Psychrometrics

Edited for Power Point by Paul

Aakre, Assistant Professor, U of M,
Crookston

Introduction
Information taken from Psychrometric
Instructional Package by W. Forrest Bear,
Professor, Department of Agricultural
Engineering at the University of
Minnesota.
Written for presentation at the 1989
International Winter Meeting sponsored
by the American Society of Agricultural
Engineers.

Overview
Controlling the moisture level in the
atmosphere is an important aspect of
maintaining a desirable environment in
buildings.
The processes which most often occur are
ventilation, cooling, heating or controlling
the humidity.
The psychrometric chart includes lines
which represent all of the physical and
thermal properties of moist air.

What is psychrometrics?
Psychrometrics is the relationship of the
physical and thermal properties of an airvapor mixture.

What is an air-vapor mixture?

1. Air with both moisture and heat.
2. Amount of moisture the air can hold is
dependent on the amount of heat.

What are the properties of

the mixture?

CLOUD

MOISTURE

SUN

HEAT

Water vapor is moisture in the air.

Dry air has no moisture.

1. What is a dry bulb temperature?

A. It is measured with an ordinary
thermometer.
B. It is independent of moisture.
C. It is located on the X axis of a
psychometric chart.

200F

DRY BULB

1000F

2. What is absolute humidity?

A. It is the ratio of the weight of moisture .030
contained in 1 lb. of dry air.
B. It is the lbs. water / lb. of dry air.
C. It is located on the Y axis of the chart.

.000

3. What is the saturation curve?

A. It includes the wet bulb and dew point
temperatures.
B. It completes the psychrometric chart
outline.
Saturation Curve
Y
Axis

X Axis

4. What is the wet bulb temperature?

A. The temperature at which an
equilibrium exists between an air-vapor
mixture and water.
B. It is dependent on moisture in the air.
C. Values are on the saturation
curve.
800
D. The lines slope
700
Y
downward to the
640
Axis
X axis.
500
380

X Axis

5. How do you determine the

wet bulb temperature?
A. Obtain a sling psychrometer.
B. It has two thermometers.
C. One thermometer has a wetted wick
around its bulb.
D. The other thermometer has its bulb
exposed to the air.
E. The sling psychrometer is whipped
through the air stream.

6. How is the sling psychrometer

constructed?
Dry Bulb Thermometer

Wick
Wet Bulb Thermometer
Handle

7. What does the reading tell you?

A. If the wet bulb temperature is lower
than the dry bulb the air-vapor mixture is
unsaturated.
B. If the wet bulb temperature is the
same as the dry bulb the air-vapor is
saturated.

8. What happens to the wet bulb

temperature when the relative
humidity decreases?
Dry Bulb

Wet Bulb

Relative
Humidity

68

67

95

68

66

90

68

63

76

68

58

55

68

48

17

9. What is dew point?

A. It is the temperature at which condensation
occurs as heat is removed from an air-vapor
mixture.
B. The answer is read on the saturation curve
horizontally to the left of the
80
point where the dry bulb and
wet bulb meet.
65
50

10. What is absolute humidity?

A. It is the weight of water in 1 lb. of dry
air.
B. It is also called Humidity Ratio or
Specific Humidity.
.016
.012
.008

.004

11. What is relative humidity?

A. It is the ratio of actual pressure of
water vapor in the air to the pressure if
the air were saturated and with a
constant temperature.
60%
30%

100%

20%

12. What are enthalpy lines?

A. Enthalpy is a thermal (heat) property.
B. It is the heat in an air vapor mixture.
C. Lines are parallel to the wet bulb temp.
lines.
D. Values are in BTUs per lbs. dry air.
BTUs per lb.
30
of dry air
20

35

13. What is specific volume?

A. The volume occupied by 1 lb. of dry air.
B. It represents the cu. ft. / lb. of dry air.
C. The values are read below the dry bulb
readings.
D. Cooler, dryer air

= less volume reqd

13.0

13.5

14.0

14.5

Specific Volume = cu. ft. / lb. dry air

The psychrometric chart

has seven lines.

Enthalpy
F

Wet Bulb &

Saturation Curve
G
D

Dew Point E

A Absolute
Humidity Axis

D
Relative
Humidity
B Specific Volume
C
Dry Bulb Axis

Using the psychrometric chart

G
F

D
A

E
D

You have been learning by looking at one line at a time.

Take the psychrometric chart given you. You will notice that it has
many lines. Dont panic. Find the values.

Psychrometric calculators
The following Web address may be used to
secure a computerized digital calculator.
www.linric.com

Problem No. 1
The dry bulb reading is 78 and the wet bulb is 58.
Using the chart determine the following values. What
is the:
a. Relative Humidity?
28 percent

b. Dew Point?
42 degrees

c. Absolute Humidity?
.0056 lbs water/lb dry air

d. Specific Volume?
13.65 cu.ft. / lb dry air

e. Enthalphy?
25 BTUs / lbs. dry air

Problem No. 2
The dry bulb reading is 78 and the wet bulb is 65.
Using the chart determine the following values. What
is the:
Relative Humidity?
50 percent

Dew Point?
57.8 degrees

Absolute Humidity?
.0102 lbs. water / lb. dry air

Specific Volume?
13.78 cu. ft. / lb. dry air

Enthalphy?
30 BTUs / lbs. dry air

Problem No. 3
The dry bulb reading is 70 and the wet bulb is 54.
Using the chart determine the following values. What
is the:
Relative Humidity?
33 percent

Dew Point?
40 degrees

Absolute Humidity?
.0050 lbs. water / lb. dry air

Specific Volume?
13.45 cu. ft. / lb. dry air

Enthalphy?
22.5 BTUs / lbs. dry air

Problem No. 4
The dry bulb reading is 85 and the wet bulb is 60.
Using the chart determine the following values. What
is the:
Relative Humidity?
22 percent

Dew Point?
41 degrees

Absolute Humidity?
.0055 lbs. water / lb. dry air

Specific Volume?
13.85 cu. ft. / lb. dry air

Enthalphy?
26.5 BTUs / lbs. dry air

Use of the psychrometric

chart
A. You have had four practice problems and if
need be you can do more problems later.
B. When you listen to the weather report on
the radio or watch it on television the two basic
facts are the dry bulb and the relative humidity.
C. This is done because the relative humidity
recorders are more automated than the sling
psychrometer.
Repeat the previous problems to prove that
those two values will provide the same answers.

1. What happens during heating

and cooling?
A. There is no change in the absolute humidity of the
air-vapor mixture.
B. Cooling occurs from right to left.
C. Heating occurs from left to right.
D. There is a change in the sensible heat
of the air-vapor mixture.
E. Heat must be added or subtracted
to cause the temperature
change.
Cooling
Heating

Dry Bulb Temperature

2. Sensible heat required to raise the

temperature of an air-vapor mixture.
Calculate the amount of sensible heat that must
be added to 10 lb. of air at 55 dry-bulb and
40% relative humidity to raise the temperature
of the air to 90F dry bulb.
H2

Enthalpy
H1

40%

55

Degrees F

90

Steps to follow to solve the problem

A. Locate the 55 dry bulb and 40% R. Humidity point.
B. Follow the enthalpies line to H1.
C. Move from point established in (A), right to 90 on a
horizontal constant water content line.
H2
D. Follow enthalpies line H2.
E. H2 = 25.9 BTUs/lb dry air. Enthalpy
F. H1 = 17.5 BTUs/lb dry air.
H1

40%

55

Degrees F

90

Solution
Quantity
Quantity
Quantity
Quantity

=
=
=
=

W (H(2) - H(1))
10# (25.9 - 17.5)
10# (8.4)
84 BTUs

H2

Enthalpies
H1

40%

55

Degrees F

90

Would you be more comfortable

in this atmosphere?
The relative humidity is now 12%.
The 84 BTUs can be added by humidification.
H2

Enthalpies
H1

40%

55

Degrees F

90

What is humidification and

dehumidification?
A. Humidification adds moisture to the air
which increase the absolute humidity.
B. Dehumidificaiton remove moisture from the
air which decrease the absolute
humidity.

Dehumidification
Humidification

4. How is humidity increased?

A. Water is added in vapor form.
B. Water is converted from liquid to gas.
C. There is an increase in the energy level.

Humidification

5. How is humidity decreased?

A. There is a change from gas to liquid.
B. There is a decrease in the energy level.
C. With the loss of energy, condensation
occurs.

Dehumidification

6. What is latent heat?

A. The amount of heat added or taken away to cause the
change of state in humidification or dehumidification.
B. The change occurs without a change in temperature.
C. Latent heat is heat needed to change from a liquid to a
gas or the heat released in a change from a gas to a liquid.
D. The latent heat of vaporization for
water is 970 BTUs/lb. at
atmospheric pressure.

7. How much moisture is needed to raise

the relative humidity of an air-vapor
mixture?
A. The lbs. water / lb dry air can be calculated
as the relative humidity increase from 12% to
50% and the temperature stays at 75.

0.0094
lbs water/
lb dry air

50%
12%
75

0.0022

The amount of moisture is.

Water needed = final absolute humidity - initial
absolute humidity
Water needed = 0.0094 - 0.0022
Water needed = 0.0072 lbs
water / lb dry air
0.0094
lbs water/
lb dry air

50%
12%
75

0.0022

8. How much heat is needed to evaporate

the water thats needed to increase the
relative humidity?
A. The BTUs / lb dry air can be calculated as the
relative humidity increase from 12% to 50% and the
temperature stays at 75.
B. Assume that 100 lbs. dry air per hour pass through a
building.
50%
0.0094
lbs water/
lb dry air

12%
75db

0.0022

The amount of heat .

BTUs needed = final enthalpy - initial enthalpy
BTUs needed = 28.0 BTUs/lb dry air - 21.0
BTUs/lb dry air
BTUs needed = 7.0 BTUs per lb H2
dry air
50%

Total BTUs for the building = H1

7.0 BTUs/lb dry air X 100 lb
dry air/hr=700 BTUs/hr
12%

75db

9. What is evaporative cooling?

A. Through evaporation, moisture in the air accumulates and
the air temperature decreases?
B. Sensible heat from the air vaporizes water from its liquid
to gaseous phase.
C. There is no loss or gain of heat within the
system because the amount of sensible
heat removed equals latent heat
added to the water.
Addition of
D. The process follows a
moisture
constant enthalpy line.

Lowering of

db Temp

10. How is evaporative cooling

used?
A. It lowers the dry bulb temperature.
B. It is used where a lower temperature is
desired.
C. The maximum temperature reduction is the
difference between starting dry bulb
temperature and its wet bulb temperature.
This is an air-conditioning example.

11. Determine the amount of water needed for an

evaporative cooler when 1200 lbs. dry air passes
through a livestock building per hour.
A. Air enters the cooler at 95 dry bulb and 30% relative humidity
and leaves at 80.
B. Read absolute humidity value for 95 and 30% relative
humidity>> 0.0106 lbs. water/lb. dry air.
C. Extend enthalphy line toward saturation curve.
D. Read absolute humidity value for 80>>>
0.0143 lbs water/lb dry air.
E. Water/lb dry air: 0.0143 - 0.0106 =
0.0037 lbs water
F. Water for bldg. = 0.0037
lbs water x 1200 lbs dry
air/hr
G. Water, gal/hr =
80
4.44 lbs/8.3 lbs gal = 0.54 gal/hr

Lbs water/
lb dry air

0.0143
30%

0.0106

95 Dry Bulb Temp.

What have you learned?

What is psychrometrics?
What is an air-vapor mixture?
Reading a psychrometric chart.
What happens in heating and cooling?
What is dehumidification and
humidificaiton?
6. What is evaporative cooling?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.