School of Architecture University of Florida

Environmental Technology I ARC 3610

Gary W. Sieb ein | Duncan Gilchrist | Koyel Sikdar | Pattra Smitthakorn | Youngmin Kwon Spring 2005

Homework Assignment 2

Psychrometry
This homework provides students with an opportunity to investigate and understand the thermodynamic properties of moist air. It is due at the beginning of the lab on Wednesday, January 19 th 2005. Psychrometry is the study of the properties of moist air. A psychrometric chart graphically describes the interactions between a ir, moisture, and heat energy. A s air tempera ture rises, its ability to ho ld moisture rise s; also warme r air becomes less dense. The part of the chart that describes the conditions at which most people are comfortable is called the comfort zone. The psyc hrometric c hart, which ma y be used to graph a wid e variety of pro cesses, is actually a series of graphs superimposed on each other. Each graph is described separately below.

1.

Dry-b ulb temperature lines are plotted vertically along the horizontal a xis of the psychr ometric cha rt. Dry-bulb temperatu re is a measur e of sensible he at. Sensible heat is what is felt or sense d and is me asured by a dry-bulb thermometer. Sensible heat is the kind of heat that increases the temperature of air; an open fire in the fireplace of a living room increases sensible heat in the space.

2.

Wet-b ulb temperature lines are plotted o bliquely; these temperatu res are an ind irect measur e of latent heat. Latent heat describes th e embod ied energy c ontained in m oisture in the air. Latent heat is needed for a change of phase or state: water changing to water vapor (Latent heat of vaporization) or ice changing to water (Latent heat of fusion). For example, as boiling water evaporates it will increase the amount of latent heat in a space. Humid ity ratio values are plotted horizontally along the vertical axis. Humidity ratio indicates the amount of moisture by weight within a given weight of air. Air conditioning processes that move the condition of air along these lines of constant hum idity ratio are simp le sensible hea ting (air passing through the heating coil of a furnace, or solar collector) and simple sensible cooling (air passes through the cooling coil of an air conditioner, before saturation).

3.

4.

Enthalpy, or total heat, is plotted with oblique lines which are almost par allel to those o f wet-bulb tem perature. E nthalpy is the sum of the sensible and latent heat content of volume of air.

5.

Relative humidity lines curve ac ross the char t from left to right at intervals of 10%. They begin at the bottom at 10% and end at the top with the saturation curve (100%). Relative humidity is an indication of how much moisture a volume of air contains compared with the maximum amount of moisture that the volume of air can contain.

6.

Specific Volume lines indicating cubic feet per pound (or cubic meter per kilogram) of dry air. Specific volume, which is the recipro cal of density, sho ws how the d ensity of air varies as its temperature and mo isture content vary. These lines are spec ific volume, the r eciproca l of density.

The psychrometric chart can be used to describe the sensible, latent and total heat content of an air sample. The point on the chart describing these conditions is called condition point. Changes in the air conditions can be explained by observ ing the directio nal change a new cond ition point ma kes when co mpart with the original con dition poin t.

Exercise For each of the following questions, use a copy of the psychrometric chart to plot the conditions given and to answer the sub-questions. 1. Comfort Zone: this area of the p sychrome tric chart desc ribes the op timal set of therm al condition s (sensible heat, relative hu midity, and en thalpy) for hum an comfo rt. a. Using a colored pencil, trace out and lightly fill in the comfort zone on your chart. The area is between 68F and 80F dry bulb temperature, 20% and 80% relative humidity, with an overall enthalpy of no more than 35 btu/lb.

2.

It is 70F and the relative humidity is 40%. What are the other properties of the air sample?

3.

The air in a bathroom is 79F and the relative humidity is 60% . After taking a sho wer, 0.007 lbs of moisture per lb of dry air is add ed to the air. W hat is the new rela tive humidity? How hav e the prop erties of the air sam ple changed?

4.

When you come home after a hard day in the design studio, the air in your apartment is 93F with a relative hum idity (rh) of 60%. If you cool the space to 75F without removing any moisture, what will the new relative humidity (rh) be?

5.

You are in your plush student condo entertaining guests in front of your fire place. It is 78F inside with a relative humidity of 40 %. Yo u realize that yo u are quite co mfortable a fter consulting yo ur handy po cket psychro metric chart. However, it is only 45F outside. Assu me that the tem perature o f the glass is the same as the outside air temperature. Are the insides of your windows wet? Explain what has happened.

6.

Outside air with a temperature of 38F and a relative humidity of 50% is passed over an electric heating coil and enters a room. If the dry bulb temperature has been raised to 70F, what are the other properties of the air sample? Assume a process of sensible heating has occurred. What is the magnitude of change of each of the properties of the air sample from outside to inside?

7.

The comfort zone is hardly universal. Many variables affect the relative comfort of humans in a space; some are environmental, others are internal mec hanisms. a. Radiant Energy. The chart does not, for example, include radiant energy as a factor in the perception of comfort. In a short paragraph, compare your perception of temperature in the sunny area to the shaded one at 2pm on any sunny day this week. Notify the date and include the temperature data if you can measure. Internal Influences. Meta bolism measures the rate of the bo dys internal hea t generation, m easured in mets. Me tabolism is dire ctly related to a p ersons activity leve l. The com fort zone yo u mappe d out in #1 is based on the metabolism of a middle aged man seated at a desk (1.0 mets). Clothing is the primary insulation of the body (unit of measure: the clo). The amount of clothing a person wears regulates the amount o f heat retained by the bod y. The man mentioned above is we aring a long-sle eved dre ss shirt, slacks, socks and shoes, and a tie. The insulative value of his clothing is 0.6 clo. How would the comfort zone change for a person wearing an ankle length skirt, long sleeved shirt, and pantyhose (1.10 clo) who was digging a ditch (4.0 mets)?

b.