06.

MLR 780
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Session 06
Cooling and Dehumidification
Coils
Jaco Dirker
Based on:
• Stoecker and Jones Chapter 8
• ASHRAE 2020 Chapter 23 (available in e-format via library)

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 2

Purpose of Cooling Coils:

• Reduce temperature of air-stream
• Reduce humidity of air-stream

[ASHRAE]

[ASHRAE]

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 3

Introduction
Coil Selection Considerations:
• Job requirements —cooling, dehumidifying, and the capacity required to
properly balance with other system components (e.g. compressor equipment in the
case of direct-expansion coils)
• Entering air dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures
• Available cooling media and operating temperatures
• Space and dimensional limitations
• Air and cooling fluid quantities, including distribution and limitations
• Allowable frictional resistances in air circuit (including coils)
• Allowable frictional resistances in cooling media piping system
(including coils)
• Characteristics of individual coil designs and circuitry possibilities
• Individual installation requirements such as type of automatic control to
be used; presence of corrosive atmosphere; design pressures; and durability of
tube, fins, and frame material

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 4

Introduction

IN PRACTICE, MANUFACTURER CATALOGUES ARE USED TO

SELECT A SUITABLE COOLING COIL OR SPECIALISTS DESIGN A
REPLACEMENT COIL

IN THIS CHAPTER WE CONSIDER THE FUNDAMENTALS AT WORK

DURING COOLING AND DEHUMIDIFYING IN ORDER TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND TREND ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH COILS.

THE CALCULATIONS PRESENTED HERE ARE USED TO EXPLORE

THESE TRENDS ONLY.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 5

Agenda
• In this section we will cover coils in the range of 5ºC to 35ºC air
temperatures.
• We will mainly look at the air-side and only consider counter-flow
arrangements.
• Normally, extended surfaces are used on the air-side to increase
the convective heat transfer ability of the coil (air has a low density and
specific heat) .

TWO MAIN CATEGORIES:

• Direct expansion: Refrigerant evaporates in the tube (tube wall
temperature constant on most of tube length)
• Secondary refrigerant: Chilled water is circulated through tubes
MLR780 (tube wall temperature does not remain constant)

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 6
Cooling Coil with Secondary
Refrigerant

[Stoecker and Jones]

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06. 7

Control of Cooling Coil Behaviour

Cooling capacity can be changed by
varying the :
• water flow
• or air flow

Water flow can be controlled via

three-way mixing, modulating, and or a
throttling valve.

Air flow can be controlled via fan

speed control or via bypass dampers.
• With dampers, some air bypasses the
coil when cooling load is low (not
covered here).

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 8
Cooling and Dehumidification on a
Psycrhometry Chart
Two process paths
which might be
[Stoecker and Jones]
applicable to cooling
and dehumidification
coils are shown:

Both of these paths are idealised.

• 1→2→3 : Only if all air is uniformly at the same temperature.
• 1→i: Only if wetted surface is at a constant temperature along the length
of the tubes.

• A portion of the coil might be dry before dehumidification starts (idealized

example : 1→2)
• A portion of the coil might be wet during dehumidification (idealized
example: 2→3)
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 9

Heat and Mass Transfer

Consider a wetted portion of area dA:

[Stoecker and Jones]

• Air side heat transfer rate:

h dAha  hi  1
dq  c (1) hr
c pm
This relates to the total heat transfer
(sensible and latent) – Refer to the
section on enthalpy potential in
Psychometrics
If no condensation of water occurs on the
air side, we can work only with the
• Refrigerant side heat transfer: sensible heat transfer component:
1
dq  hr dAi t i  t r 
1 1 dq  t a  tr 
(2)   rconduction  rwaterfilm
hr hi
1

1
h r Ai h c A a

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 10

Heat and Mass Transfer

Combining Eqns. (1) and (2):

ti  t r hc dAa

ha  hi c pm hr dAi

hc Aa
Define ratio R: R
c pm hr Ai
(3)
ti  t r
thus : R
ha  hi [Stoecker and Jones]

• It is important to be able to calculate ti

(temperature at the wetted surface air interface)

• The enthalpy of the saturated air at the

water surface can be expressed as:
•This is for Pt = 101.325 kPa
hi  9.3625  1.7861t i  0.01135t i2  0.00098855 t i3 (4a) via curve fit of saturated air
COOLPROP: HAPROPSSI(“H”,”T”,T_i,”R”,1,”P”,P_t) (4b) data : (This is an approximation
to the values for saturated air)
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
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06. 11

Heat and Mass Transfer

hi  9.3625  1.7861t i  0.01135t i2  0.00098855 t i3 (4a)
COOLPROP: HAPROPSSI(“H”,”T”,T_i,”R”,1,”P”,P_t) (4b)
Curve fit of saturated air
t h (Eq.3a) h (CoolProp) t h (Eq.3a) h (CoolProp)
data at 101.325 kPa
[C] [kJ/kg] [J/kg] [C] [kJ/kg] [J/kg]
5 18.7 18639.7 21 61.031 61038.1
Enthalpy of Saturated Air at Wetted Surface
6 20.701 20644.5 22 64.676 64664.0
140
7 22.76 22714.6 23 68.475 68444.6 (3a)
8 24.884 24853.6 24 72.432 72388.5 120
9 27.077 27065.5 25 76.555 76504.5 100
10 29.347 29354.5 26 80.848 80801.9

h i [kJ/kg]
11 31.699 31724.9 27 85.319 85290.5 80
12 34.138 34181.2 28 89.972 89980.8 60
13 36.672 36728.3 29 94.814 94883.6
14 39.305 39371.3 30 99.851 100010.5 40
15 42.044 42115.4 31 105.089 105373.7 20
16 44.895 44966.3 32 110.533 110986.3
17 47.863 47929.7 33 116.189 116861.7 0
18 50.955 51012.0 34 122.064 123014.6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
t i [C]
19 54.176 54219.5 35 128.164 129460.4
20 57.533 57559.2

• With a known R value and (eqn. 3), the film temperature can ti  t r
R
be obtained iteratively if the air condition and refrigerant ha  hi
condition is known.
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 12

Heat and Mass Transfer

Example 1
At a position in a cooling and dehumidification coil which has an R = 0.22,
ha = 85.5 kJ/kg and tr = 9ºC, what is the water film temperature and the
enthalpy of the saturated air at this film? (ti and hi)
t h (Eq.3) h (CoolProp) t h (Eq.3) h (CoolProp)
[C] [kJ/kg] [J/kg] [C] [kJ/kg] [J/kg]
5 18.7 18639.7 21 61.031 61038.1
6 20.701 20644.5 22 64.676 64664.0
7 22.76 22714.6 23 68.475 68444.6
8 24.884 24853.6 24 72.432 72388.5
9 27.077 27065.5 25 76.555 76504.5
10 29.347 29354.5 26 80.848 80801.9
11 31.699 31724.9 27 85.319 85290.5
12 34.138 34181.2 28 89.972 89980.8
13 36.672 36728.3 29 94.814 94883.6
14 39.305 39371.3 30 99.851 100010.5
15 42.044 42115.4 31 105.089 105373.7
16 44.895 44966.3 32 110.533 110986.3
17 47.863 47929.7 33 116.189 116861.7
18 50.955 51012.0 34 122.064 123014.6
19 54.176 54219.5 35 128.164 129460.4
20 57.533 57559.2

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 13

Heat and Mass Transfer

Calculating the surface length needed in a coil:

With the previous method, the coil length can be

determined for known values of:
• Air inlet conditions
• Air outlet conditions
• Flow rate of air
• Refrigerant temperature (local temperature)
• Heat transfer coefficients

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

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06. 14

Heat and Mass Transfer

Example 2
A counter flow chilled-water coil is used to cool 2 kg/s of air from an
entering condition of 30˚C DB and 21˚C WB to a wet-bulb temperature of
13˚C (assume saturated).
Chilled water enters at 7˚C and leaves at 12˚C. The outside-to-inside area
ratio is 16:1. hc = 40 W/m2K , hr = 2000 W/m2K, cpm = 1.02 kJ/kgK.

Calculate the following:

• Required coil surface area.
• Dry-bulb temperature of leaving air.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

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06. 15

Heat and Mass Transfer

Compare our Case (A) with another, Case (B)

Our Case A Case B Consider Our Case:
ba3 (WB temp.) 13ºC 13ºC
Larger Area ? : Due to lower heat transfer
m
 2 kg/s 2.5 kg/s coefficients offset by influence of lower mass
hc 40 W/m2K 55 W/m2K flow rate. (if the mass flow rate was held
hr 2000 W/m2K 3000 W/m2K constant at 2.5 kg/s, the area would have been
even larger at 135.25 m2)
Atot (air side) 108.2 m2 94.7 m2
qtot 47.76 kW 59.7 kW
Lower Heat? : Due to lower air mass flow
ta3 (DB temp.) 13.63ºC 13.72ºC rate (If mass rate was held at 2.5 kg/s the
heat flow rate would be the same, given that
the air inlet and outlet conditions are the
same)

Similar DB outlet temp? : Examples are based

on the same WB outlet temperatures of 13ºC and
the assumption that the exit air is saturated.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 16

Moisture Removal
What is the rate of moisture removal inside the coil?

• Normally the energy component for this is very small and can be
neglected (Just check relative sizes) .

Water removal rate = m Wa1  Wa 2 

hc A12
Also, water removal rate = c pm
Wa  Wi 

hc A12  1 1 
Thus : m Wa1  Wa 2    Wa1  Wa 2   Wi1  Wi 2  
c pm  2 2 

• Use Psychometrics and enthalpy and drybulb temperature for

Wi and solve Wa2.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 17

Actual Coil Condition Curve

[Stoecker and Jones]

[ASHRAE]

• Curved line with a gradient getting steeper?

• Why?
• The wetted surface temperature reduces as the flow continues
down the coil (compare film temperatures in Example 2: ti3 < ti2 <
ti1.)
• Heat flux is highest at air inlet and reduces towards outlet.
(Compare areas from Example 2: A12 < A23)
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 18

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

• In Example 2 we had the outlet conditions (to simplify the example)

• However, generally outlet conditions are not known and depend on
the operating conditions.
• With the methods described earlier, the outlet conditions for a given
coil length can be estimated.

• If the refrigerant temperature is constant, it is easy to divide the coil

into equal lengths and then solve a number of equations
simultaneously to obtain the following variables:
• heat transfer q [W]
• enthalpy of air ha [kJ/kg]
• enthalpy of saturated air at wetted surface, hi [kJ/kg]
• temperature of saturated air at the wetted surface ti [C]

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 19

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

t r  known
[Stoecker and Jones]

Between segments k and l (for instance, 1 and 2 in Example 2):

qkl  m ha ,k  ha ,l  (a) = unknowns
hc Akl  1 
 ha ,k  ha ,l   hi ,k  hi ,l 
1
qkl 
c pm  2 2  (b)
hr Akl 1 
 ti ,k  ti ,l   t r ,k  t r ,l 
1
qkl  (c) t r , k  t r ,l  const
A Ai 2 2 
hi  9.3625  1.7861ti  0.01135ti2  0.00098855ti3 (d) for 101.325 kPa (applied twice: at point k and at l)
ti  t r
R (e)
ha  hi

The dry-bulb temperature can be solved using the sensible heat transfer on the air
 pmta ,l  12 Akl hc  ta ,l  ti ,k  ti ,l 
side as we did in example 2: t  mc
a ,k
 pm  12 Akl hc
mc
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
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06. 20

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

t r  known
Refer to Screen Example using Excel to solve the four unknowns
simultaneously.
{If Excel is used, a circular reference is needed whereby an equation in a cell refers back
to its own value. Under normal conditions circular references is reported by Excel as an
error. Consult the help function on “iterations” to resolve a “circular reference, by which
excel will solve the equation iteratively until the solution converges.}

Any other programing language (such as matlab / octave / python / EES / VB)
can also be used. Use the method with which you are the most confident in for
the assignment.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

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06. 21

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

t r  known
For an arbitrary coil (using only one division) and air inlet temperature, and water inlet
and outlet temperatures at different air flow rates:
18 35000
The following is known
16
30000
and fixed:
Exit Air Temp [C] / Refrigerant

14

Heat Tranfer Rate [W]

12
25000 t r ,out t r ,in ha ,in t a ,in
Mass Rate [kg/s]

10 20000
Exit DB Air Temp
8 Refrigerant Mass Rate 15000
6 Heat Transfer Rate
10000 The required water flow
4
2
5000 rate determined with:
q
0 0
m r 
0 1 2 3 4 5 c p t r ,out  t r ,in 
Air Mass Flow Rate [kg/s]
(no phase change occurring, for phase
change use enthalpy instead of temperature)

• As can be seen, the water flow rate has to change in order for the
heat transfer rate energy balance to be satisfied.
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
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06. 22

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

t r  unknown
Accommodation of refrigerant temperature rise
• Extend the previous set of six equations to seven equations in
order to also solve for the exit refrigerant temperature:
qkl  m ha ,k  ha ,l  (a) = unknowns
hc Akl 1 
 ha ,k  ha ,l   hi ,k  hi ,l 
1
qkl 
c pm 2 2  (b)
hr Akl  1 
 ti ,k  ti ,l   t r ,k  t r ,l 
1
qkl  (c)
A Ai  2 2 
hi  9.3625  1.7861ti  0.01135ti2  0.00098855ti3 (d) for 101.325 kPa (applied twice: at point k and at l)
ti  t r
R (e)
ha  hi

qkl
t r ,k  t r ,l  (f) Assuming refrigerant mass flow is known
c p ,r m r

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 23

Solving for the Outlet Conditions

t r  unknown
• Consider a case (using only one division) where the outlet
air temperature is to be kept constant and the air flow
rate is changed (such as in VAV):

What is the required refrigerant Lower Air flow rate =

flow rate to sustain this? • Lower cooling coil heat rate (linear
relation)
35 60000
Ta1 =31C
hc = 70 W/m2K
hr = 3000 W/m2K
• Lower refrigeration flow rate needed
30 Ta2 = 12C
Exit Ref Tempe [C] / Refrigerant

50000
A = 30 m2
A/Ai =1.1
• Higher refrigeration exit temp (linear
25

Heat Tranfer Rate [W]

40000 relation) due to lower refrigerant flow
Flow Rate [kg/s]

20 rate
30000
15 Higher Air flow rate =
Refrigerant Exit Temp 20000
10 Refrigerant Flow Rate • Higher cooling coil heat rate (linear
5
Heat Transfer 10000 relation)
0 0 • Higher refrigeration flow rate needed (non
1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 linear)
Air Mass Flow Rate [kg/s]
• Lower refrigerant exit temp (linear
relation) due to higher refrigerant flow rate
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 24

Partially Wet Coil

[Stoecker and Jones]

[Stoecker and Jones]

Self-study for those who are interested (will not be examined) :
• Analyse each section (dry or wetted) separately:

• When dry: q  hc A  ta  ti  (only sensible heat transfer)

hc A
• When wetted: q   ha  hi  (heat and mass transfer)
c pm

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 25

Bypass Factor
Used to express a cooling coils efficiency:
t a ,outlet  ti ,outlet
BPF 
t a ,inlet  ti ,outlet
(Often needed as an input in a modelling program)

• How close is the exit air condition to the saturation condition at

the ADT (Apparatus Dew Temperature) ?
• The lower the factor is, the more efficient the cooling coil is.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

[Stoecker and Jones]
Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 26

Catalogues
• Catalogues generally only list a few operating condition performance
data points.
• The performance data is measured from an actual cooling coil (good
accuracy) .
• Generally NOT fully counter-flow.

Adjustments are needed if your operating conditions are different from

catalogue conditions. (especially for atmospheric conditions)
• Use heat transfer and mass transfer basics
• Or consult manufacturer.
• Or use experience.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 27

Extract from a Catalogue

TRANE Chilled Water Fan Coil Unit Model:HFCA, Size 03-14

EAT = Entering Air

Temperature
WTR = Water
Temperature Rise

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese
06. 28

Summary
• In this section we will covered coils operating with secondary
refrigerants.
• We considered:
• Determination of the wetted surface temperature
• Calculation of required surface areas for a given change in air
and secondary refrigerant thermodynamic states
• Calculation of exit air state for a given operating point with
known secondary refrigerant temperatures
• Calculation of both the exit states of the air and secondary
refrigerant for a known operating state.

Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Departement Meganiese en Lugvaartkundige Ingenieurswese