THE PSYCHROMETRIC CHART:

Theory and Application

 PSYCHROMETRIC CHART
 Identify parts of the chart
 Determine moist air
properties
 Use chart to analyze
processes involving moist
air
Basic Concepts
Psychrometric chart: Example 1
Given: T = 25°C
Tw =20°C
Required: (a) RH,
(b) Tdp,
(c) HR,
(d) v, (e)
h
57.5 kJ/kg d.a.

20.0°C 63%

17.6°C 12.6 g/kg d.a.

25°C
0.86 m3/kg d.a.
PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES
 Sensible Heating or Cooling
 a psychrometric process that
involves the increase or decrease
in the temperature of air without
changing its humidity ratio
 Example: passing moist air over a
room space heater and of kiln air
over the heating coils
1 2
 287.0 kJ/kg d.a.

%
275.5 kJ/kg d.a.

.8
51°C

58

%
.6
50°C

37
2 3

60°C 70°C
 Heating and Humidifying
 a psychrometric process that
involves the simultaneous
increase in both the dry bulb
temperature and humidity ratio of
the air
 2

1
0
Heating and humidifying: Example 7

Two and a half cubic meters of lumber is being dried

at 60C dry bulb temperature and 52C wet bulb
temperature. The drying rate of the lumber is 12.5
kg of water per hour. If outside air is at 27C
dry bulb temperature and 80% relative humidity,
how much outside air is needed per minute to carry
away the evaporated moisture?
52°C

%
80
92 g/kg d.a.
2
1 18 g/kg d.a.

27°C 60°C
0.87 m3/kg d.a.
Heating and humidifying: Example 7
HR = (92.0 – 18.0) g/kg dry air
= 74.0 g/kg dry air
wa1 = drying rate/HR
= (12.5 kg/hour)/(0.074 kg/kg dry air)
= 168.9 kg dry air/hour

VF1=(wa1)(v1)
=(168.9 kg dry air/hour)(0.87 m3/kg dry air)
= 147 m3/hour = 2.45 m3/minute
 Cooling and Dehumidifying
 a psychrometric process that
involves the removal of water
from the air as the air
temperature falls below the dew-
point temperature
 1

2
Cooling and dehumidifying: Example 9

Moist air at 50C dry bulb temperature and 32%

relative humidity enters the cooling coil of a
dehumidification kiln heat pump system and is
cooled to a temperature of 18C. If the drying rate
of 6 m3 of red oak lumber is 4 kg/hour,
determine the kW of refrigeration required.
 115.7 kJ/kg d.a.

%
50.8 kJ/kg d.a.

32
28.8°C 25.2 g/kg d.a.
1
12.9 g/kg d.a.
2

18°C 50°C
Cooling and dehumidifying: Example 9

HR = (25.2 – 12.9) g water/kg dry air

= 12.3 g water/kg dry air

w a  drying rate
HR

4 kg water h


0.0123 kg water kg dry air

kg dry air
Cooling and dehumidifying: Example 9

h = (115.7 – 50.8) kJ/kg dry air

= 64.9 kJ/kg dry air

q  hwa 

 kJ  kg dry air 
 64.9 325.2 
 kg dry air  

h kJ 
 21105.7 h  5.9
kW
Adiabatic or Evaporative Cooling
 a psychrometric process that
involves the cooling of air
without heat loss or gain.
Sensible heat lost by the air is
converted to latent heat in the
added water vapor
2

1
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
Referring to Figure 21, air at state point 1 (65C
dry bulb temperature and 57C wet bulb temperature)
experiences a temperature drop of 3C as it passes
through the 1.2-m wide stack of lumber. Determine
the properties of the air at state point 2 and compare
them with those at state point 1. If the air is flowing
at a rate of 2 meters per second, determine the drying
rate assuming that the volume of the stack of
2.5-cm-thick lumber is 2.5 m3. The stack is
1.2 m wide x 3.6 m long, and the boards are
separated by stickers 3.8 cm wide x 1.9 cm thick that are
spaced 0.6 m apart.
 T=62ºC
T=65ºC
Tw=57ºC
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
Given: T = 65C; T = 57C
1 w1
Adiabatic cooling to T2 = 62C
Air flow rate = 2 m/s
Volume of lumber = 2.5 m3
Board thickness = 2.5 cm
Stack dimensions: 1.2 m
wide x 3.6 m long
Sticker dimensions: 3.8 cm wide x 1.9 cm thick
Required:Sticker
(a) spacing = 0.6
Properties m air at state point 2
of the
relative to that at state point
1
Solution: (b) Drying rate
57°C
2
124.5 g/kg d.a.

1
123.1 g/kg d.a.

62°C 65°C

1.15 m3/kg d.a.

1.14 m3/kg d.a.
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
(a) At state point 1: T1 = 65C
Tw1 = 57C
Tdp1 = 56.3C
RH1 = 66.9%
HR1 = 123.1 g/kg of dry air
v1 = 1.15 m3/kg of dry air
h1 = 387.7 kJ/kg of dry air
At state point 2: T2 = 62C
Tw2 = 57C
Tdp2 = 56.5C
RH2 = 77.3%
HR2 = 124.5 g/kg of dry air
v2 = 1.14 m3/kg of dry air
h2 = 387.7 kJ/kg of dry air
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
(b)
Drying rate = HR wa
VF
 =v
wa
2

VF =Aair flow rate

Evaporative cooling: Example 10

V  
A  Pl s

 Sw t  P S
 l t  S St w 
  P P
l B s 
S
2.5
A 
3.6 * 0.019 
3.6  0.6
0.019 * 0.038 
  3.6 *1.2 * 0.025 0.6 

A  1.47
m2
Evaporative cooling: Example 10

A  1.47 m2

VF =Aair flow rate

3 m m3
VF =1.47 m  s   s

2 2.9
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
3
VF =2.9 m
s

VF
wa = v
2

3
2.9 m
s kg dry air
wa 
m3 2.6 s
 1.14
kg dry air
Evaporative cooling: Example
10
w a  2.6 kg dry air
s

Drying rate =  wa HR

 kg dry air   g 

Drying rate  2.6 s  1.4
 kg dry air 
g

kg
3.6  13.0

s
h
 Adiabatic Mixing of Moist Air
Stream
 A psychrometric process that
involves no net heat loss or gain
during the mixing of two air
streams
 2
3