CH-2.

GAS -VAPOR MIXTURES

By: Gashaw A.

March 17,2020 1
 Brainstorming

Q#1.what is the difference between gas and

vapor?
Q#2. what is the difference between dry and
atmospheric air?
Q#3. why we need to study about atmospheric
air ?
Q#4. Mention a city that have a comfortable air
condition in Ethiopia?

March 17,2020 2
 Objectives

Differentiate between dry air and atmospheric air.

Define and calculate the specific and relative humidity of
atmospheric air.
Calculate the dew-point temperature of atmospheric air.
Relate the adiabatic saturation temperature and wet-bulb
temperatures of atmospheric air.

Use the psychrometric chart as a tool to determine the

properties of atmospheric air.

Apply the principles of the conservation of mass and energy to

various air-conditioning processes

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 DRY AND ATMOSPHERIC AIR
Air in the atmosphere normally contains some
water vapor (or moisture) and is referred to as
atmospheric air.
Atmospheric air is the most commonly
encountered gas–vapor mixture in practice.
 Air that contains no water vapor is called dry air.
Although the amount of water vapor in the air is
small, it plays a major role in human comfort.
Therefore, it is an important consideration in air-
conditioning applications.
March 17,2020 4
The temperature of air in air-conditioning
applications ranges from about -10 to 50°C.
In this range both dry air and atmospheric air
(including water-vapor) can be treated as
ideal gas, with negligible error. Thus the
ideal-gas relation Pv = RT can be applied.
The partial pressures of atmospheric air are:

March 17,2020 5
The enthalpy of dry-air with cp = 1.005
kJ/kg.°C (in the range of interest) ; one
obtains:

The enthalpy of water vapor at 0°C is 2500.9

kJ/kg. The average cp value of water vapor in the
temperature range of -10 to 50°C can be taken to
be 1.82 kJ/kg.°C. Then the enthalpy of water
vapor can be determined from:
hg = 2500.9 + 1.82 T (kJ/kg)
March 17,2020 6
SPECIFIC AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AIR

 The amount of water vapor in the air can

be specified in various ways.
 The mass of water vapor present in a unit
mass of dry air is called absolute or
specific humidity (also called humidity
ratio) and is denoted by ω:
or

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 Consider 1 kg of dry air. By definition, dry air
contains no water vapor, and thus its specific
humidity is zero.
 Now let us add some water vapor to this dry
air. The specific humidity will increase.
 As more vapor or moisture is added, the
specific humidity will keep increasing until
the air can hold no more moisture.
 At this point, the air is said to be saturated
with moisture, and it is called saturated air.
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• The relative humidity is defined as the
ratio of the mass of the water vapor to the
maximum amount of water vapor the air
can hold at the same temperature.

The relative humidity can also be expressed in terms

of absolute or specific humidity:

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 The relative humidity ranges from 0 for dry
air to 1 for saturated air.
 Note that the amount of moisture air can
hold depends on its temperature. Therefore,
the relative humidity of air changes with
temperature even when its specific humidity
remains constant.

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 ENTHALPY OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR

• Total enthalpy of atmospheric air is the sum of

the enthalpies of dry air and the water vapor:
• In most practical applications, the amount of
dry air in the air–water-vapor mixture remains
constant, but the amount of water vapor
changes.
• Therefore, the enthalpy of atmospheric air is
expressed per unit mass of dry air instead of
per unit mass of the air–water vapor mixture.

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The enthalpy of water-vapor in atmospheric air
can be considered as saturated vapor,
hv = hg ; Hence:

But ha = CpT

Hence, h = CpT + ω hg
March 17,2020 12
 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.

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 Example:
•1.  The air at 25and 100kpa in a 150 room has a
relative humidity of 60%. Calculate (a) the
humidity ratio, (b) the dew point, (c) the mass of
water vapor in the air, and (d) the mole fraction
of the water vapor.

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2. An air-conditioning unit is shown in Fig.
below with pressure, temperature, and relative
humidity data. Calculate the heat transfer per
kilogram of dry air, assuming that changes in
kinetic energy are negligible.

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ADIABATIC SATURATION
 Adiabatic saturation process is a process used to
determine the absolute or relative humidity.
 The system consists of a long insulated channel
that contains a pool of water.
 A steady stream of unsaturated air that has ω1
(unknown) and T1 is passed through this channel.

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 As the air flows over the water, some water
evaporates and mixes with the airstream.
 The moisture content(ω) of air increases during
this process, and its temperature decreases,
since part of the latent heat of vaporization of
the water that evaporates comes from the air.
 If the channel is long enough, the airstream
exits as saturated air (ø = 100%) at temperature
T2, which is called the adiabatic saturation
temperature.

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 The process involves no heat or work
interactions, and the kinetic and potential energy
changes can be neglected.
 Then the conservation of mass and conservation
of energy relations for this two-inlet and one-exit
steady-flow system reduces to the following:

Mass balance:

(The mass flow rate of dry air remains constant and

The mass flow rate of vapor in the air increases by
an amount equal to the rate of evaporation mf )
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OR

Energy balance:

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 Thus we conclude that the specific humidity
(and relative humidity) of air can be determined
from the above equations, by measuring the
pressure and temperature of air at the inlet and
the exit of an adiabatic saturator.
 The adiabatic saturation process discussed
above provides a means of determining the
absolute or relative humidity of air, but it
requires a long channel or a spray mechanism to
achieve saturation conditions at the exit.
March 17,2020 20
 wet-bulb temperature Twb

 The temperature of an
air measured by a
thermometer whose
bulb is covered with a
cotton wick saturated
with water. This
temperature is the
same as the adiabatic
saturation
temperature, T2.
March 17,2020 21
 Sling Psychrometer: a rotating set of
thermometers one of which measures wet
bulb temperature Twb and the other dry bulb
temperature Tdb which are sufficient to fix the
state of the mixture.

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 Dry-bulb temperature
 dry-bulb temperature refers simply to the
temperature that would be measured by a
thermometer placed in the mixture. Often a
wet-bulb thermometer is mounted together
with a dry-bulb thermometer to form an
instrument called a psychrometer.

March 17,2020 23
 In general, the adiabatic saturation temperature
and the wet-bulb temperature are not the same.
 However, for air–water vapor mixtures at
atmospheric pressure, the wet-bulb temperature
happens to be approximately equal to the
adiabatic saturation temperature.
 Therefore, the wet-bulb temperature Twb can be
used in the above Eq in place of T2 to
determine the specific humidity of air.
March 17,2020 24
 Example

1. The dry- and wet-bulb temperatures of

atmospheric
air at 95 kPa are 25 and 17°C, respectively.
Determine
(a) The specific humidity,
(b) The relative humidity, and
(c) The enthalpy of the air, in kJ/kg dry air.

March 17,2020 25
2. The air in a room has a dry-bulb
temperature of 22°C and a wet-bulb
temperature of 16°C. Assuming a pressure of
100 kPa, determine
(a) the specific humidity,
(b) the relative humidity, and
(c) the dew-point temperature.

March 17,2020 26
 THE PSYCHROMETRIC CHART
and
PSYCHROMETRIC PROPERTIES

 The study of systems involving dry air and

water vapor is known as psychrometrics.
 Graphical representations of several
important properties of moist air (atm. air)
are provided by psychrometric charts.

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 Common properties used in the
Psychrometric chart includes
dry-bulb temperature Tdb
wet-bulb temperature Twb
relative humidity (ø, RH)
humidity ratio, ω
specific volume, v
dew point temperature Tdp
enthalpy, h

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The chart which is most commonly used is the
ω-t chart, i.e. a chart which has specific
humidity or water vapor pressure along the
ordinate and the dry bulb temperature along
the abscissa.
The chart is normally constructed for a
standard atmospheric pressure of 760 mm Hg
or 101.325 Kpa, corresponding to the pressure
at the mean sea level.
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March 17,2020 30
CONSTANT PROPERTY LINES ON A
PSYCHROMETRIC CHART

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 1. Saturation Line (ø=100%)

• The saturation line represents the states of

saturated air at different temperatures.
• consider an atmosphere at 20 oC, 1atm and
saturation:
pv = øPg , ø =1
Pg =Psat@T = 2.342 Kpa = Pv

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March 17,2020 33
 2. Relative Humidity Lines

 The relative humidity lines are curved lines

and follow the saturation curve.
 Generally, these lines are drawn with
values 10%, 20%, 30% etc. up to 100%.
 The saturation curve represents 100%
relative humidity.
 The values of relative humidity lines are
generally given along the lines themselves.

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The lines on psychrometric chart for any other
desired value of RH can be constructed as
follows.
1. At the given Tdb find pv corresponding to
RH=100% which is psat@T.
2. Pv for the new RH is obtained by multiplying the
new RH by the Pv corresponding RH=100%.
• Then find ω using the new Pv ;

• Then the intersection point of the line from the

new ω and the vertical line from the given Tdb is
the RH on the psychrometric
March 17,2020
chart. 36
 Psat @20 0C= pv = 2.3397 and the new pv =
2.3397 * 50% =1.16985 (from property table
The for water)
ω values are obtained from the relation:

March 17,2020 37
 3. Constant Specific Volume Lines

The constant specific volumes lines are

obliquely inclined straight lines and
uniformly spaced.

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 4. Wet Bulb Temperature Lines
 The wet bulb temperature lines are inclined straight
lines and non-uniformly spaced as shown in Figure.
 The values are read on the saturation curve following
the inclined straight lines.
 Any point on the saturation curve have the same dry
bulb and wet bulb temperature values.

March 17,2020 39
 5. Constant Enthalpy Lines
 The enthalpy lines are inclined straight lines and
uniformly spaced as shown in Figure. These lines are
parallel to the wet bulb temperature lines, and are drawn
up to the saturation curve. Some of these lines coincide
with the wet bulb temperature lines also.
 The values of total enthalpy are given on a scale above the
saturation curve as shown in the Figure.

March 17,2020 40
 Example
The air in a room has a pressure of 1 atm, a dry-bulb
temperature of 24°C, and a wet-bulb temperature of
17°C.Using the psychrometric chart, determine
(a) the specific humidity,
(b) the enthalpy (in kJ/kg dry air),
(c) the relative humidity,
(d)the dew-point temperature, and
(e) the specific volume of the air (in m3/kg dry air).

March 17,2020 41
 HUMAN COMFORT AND AIR-CONDITIONING

The comfort of the human body depends

primarily on three factors:
 the (dry-bulb) temperature [22 - 27°C (72-
80°F)],
 relative humidity(40 to 60 percent), and
 air motion (about 15 m/min).
March 17,2020 42
 AIR-CONDITIONING PROCESSES

Maintaining a living space or an industrial facility

at the desired temperature and humidity requires
some processes called air-conditioning processes.
These processes include;
 simple heating (raising the temperature),
 simple cooling (lowering the temperature),
 humidifying (adding moisture), and
 dehumidifying (removing moisture).
 Sometimes two or more of these processes are
needed to bring the air to a desired temperature
and humidity level.
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 Most air-conditioning processes can be
modeled as steady-flow processes, and thus
the mass balance relation can be expressed
for dry air and water as

March 17,2020 45
 And disregarding the kinetic and potential
energy changes, the steady-flow energy
balance relation can be expressed in this
case as

March 17,2020 46
 Simple Heating and Cooling
(ω = constant)

• Heating

 No moisture is added to or removed from the air (the specific humidity o

the air remains constant)
 The dry-bulb temperature increases.

 The relative humidity of air decreases during a heating process because

the moisture capacity increases with temperature.
• Heating can be accomplished by passing the air over some heating coils.

March 17,2020 47
 Cooling

 No moisture is added to or removed from the air (the

specific humidity of the air remains constant)
 The dry-bulb temperature decreases.
 The relative humidity increases.

• Cooling can be accomplished by passing the air over some

coils through which a refrigerant or chilled water flows.

March 17,2020 48
where h1 and h2 are enthalpies per unit mass of dry
air at the inlet and the exit of the heating or cooling
section, respectively.
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 Heating with Humidification

 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),

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 If steam is introduced in the humidification section, this will
result in humidification with additional heating (T3 > T2).
 If humidification is accomplished by spraying water into the
airstream, part of the latent heat of vaporization comes from the
air, which results in the cooling of the heated airstream (T3 <
T2). Air should be heated to a higher temperature in the heating
section in this case to make up for the cooling effect during the
humidification process.

March 17,2020 51
 Cooling with Dehumidification

 The specific humidity of air remains constant

during a simple cooling process, but its relative
humidity increases.
 If the relative humidity reaches undesirably high
levels, it may be necessary to remove some
moisture from the air, that is, to dehumidify it.

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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

March 17,2020 53
 Evaporative Cooling
 Cooling in hot, relatively dry climates can be
accomplished by evaporative cooling.
 This process is based on a simple principle:
As water evaporates, the latent heat of
vaporization is absorbed from the water body
and the surrounding air. As a result, both the
water and the air are cooled during the
process.

March 17,2020 54
 Adiabatic Mixing of Airstreams

 Many air-conditioning applications require

the mixing of two airstreams.
 This is particularly true for large buildings,
most production and process plants, and
hospitals.
 The heat transfer with the surroundings is
usually small, and thus the mixing processes
can be assumed to be adiabatic.

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The mass and energy balances for the adiabatic
mixing of two airstreams reduce to

March 17,2020 56
when two airstreams at two different states (states 1 and 2)
are mixed adiabatically, the state of the mixture (state 3)
lies on the straight line connecting states 1 and 2 on the
psychrometric chart, and the ratio of the distances 2-3 and
3-1 is equal to the ratio of mass flow rates ma1 and ma2.

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 COOLING TOWERS

 Power plants, large air-conditioning systems, and some

industries generate large quantities of waste heat that is often
rejected to cooling water from nearby lakes or rivers.
 In some cases, however, the cooling water supply is limited or
thermal pollution is a serious concern.
 In such cases, the waste heat must be rejected to the
atmosphere, with cooling water recirculating and serving as a
transport medium for heat transfer between the source and the
sink (the atmosphere). One way of achieving this is through the
use of wet cooling towers.

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An induced-draft counter-flow cooling tower A natural-draft cooling tower.

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 Example

•An  air conditioner operating at steady state takes in

moist air at 28, 1 bar, and 70% relative humidity.
The moist air first passes over a cooling coil in the
dehumidifier unit and some water vapor is
condensed. The rate of heat transfer between the
moist air and the cooling coil is 40KW. Saturated
moist air and condensate streams exit the
dehumidifier unit at the same temperature. The moist
air then passes through a heating unit, exiting at 24,
1 bar, and 40% relative humidity.
March 17,2020 60
•Neglecting
  kinetic and potential energy effects,
determine
(a) the temperature of the moist air exiting the
dehumidifier unit, in .
(b) the volumetric flow rate of the air entering the
air conditioner, in m3/min.
(c) the rate water is condensed, in kg/min.
(d) the rate of heat transfer to the air passing
through the heating unit, in kW.

March 17,2020 61
• Air
2.   at 38and 10% relative humidity enters an
evaporative cooler with a volumetric flow rate of
140 m3/min. Moist air exits the cooler at 21. Water
is added to the soaked pad of the cooler as a liquid
at 21and evaporates fully into the moist air. There is
no heat transfer with the surroundings and the
pressure is constant throughout at 1 atm. Determine
(a)the mass flow rate of the water to the soaked
pad, in kg/s, and
(b)the relative humidity of the moist air at the exit
to the evaporative cooler
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March 17,2020 63
2. The cooling water from the condenser of a power
plant enters a wet cooling tower at 40°C at a rate of 90
kg/s. The water is cooled to 25°C in the cooling tower
by air that enters the tower at 1 atm, 23°C, and 60
percent relative humidity and leaves saturated at 32°C.
Neglecting the power input to the fan, determine
(a) the volume flow rate of air into the cooling tower
and (b) the mass flow rate of the required makeup
water.

March 17,2020 64
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