CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

MECH 453/ 6181: Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Midterm exam, Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Duration: 2 hours Maximum Marks: 40

Q1. Encircle the letter for the correct answer (only one) to the following multiple choice questions.
(1 X 5)
1. Which of the following contaminants in intake air for a conditioned zone can be radioactive?
A. Volatile benzene derivatives
B. Nitrogen dioxide
C. Ozone
D. Radon

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The sensible heat factor for a sensible heating process is 1.0
B. The sensible heat factor for a sensible cooling process is 0.0
C. The sensible heat factor always lies between 0.0 and 1.0
D. The sensible heat factor is high for air conditioning plants operating in humid climates

3. The bypass factor is indicative of:

A. the amount of air that passes through the cooling coil unconditioned
B. the amount of water vapor that condenses at the coil temperature
C. the amount of air that passes through the cooling coil subcooled
D. the amount of air that was brought to saturation at the coil surface

4. As dry air temperature increases, the air's capacity for holding water vapor _____________.
A. increases
B. decreases
C. remains constant
D. is unrelated to air temperature and can either increase or decrease

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5. Which of the following modes of heat transfer occurs predominantly in fluids:
A. Conduction
B. Convection
C. Radiation
D. All three are equally likely

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Q2. During performances, a theatre experiences a sensible heat load of 500,000 Btu/hr and a moisture
load of 175 lbmv/hr. Air enters the theatre at 65 F and 55% relative humidity, and is removed when it
reaches 75 F or 60% relative humidity, whichever comes first. (5 + 5)
Given: cp of dry air = 0.240 Btu/lbm-F; cp of water vapor = 0.444 Btu/lbm-F

W2

W1

65F 75F

(a) What is the ventilation rate in mass of dry air per hour?

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(b) Assuming that the air absorbs all the moisture, what are conditions of the air leaving the theater
(dry bulb temperature, humidity ratio, relative humidity)?

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Q3. A flat roof consists of 38 mm of insulation installed over 76 mm of soft pine sheathing, and a 19 mm
acoustical ceiling suspended 100 mm below the pine. The outside wind velocity is 24 kmph at 35 C,
giving it a surface film coefficient of 34.1 W/m2-C. For the 100 mm airspace between soft pine sheathing
and acoustical ceiling, the effective surface emissivity is 0.86 at which the thermal conductance of
airspace with heat flow downwards is 4.6 W/m2-C. The interior design temperature is 26.7 C and the air
is the still, giving the inside surface a film coefficient of 6.13 W/m2-C. Calculate the overall heat transfer
coefficient, U. Use relevant data from provided table and conversion factors at the bottom of the table.
(15 marks)

35 C, 24 kmph R1

Direction of heat flow

Insulation 38 mm R2

R3
Soft pine sheathing 76 mm

Air space 100 mm R4

Acoustical ceiling R5
19 mm
R6
26.7 C, 0 kmph

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Q4. For 3:00 P.M. solar time, on July 21, in Boise, ID, the following data is given: (10)

Angle of incidence: θ = 52.40

Direct Solar Irradiation: G = 163.4 Btu/hr-ft²,
D

Diffused Solar Irradiation: G = 57.5 Btu/hr-ft², and

d

Total Solar Irradiation: G = 163.4 + 57.5 = 220.9 Btu/hr-ft².

t

A 3 ft wide and 5 ft high window faces south-west and the mean outdoor wind speed in summer months
is 7.5 mph at default emissivity of 0.9. The fixed window has a 2 in. wide sheet-aluminum, galvanized
weathered frame with a thermal break utilizing metal spacers. The glazing system is uncoated double
glazing, CLR CLR (5b in Table 7-3) and there is no setback, i.e., the frame area is equal to the surface
area. There is no interior or exterior shading and the entire window is sunlit. Using tables 5-2, 5-6, 7-1
and 7-3 from the text book and equations 7-31 and 7-32, calculate the total solar heat gain with
simplified approach.

Hint: If two known points are given by the coordinates (x0, y0) and (x1, y1),
the linear interpolation y for a value x between x0 and x1 is given as
y1 − y 0 2 in. wide
y = y 0 + ( x − x0 ) 5 ft
x1 − x0 Al frame

3 ft

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