KM31401 Makmal IV (Applied Thermodynamics)

NAME: ______________________________
GROUP: _____________________________
DATE OF EXPERIMENT: _______________
TITLE : Determining the Specific Heat Capacity of Air
OBJECTIVE: To determine specific heat capacity of air by any convenient steady flow process
(i.e. heating or cooling) provided that there is no change in the moisture content
of the air.
EQUIPMENT

Figure 1: A660 Air Conditioning Laboratory Unit

PROCEDURE
1. Switch on the air conditioning unit and set the air flow to convenient value and switch the
pre-heaters to give 1kW heating.
2. Set the orifice differential pressure to 4mm H2O.
3. When the conditions have stabilized, the following observations should be made.
Dry bulb temperature at the fan inlet, t1
Dry bulb temperature after pre-heaters, t3
Dry bulb temperature after re-heating, t7
Wet bulb temperature after re-heating, t8
Supply voltage, VL
Fan supply voltage, VF
4. Repeat step 1 to 3 by switching the pre-heaters to give 2kW heating.
5. Repeat the procedure using only the re-heaters across section C to D.
Local Atmospheric Pressure:
1
dry

t1

wet

t2

dry

t3

wet

t4

dry

t5

wet

t6

dry

t7

wet

t8

Supply Volts

VL

V AC

Duct Differential Pressure

mmH2O

Fan Supply Voltage

VF

A Air at Fan Inlet

B After Pre-heat or Steam Injection
C After Cooling or Dehumidification
D After Re-heating

SYSTEM HEATER RESISTANCES (from table on machine control panel)

Boiler, Lower 2kW

Rb

Boiler, Upper 2kW

Rb

Boiler, 1kW

Rb

1 Pre-heater, 1kW

Rp

2nd Pre-heater, 1kW

Rp

1st Re-heater, 1kW

Rr

Rr

st

nd

2 Re-heater, 1kW
CALCULATION

You are to calculate the value for the specific heat of air, Cp air using the following guideline:1. Obtain the specific volume of air at the orifice from psychometric chart. Then calculate
specific volume of air from ideal gas equation
2. Using the fan power curve from the machine control panel, find the value for fan power
(W).
3. Find the air mass flow rate using the following formula:-

a=0.0517
m

Z
v

4. Apply the steady flow energy equation between the desired stations:-

P =m
a (h Bh A ) ,
FanPower + Q
Where,

V L 2 V L2

Electrical power for pre-heaters, Q P = R + R

P1
P2
As there is no moisture change between stations A and B,

P =m
a C P air (t Bt A )
FanPower + Q
Where

C P air =

t B=temperature after heater

and

t A =temperature before heater

P
FanPower + Q
m
a (t B t A )

5. Compare the value you obtain with the average value of Cp air = 1.005 kJ/kg.K

Explain why there are discrepancies (if any) in the values you calculated compared to the
average value of Cp air = 1.005 kJ/kg.K.
What would happen to the value of the specific heat of air if you switch on all the pre-heaters
and the re-heaters? Would it be a lower or a higher value compared to Cp air = 1.005
kJ/kg.K? Conduct another small experiment to prove your theory.