R&AC Lecture 30
R&AC Lecture 30
R&AC Lecture 30
Lesson
30 Psychrometry Of Air Conditioning Systems
Version 1 ME, IIT Kharagpur 1
. 30.1. Introduction:
Generally from the building specifications, inside and outside design conditions; the latent and sensible cooling or heating loads on a building can be estimated. Normally, depending on the ventilation requirements of the building, the required outdoor air (fresh air) is specified. The topic of load estimation will be discussed in a later chapter. From known loads on the building and design inside and outside conditions, psychrometric calculations are performed to find: 1. Supply air conditions (air flow rate, DBT, humidity ratio & enthalpy) 2. Coil specifications (Latent and sensible loads on coil, coil ADP & BPF) In this chapter fixing of supply air conditions and coil specifications for summer air conditioning systems are discussed. Since the procedure is similar for winter air conditioning system, the winter air conditioning systems are not discussed here.
From cooling load calculations, the sensible, latent and total cooling loads on the room are obtained. Hence one can find the Room Sensible Heat Factor (RSHF) from the equation:
RSHF =
Q s,r Q t ,r
(30.4)
ti,Wi,hi
RSHF line Return Fan
Qs,r Ql r ti,Wi,hi
i s
ms
ms ts,Ws,hs ADP ts
ti Qs,c, Ql,c
Cooling coil Supply Fan
From the RSHF value one can calculate the slope of the process undergone by the air as it flows through the conditioned space (process s-i) as:
slope of process line s i, tan = 1 1 RSHF 2451 RSHF
(30.5)
Since the condition i is known say, from thermal comfort criteria, knowing the slope, one can draw the process line s-i through i. The intersection of this line with the saturation curve gives the ADP of the cooling coil as shown in Fig.30.1. It should be noted that for the given room sensible and latent cooling loads, the supply condition must always lie on this line so that the it can extract the sensible and latent loads on the conditioned space in the required proportions. Since the case being considered is one of 100 % re-circulation, the process that the air undergoes as it flows through the cooling coil (i.e. process i-s) will be exactly opposite to the process undergone by air as it flows through the room (process s-i). Thus, the temperature and humidity ratio of air decrease as it flows through the cooling coil and temperature and humidity ratio increase as air flows through the conditioned space. Assuming no heat transfer due to the ducts and fans, the sensible and latent heat transfer rates at the cooling coil are exactly equal to the sensible and latent heat transfer rates to the conditioned space; i.e.,
Q s,r = Q s, c & Q l,r = Q l, c
(30.6)
Fixing of supply condition: The supply condition has to be fixed using Eqns.(30.1) to (30.3). However, since there are 4 unknowns (ms, ts, Ws and hs) and 3 equations, (Eqns.(30.1) to (30.3)), one parameter has to be fixed to find the other three unknown parameters from the three equations. If the by-pass factor (X) of the cooling coil is known, then, from room conditions, coil ADP and by-pass factor, the supply air temperature ts is obtained using the definition of by-pass factor as:
(30.7)
Once the supply temperature ts is known, then the mass flow rate of supply air is obtained from Eqn.(30.1) as:
ms =
Q s,r
Q s,r
(30.8)
From the mass flow rate of air and condition i, the supply air humidity ratio and enthalpy are obtained using Eqns.(30.2) and (30.3) as:
Ws = Wi
h s = hi
Q l,r m sh fg
(30.9) (30.10)
Q t ,r ms
From Eqn.(30.8), it is clear that the required mass flow rate of supply air decreases as the by-pass factor X decreases. In the limiting case when the by-pass factor is zero, the minimum amount of supply air flow rate required is: m s,min = Q s,r Cpm (t i t ADP ) (30.11)
Thus with 100 % re-circulated air, the room ADP is equal to coil ADP and the load on the coil is equal to the load on the room.
Fixing of supply condition: Case i) By-pass factor of the cooling coil is zero: Figure 30.2 shows the schematic of the summer air conditioning system with outdoor air and the corresponding process on psychrometric chart, when the by-pass factor X is zero. Since the sensible and latent cooling loads on the conditioned space are assumed to be known from cooling load calculations, similar to the earlier case, one can draw the process line s-i, from the RSHF and state i. The intersection of this line with the saturation curve gives the room ADP. As shown on the psychrometric chart, when the by-pass factor is zero, the room ADP is equal to coil ADP, which in turn is equal to the temperature of the supply air. Hence from the supply temperature one can calculate the required supply air mass flow rate (which is the minimum required as X is zero) using the equation:
ms =
Q s, r
Q s,r
(30.12)
From the supply mass flow rate, one can find the supply air humidity ratio and enthalpy using Eqns.(30.9) and (30.10).
o m i
me ti,Wi,hi ti,Wi,hi
Qs,r Ql r
mrc
ms=mo+mrc
ADP = ts
ti tm to
Qs,c, Ql,c
Cooling coil
Fig.30.2: A summer air conditioning system with outdoor air for ventilation and a zero by-pass factor From mass balance of air; m s = mrc + m o (30.13)
Where mrc is the re-circulated air flow rate and mo is the outdoor air flow rate. Since either mo or the ratio mo : mrc are specified, one can calculate the amount of recirculated air from Eqn.(30.13). Version 1 ME, IIT Kharagpur 6
Calculation of coil loads: From energy balance across the cooling coil; the sensible, latent and total heat transfer rates, Qs,c, Ql,c and Qt,c at the cooling coil are given by:
Q s, c = m s Cpm (t m t s ) Q l, c = m sh fg ( Wm Ws ) Q t , c = Q s, c + Q l, c = m s (hm h s )
(30.14)
Where m refers to the mixing condition which is a result of mixing of the recirculated air with outdoor air. Applying mass and energy balance to the mixing process one can obtain the state of the mixed air from the equation:
mo Wm Wi hm hi t m t i = = m s Wo Wi ho hi t o t i
(30.15)
Since (mo/ms) > 0, from the above equation it is clear that Wm > Wi, hm > hi and tm > ti. This implies that ms(hm - hs) > ms(hi - hs), or the load on the cooling coil is greater than the load on the conditioned space. This is of course due to the fact that during mixing, some amount of hot and humid air is added and the same amount of relative cool and dry air is exhausted (mo = me). From Eqn.(30.1) to (30.3) and (30.14), the difference between the cooling load on the coil and cooling load on the conditioned space can be shown to be equal to:
Q s, c Q s,r = m o Cpm (t o t i ) Q l, c Q l,r = m o h fg ( Wo Wi ) Q t , c Q t ,r = m o (h o hi )
(30.16)
From the above equation it is clear that the difference between cooling coil and conditioned space increases as the amount of outdoor air (mo) increases and/or the outdoor air becomes hotter and more humid. The line joining the mixed condition m with the coil ADP is the process line undergone by the air as it flows through the cooling coil. The slope of this line depends on the Coil Sensible Heat Factor (CSHF) given by:
CSHF =
Q s, c Q s, c + Q l,c
Q s, c Q t ,c
(30.17)
Case ii: Coil by-pass factor, X > 0: For actual cooling coils, the by-pass factor will be greater than zero, as a result the air temperature at the exit of the cooling coil will be higher than the coil ADP. This is shown in Fig.30.3 along with the process on psychrometric chart. It can Version 1 ME, IIT Kharagpur 7
be seen from the figure that when X > 0, the room ADP will be different from the coil ADP. The system shown in Fig.30.3 is adequate when the RSHF is high ( > 0.75). Return fan me= mo Return duct losses
Qs,r, Ql,r i
A/C Room ti, Wi, hi
ms=mo+ mrc
o
Supply duct losses
Qt,c=Qs,c+Ql,c By-pass
o m i s
ADP
ts
ti tm to
Fig.30.3: A summer air conditioning system with outdoor air for ventilation and a nonzero by-pass factor
Normally in actual systems, either the supply temperature (ts) or the temperature rise of air as it flows through the conditioned space (ti-ts) will be specified. Then the step-wise procedure for finding the supply air conditions and the coil loads are as follows: i. Since the supply temperature is specified one can calculate the required supply air flow rate and supply conditions using Eqns. (30.8) to (30.10). ii. Since conditions i, supply air temperature ts and RSHF are known, one can draw the line i-s. The intersection of this line with the saturation curve gives the room ADP. iii. Condition of air after mixing (point m) is obtained from known values of ms and mo using Eqn.(30.15). iv. Now joining points m and s gives the process line of air as it flows through the cooling coil. The intersection of this line with the saturation curve gives the coil ADP. It can be seen that the coil ADP is lower than the room ADP. v. The capacity of the cooling coil is obtained from Eqn.(30.14). vi. From points m, s and coil ADP, the by-pass factor of the cooling coil can be calculated. If the coil ADP and coil by-pass factor are given instead of the supply air temperature, then a trial-and-error method has to be employed to obtain the supply air condition. 30.2.3. High latent cooling load applications (low RSHF): When the latent load on the building is high due either to high outside humidity or due to large ventilation requirements (e.g. hospitals) or due to high internal latent loads (e.g. presence of kitchen or laundry), then the simple system discussed above leads to very low coil ADP. A low coil ADP indicates operation of the refrigeration system at low evaporator temperatures. Operating the system at low evaporator temperatures decreases the COP of the refrigeration system leading to higher costs. Hence a reheat coil is sometimes used so that the cooling coil can be operated at relatively high ADP, and at the same time the high latent load can also be taken care of. Figure 30.4 shows an air conditioning system with reheat coil along with the psychrometric representation of the process. As shown in the figure, in a system with reheat coil, air is first cooled and dehumidified from point m to point c in the cooling coil and is then reheated sensibly to the required supply temperature ts using the reheat coil. If the supply temperature is specified, then the mass flow rate and state of the supply air and condition of the air after mixing can be obtained using equations given above. Since the heating process in the reheat coil is sensible, the process line c-s will be horizontal. Thus if the coil ADP is known, then one can draw the coil condition line and the intersection of this line with the horizontal line drawn from supply state s gives the condition of the air at the exit of the cooling coil. From this condition, one can calculate the load on the cooling coil using the supply mass flow rate and state of air after mixing. The capacity of the reheat coil is then obtained from energy balance across it, i.e., Version 1 ME, IIT Kharagpur 9
m o
Cooling coil
Reheat coil
o m i c s
Fig.30.4: A summer air conditioning system with reheat coil for high latent cooling load applications
Advantages and disadvantages of reheat coil: a) Refrigeration system can be operated at reasonably high evaporator temperatures leading to high COP and low running cost. b) However, mass flow rate of supply air increases due to reduced temperature rise (ti-ts) across the conditioned space c) Wasteful use of energy as air is first cooled to a lower temperature and then heated. Energy is required for both cooling as well as reheat coils. However, this can be partially offset by using waste heat such as heat rejected at the condenser for reheating of air. Thus the actual benefit of reheat coil depends may vary from system.
i s
ADP ts ti to Fig.30.5: A summer air conditioning system with 100% outdoor air outside conditions: ti =34oC(DBT) and RHi = 40% From psychrometric chart or using psychrometric equations; the moisture content and enthalpy of inside air are: Wo = 0.01335 kgw/kgda, h1 = 68.21 kJ/kgda a) From sensible energy balance equation for the room, we find the required mass flow rate of air as: ms = 400 = 39.154 kg / s C pm (t i t s ) 1.0216(24 14) = Q s,r (Ans.)
b) The moisture content of supply air is obtained from latent energy balance of the room as: Ws = Wi Q l,r m s h fg = 0.0093 100 = 0.0083 kgw / kgda 39.154 x2501 (Ans.)
c) From energy balance, the sensible and latent loads on the coil are obtained as: Q s,c = msCpm (t o t s ) = 39.154 x 1.0216 x (34 14) = 800 kW Ql,c = mshfg ( Wo Ws ) = 39.154 x 2501 x (0.01335 0.0083) = 494.5 kW (Ans.)
d) The required cooling capacity of the coil is equal to the total load on the coil, Qt,c: Qt,c = Qs,c + Ql,c = 800 + 494.5 = 1294.5 kW Coil Sensible Heat Factor, CSHF = Qs,c/Qt,c = 0.618 (Ans.) (Ans.)
Coil ADP is obtained by using the definition of by-pass factor (X) as: tADP(1 X) = ts X.to tADP = (ts X.to)/(1-X) = (14 0.2 x 34)/(1 0.2) = 9oC (Ans.)
Comments:
1. It is seen that with 100% outdoor air, the load on the coil (or required cooling capacity of the coil) is much higher compared to the cooling load on the building (Required coil capacity = 1294.5 kW whereas the total load on the room is 500 kW). Since 100% outdoor air is used, the relatively cold and dry indoor air is exhausted without re-circulation and the hot and humid air is conditioned using the coil coil. Thus the required cooling capacity is very high as the cooling coil has to cool and dehumidify outdoor air. 2. It is observed that the CSHF (0.618) is much smaller compared to the room SHF (0.8), hence, the coil ADP is much smaller than the room ADP. 5. A room is air conditioned by a system that maintains 25oC dry bulb and 50 % RH inside, when the outside conditions are 34oC dry bulb and 40% RH. The room sensible and latent heat gains are 60 kW and 12 kW respectively. As shown in the figure below, The outside fresh air first flows over a first cooler coil and is reduced to state 1 of 10oC dry bulb and a relative humidity of 85%. It is then mixed with recirculated air, the mixture (state 2) being handled by a fan, passed over a second cooler coil and sensibly cooled to 12oC dry bulb (state 3). The air is then delivered to the room. If the outside fresh air is used for dealing with the whole of the room latent heat gain and if the effects of fan power and duct heat gains are ignored, find: a) mass flow rates of outside fresh air and supply air; b) DBT and enthalpy of the air handled by the fan (state 2); and c) required cooling capacity of first cooler coil and second sensible cooler coil.
exhaust air
recirculated air
i i
Outdoor air 34oC (DBT) 40% (RH) Coil 1
3 Coil 2
Ans.: From psychrometric chart, the following properties are obtained: Inside conditions: ti =24oC(DBT) and RHi = 50%
Wi = 0.0093 kgw/kgda, hi = 47.66 kJ/kgda
outside conditions: to =34oC(DBT) and RHo = 40% Wo = 0.01335 kgw/kgda, hi = 68.21 kJ/kgda At state 1: t1 = 10oC(DBT) and RH1 = 85% W1 = 0.00647 kgw/kgda, h1 = 26.31 kJ/kgda a) Since the air is supplied to the room at 12oC, the mass flow rate of supply air m3 is obtained from sensible energy balance across the room, i.e., m3 = 60 = 4.894 kg / s C pm (t i t 3 ) 1.0216(24 12) = Q s,r
(Ans.)
The moisture content of supply air is obtained from latent energy balance across the room as: Ws = Wi Q l,r m 3 h fg = 0.0093 12 = 0.0083 kgw / kgda 4.894 x2501
Since the fresh air takes care of the entire latent load, the heat transfer across coil 2 is only sensible heat transfer. This implies that: W2 = W3 = 0.0083 kgw/kgda Applying mass balance across the mixing of re-circulated and fresh air (1-2), we obtain: m1W1+(m2-m1)Wi = m2.W2 From the above equation, we get m1 as: m1= m2(Wi W2)/(Wi W1) = 1.73 kg/s Hence the mass flow rate of re-circulated air is: mrc = m2 m1 = (4.894 - 1.73) = 3.164 kg/s b) From energy balance across the mixing process 1-2, assuming the variation in cpm to be negligible, the temperature of mixed air at 2 is given by: t2 = (m1t1 + mrcti)/m2 = 19.05oC (Ans.)
From total enthalpy balance for the mixing process, the enthalpy of mixed air at 2 is: h2 = (m1h1 + mrchi)/m2 = 40.11 kJ/kgda (Ans.)
c) From energy balance, cooling capacity of 1st cooler coil is given by: Qc,1 = m1(ho h1) = 1.73 x (68.21 26.31) = 72.49 kW (Ans.)
From energy balance across the 2nd cooler coil, the cooling capacity of the second coil is given by: Qc,2 = m2.cpm(t2 t3) = 4.894 x 1.0216 x (19.05 12.0) = 35.25 kW (Ans.)
Comment: It can be seen that the combined cooling capacity (72.49 + 35.25 = 107.74 kW) is larger than the total cooling load on the building (60 + 12 = 72 kW). The difference between these two quantities (107.74 72 = 35.74 kW) is equal to the cooling capacity required to reduce the enthalpy of the fresh air from outdoor conditions to the required indoor conditions. This is the penalty one has to pay for providing fresh air to the conditioned space. Larger the fresh air requirement, larger will be the required cooling capacity. 6) An air conditioned building has a sensible cooling load of 60 kW and latent load of 40 kW. The room is maintained at 24oC (DBT) and 50% RH, while the outside design conditions are: 34oC (DBT) and 40% RH. To satisfy the ventilation requirement, outdoor air is mixed with re-circulated air in the ratio of 1:3 (by mass). Since the latent load on the building is high, a reheat coil is used along with a cooling and dehumidifying coil. Air is supplied to the conditioned space at 14oC (DBT). If the bypass factor of the cooling coil is 0.15 and the barometric pressure is 101.325 kPa, find: a) Mass flow rate of supply air, b) Required cooling capacity of the cooling coil and heating capacity of the reheat coil Ans.: From psychrometric chart, the following properties are obtained: Inside conditions: ti =24oC(DBT) and RHi = 50%
Wi = 0.0093 kgw/kgda, hi = 47.66 kJ/kgda
outside conditions: to =34oC(DBT) and RHo = 40% Wo = 0.01335 kgw/kgda, hi = 68.21 kJ/kgda Since the air is supplied to the room at 12oC, the mass flow rate of supply air m3 is obtained from sensible energy balance across the room, i.e., m3 = 60 = 5.873 kg / s C pm (t i t s ) 1.0216(24 14) = Q s,r
(Ans.)
The moisture content of supply air is obtained from latent energy balance across the room as: Q l,r 40 Ws = Wi = 0.0093 = 0.0066 kgw / kgda m 3 h fg 5.873 x2501
Since 25% of the supply air is fresh air, the mass flow rates of fresh and re-circulated air are: mo = 0.25 x 5.873 = 1.468 kg/s and mrc = 0.75 x 5.873 = 4.405 kg/s (Ans.)
b) From sensible energy balance for the mixing process of fresh air with re-circulated air (Fig.30.4), we obtain the mixed air conditions as: tm = (mo.to + mrc.ti)/(mo+mrc) = 26.5oC Wm = (mo.Wo + mrc.Wi)/(mo+mrc) = 0.0103 kgw/kgda hm = (mo.ho + mrc.hi)/(mo+mrc) = 52.75 kJ/kgda Since heating in the reheat coil is a sensible heating process, the moisture content of air remains constant during this process. Then from Fig.30.4., writing the by-pass factor in terms of humidity ratios as:
X=
From the above expression, the humidity ratio at coil ADP condition is found to be: WADP=(Ws X.Wm)/(1X) = (0.0066 0.15x0.0103)/(1.00.15) = 0.00595 kgw/kgda The Coil ADP is the saturation temperature corresponding to a humidity ratio of WADP, hence, from psychrometric chart or using psychrometric equations, it is found to be: tADP = 6.38oC Hence, the temperature of air at the exit of the cooling coil (tC in Fig.30.4) is obtained from the by-pass factor as: tc = tADP + X (tm tADP) = 9.4oC From Wc (= Ws) and tc, the enthalpy of air at the exit of the cooling coil is found from psychrometric chart as: hc = 26.02 kJ/kgda Hence, from energy balance across cooling coil and reheater: Required capacity of cooling coil, Qc = ms(hm hc) = 157.0 kW Required capacity of reheat coil, Qrh = mscpm(tstc) = 27.6 kW (Ans.) (Ans.)