75 percent.
Determine (a) the partial pressure of 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 water vapor in the room. Use Table 2 & 4

• Answer
• Pa = 97.62 kpa
• W = 0.0152 kg H2O/kg dry air
• h= 63.8 KJ/kg dry air
• ma= 85.61 kg, mv = 1.30 kg

*
3. Dew-Point Temperature
The dew-point temperature Tdp is defined as 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.

4. Wet-Bulb and Dry-Bulb Temperatures

Dry-bulb temperature of a substance is the temperature recorded by ordinary
thermometer.
Wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature recorded by an ordinary
thermometer whose bulb is wrapped with a wick, wet with water and the
thermometer is kept in the passage of flowing air.
*
Wet-Bulb and Dry-Bulb Temperature
Psychrometer
A psychrometer is an instrument which measures both the dry-bulb and the wet-
bulb temperature of air.

*
• Example 2
• 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. 2, that contains air at 20°C and 75 percent
relative humidity. At what window temperature will the moisture in the air
start condensing on the inner surfaces of the windows? Use Table 4

•
Answer, Tdb = 15.4 oC

*
5. Adiabatic Saturation Temperature
It is desirable to relate relative humidity and specific humidity to easily
measurable quantities such as temperature and pressure. One way of determining
the relative humidity is from the dew-point temperature of air. Knowing the dew-
point temperature, one can determine the vapor pressure Pv and thus the relative
humidity. This approach is simple, but not quite practical.
Another way of determining the absolute or relative humidity is related to an
adiabatic saturation process as shown in the figure.

*
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature…
The system consists of a long insulated channel that contains a pool of water. A
steady steam of unsaturated air that has a specific humidity of 1 (unknown) and a
temperature of T1 is passed through this channel. As the air flows over the water,
some water evaporates and mixes with the airstream. The moisture content of air
increases during this process and its temperature decreases, since part of the latent
heat of vaporization of water that evaporates comes from the air. If the channel is
long enough, the air stream exits as saturated air ( = 100% ) at temperature T2,
which is called the adiabatic saturation temperature.
For the steady-flow process,

*
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature…

and,

*
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature…

With 2 = 100%, 1 and 2 of air can be determined from the above equations,
by measuring the P and T of the air at the inlet and exit of an adiabatic saturator.

*
• Example 3
• The dry- and the wet-bulb temperatures of atmospheric air at 1 atm (101.325 kPa) pressure are measured with a
sling psychrometer as shown in the Fig. 3 and determined to be 25 and 15°C, respectively. Determine (a) the
specific humidity, (b) the relative humidity, and (c) the enthalpy of the air. Use Table 4

• Answer
•
• a) w1 = 0.00653 kg H2O/kg dry air
• w2 = 0.01065 kg H2O/kg dry air
• b) ф1 = 33.2%
• c) h = 41.8 kJ/kg dry air

• Fig. 3 Sling psychrometer

*
• Psychrometric chart
• A Psychrometric chart graphically represents the thermodynamic properties of
moist air.
• Standard psychrometric charts are bounded by the dry-bulb temperature line
(abscissa) and the vapor pressure or humidity ratio (ordinate). The Left Hand
Side of the psychrometric chart is bounded by the saturation line.
• Psychrometric charts are readily available for standard barometric pressure of
101.325 kPa at sea level and for normal temperatures (0-50oC).
• ASHRAE has also developed psychrometric charts for other temperatures and
barometric pressures (for low temperatures: -40 to 10oC, high temperatures
10 to 120oC and very high temperatures 100 to 120oC)

*
 Lines of const. DB Temperature

Lines of const. Humidity ratio

Lines of const. RH %

Lines of const. specific volume

 Lines of const. WB Temperatures

Lines of const. enthalpy

*
Psychrometric Chart
The sizing of a typical air-conditioning system involves numerous and tedious
calculations, which is difficult to handle. To overcome this problem a
computerized calculations are made and converted into a graph or chart. Hence, a
psychrometric chart is a graphical representation of the various properties of moist
air.
The basic features of the psychrometric chart are illustrated in the figure. For a
saturated air, the dry-bulb, wet-bulb and dew-point temperatures are identical.

*
• Example 4
• Consider a room that contains air at 1 atm, 35°C,
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.
Ans. a) w = 0.0142 kg H2O/kg dry air, b) h = 71.5
kJ/kg dry air, c) Twb = 24 Oc, d) Tdb = 19. 4 oC, e) v
= 0.893 m3/kg dry air
•

*
Human Comfort and Air-Conditioning
Seasonal changes of heat, cold, humidity, purity of air, and air
movement affects human comfort. All these factors have to be
controlled in such a way that we feel comfort at home, in office, etc.
This is possible by designing a system called air-conditioner. This
device is used to control,
• supply of O2 and removal of CO2,
• removal of heat,
• removal of moisture,
• movement of air,
• purity of air.

*
Air-Conditioning Processes
Maintaining a living space or an industrial facilities at the desired temperature and
humidity requires air-conditioning processes. These processes include heating
(raising the temperature), cooling (lowering the temperature), humidifying (adding
moisture), and dehumidifying (removing moisture).
Various air-conditioning processes are illustrated on the psychrometric chart in the
figure.

*
Air-Conditioning Processes…
Most air-conditioning processes can be modeled as steady-flow processes, and
thus for dry air and water can be expressed as,
• The mass balance relation

• The energy balance relation

Neglecting changes in kinetic and potential energies,

,
The work term usually consists of the fan work input.
Simple Heating and Cooling ( = constant)
Many residential heating systems consists of a stove, a heat pump, or an electric
resistance heater. The air in these systems is heated by circulating it through a duct
that contains the tubing for the hot gases or the electric resistance wires. Cooling
can be accomplished by passing air over some coil through which a refrigerant or
cold water flows. *
Air-Conditioning Processes…
1. Heating or Cooling Process
In the heating or cooling processes, the specific or absolute humidity() of air
remains constant, but the relative humidity() changes. There is no humidification
or dehumidification. Such a heating process proceeds in the direction of increasing
or decreasing the dry-bulb temperature. The figure shows a heating process. If the
heating coils are replaced by a cooling coils, the process becomes a cooling process.
• During simple heating, specific humidity remains constant, but
relativehumidity decreases.
• Therefore, the relative humidity of heated air may be well below
comfortable levels, causing dry skin, respiratory difficulties, and an
increase in
static electricity.
• During simple cooling, specific humidity remains constant, but
relative humidity increases
• The conservation of mass equations for a heating or cooling
process
• *
• Schematic diagram and psychromrtric chart
for heating or cooling process

*
2. Heating with Humidification
This is a heating and humidifying process.
Problems associated with the low relative humidity resulting from
simple heating can be eliminated by humidifying the heated air. This
is accomplished by passing the air first through a heating section
(process 1-2) and then through a humidifying section (process 2-3)
• If steam is introduced in the humidification section(T3 > T2)
• If spraying water into the airstream(T3 < T2)

*
• Example 5
• An air-conditioning system is to take in outdoor air at 10°C and 30 percent
relative humidity at a steady rate of 45 m3/min and to condition it to 25°C and
60 percent relative humidity. The outdoor air is first heated to 22°C in the
heating section and then humidified by the injection of hot steam in the
humidifying section. Assuming the entire process takes place at a pressure of
100 kPa, determine
• the rate of heat supply in the heating section and
• (b) the mass flow rate of the steam required in the humidifying section.
Ans. a) = 673 kJ/min,
• b) = 0.539 kg/min
•

*
3. Cooling with Dehumidification
This is a cooling and dehumidifying process.
• Hot, moist air enters the cooling section at state 1. As it
passes through the cooling coils, its temperature
decreases and its relative humidity increases at constant
specific humidity.
• If the cooling section is sufficiently long, air reaches its
dew point (state x, saturated air). Further cooling of air
results in the condensation of part of the moisture in the
air.
• Air remains saturated during the entire condensation
process, which follows a line of 100 percent relative
humidity until the final state (state 2) is reached.
*
*
• Example 6
• Air enters a window air conditioner at 1 atm, 30°C, and 80 percent
relative humidity at a rate of 10 m3/min, and it leaves as saturated
air at 14°C. Part of the moisture in the air that condenses during the
process is also removed at 14°C. Determine the rates of heat and
moisture removal from the air. Ans. = 0.131 kg/min,
• = 511kJ/min
•

*
4. Evaporative Cooling
This process is used to decrease the temperature and increase the humidity of air
by keeping the wet-bulb temperature and enthalpy constant as shown in the
figure.

*
5. Adiabatic Mixing of Air Streams
This is a process of mixing of two air streams as shown in the figure. The process
can be assumed to be adiabatic, since the heat transfer to the surroundings is
usually small.

The mass and energy balance for the adiabatic mixing of two airstreams reduces
to,

*
 Principles of air conditioning
• All air conditioning systems must have four basic elements:
– Compressor
– Condenser
– Expansion valve
– Evaporator

• Compressor: Used to send high-pressure gas to the condenser.

• Condenser: Helps to dissipate the heat of the gas and condense it
into liquid.
• Expansion valve: High-pressure liquid flows on to the expansion
valve, where it is metered and its pressure is reduced.
• Evaporator: Liquid absorbs heat from the air and evaporates into
gas.
• The cycle is then repeated, starting at the compressor.
Liquids absorb heat when changed from liquid to gas;
Gases give-off heat when changed from gas to liquid.
 Applications of air conditioning
• 1. Comfort air conditioning systems
• 2. Process air conditioning systems
• 1. Comfort Air Conditioning Systems:
• Comfort air conditioning systems provide occupants with a comfortable and
• healthy indoor environment in which to carry out their activities.
• Various sectors of the economy using comfort air conditioning systems are as
• follows:
• The commercial sector includes office buildings, supermarkets,
• department stores, shopping centers, restaurants, and others.
• Air conditioning systems to satisfy multiple-tenant requirements. In light
commercial buildings.
• For shopping malls and restaurants, air conditioning is necessary to attract
customers.
• 2. The institutional sector includes such applications as schools,
• colleges, universities, libraries, museums, indoor stadiums,
• cinemas, theaters, concert halls, and recreation centers.
• One of the large indoor stadiums, the Superdome in New Orleans,
Louisiana, can seat 78,000 people with centralized AC.
• 3. The residential and lodging sector consists of hotels,
apartment houses, and private homes.
• Many systems serving the lodging industry and apartment houses
are operated continuously, on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week schedule,
since they can be occupied at any time.
• 4. The health care sector encompasses hospitals, nursing homes,
and convalescent care facilities.
• Special air filters are generally used in hospitals to remove bacteria.
The relative humidity in a general clinical area is often maintained
at a minimum of 30% in winter.
• 5. The transportation sector includes aircraft, automobiles, rail road
cars, buses, and cruising ships.
• Passengers increasingly demand ease and environmental comfort,
especially for long distance travel.
• Modern aero planes flying at high altitudes may require a pressure
differential of about 5 psi between the cabin and the outside
atmosphere.
• 2. Process Air Conditioning Systems:
• Process air conditioning systems provide needed indoor environmental control for
manufacturing, product storage, or other research and development processes.

• 1. Textile mills: Proper control of humidity increases the strength of the yarn and fabric
during processing. For many textile manufacturing processes, too high a value of the space
RH% can cause problems in the spinning process. On the other hand, a lower RH% may
induce static electricity that is harmful for the production processes.

• 2. Clean rooms: Many electronic products require clean rooms for manufacturing such things
as integrated circuits, since their quality is adversely affected by airborne particles. RH%
control is also needed to prevent corrosion and condensation and to eliminate static
electricity. Temperature control maintains materials and instruments at stable condition and
is also required for workers who wear dustfree garments.
• 3. Precision manufacturers: Always need precise temperature control
• during production of precision instruments, tools and equipment. Bausch and Lomb
successfully constructed a constant-temperature control room of 68 ± 0.1°F (20 ± 0.56°C) to
produce light grating products in the 1950s.
• 4. Pharmaceutical products: Require temperature, humidity, and air
• cleanliness control. If the temperature or humidity crosses certain limits, there are
chances of deterioration of the products. High efficiency air filters must be installed for most
of the areas in pharmaceutical factories to prevent contamination.
• 5. Ware houses: Modern refrigerated warehouses not only store commodities in coolers at
temperatures of 27–32°F (-2.8 to 0°C) and frozen foods at -10 to -20°F (-23 to -29°C), but also
provide RH control for perishable foods between 90% and 100%. Refrigerated storage is used
to prevent deterioration. Temperature control can be performed by refrigeration systems,
but the simultaneous control of both temperature and RH in the space can only be
performed by process air-conditioning systems.