MEC653

HVAC SYSTEMS
CHAPTER 3
PSHYCHROMETRY

PSHYCHROMETRY OF AIR
Psychrometry is the science dealing with the physical laws of air water
mixtures.

The molecular mass of dry air is taken as 28.97 M kg/kmol and the ideal gas
constant is 0.2871 kJ/kgK.

Constituent

By volume

By mass

Nitrogen

78.03%

75.47%

Oxygen

20.99%

23.19%

Argon

0.94%

1.29%

Carbon dioxide

0.03%

0.05%

Hydrogen

0.01%

DRY & ATMOSPHERIC AIR

Daltons law of partial pressure states that the total pressure of the gases is the
sum of their partial pressures

P Pa Pv
From the definition of relative humidity the mass and enthalpy of mixture can be
expressed as:

mv
m ma mv ma 1
ma

ma 1

H m H a H v ma ha mv hv
h

ha hv
ma
ma
ma

Equation

ha C paT

hv 2501.3 1.82T

RELATIVE HUMIDITY
RH is a measure of the amount of moisture the air holds relative to the maximum
amount the air can hold at the same temperature.
The relative humidity can be expressed as the ratio of the vapor pressure to the
saturation pressure of water at that temperature.

mv Pv

mg Pg

SPECIFIC HUMIDITY
Specific humidity (also called absolute humidity or humidity ratio) is the mass of
water vapor present in 1 kg of dry air i.e. the ratio of mass of water vapor to the
mass of dry air

mv
Pv

0.622
ma
P Pv
Using the definition of the specific humidity, the relative humidity may be
expressed as

0.622 Pg

and

0.622Pg
P Pg

AIR TEMPERATURES

DBT is the ordinary temperature of atmospheric

air.
WBT is temperature measured by using a
thermometer whose bulb is covered with a
cotton wick saturated with water.
DPT is the temperature at which vapor
condenses when cooled at constant pressure.

PSHYCHROMERIC CHART

AIR MIXTURE

SENSIBLE AND LATENT HEAT

Sensible heat heat that causes a change in temperature.
Latent heat - heat that causes a change of state with no change in temperature.

AIR QUANTITY

CAV

VAV

TONS OF REFRIGERATION