Document 2RvdJNk0vqG7agpm5Xr7mekYg
American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers Guide, 1936.
Chapter 11--Humidification and Dehumidification
is required for effective atomization. The spacing of spray nozzles is determined by the water requirements of the particular installation. j{ spray type washer may contain one, two or three banks of nozzles depend ing upon its application.
When an air washer is used for cleaning air it removes impurities and dusts. In general it does not function as efficiently in this service as a filter. For non-microscopic soluble dust its efficiency, averages about 50 per cent, unless the concentration of dust is high. Its effectiveness in removing greasy microscopic dust is practically negligible as is also its deodorizing ability.
When a washer is used to regulate the moisture content of air it adds moisture to (humidifies) or removes moisture from (dehumidifies) the air to achieve the desired moisture content.
When air passes through a washer wherein water is circulated without the addition or removal of heat, the air tends to become saturated at its entering wet-bulb temperature. What occurs here is partial or complete adiabatic saturation. The total heat content of the air is unchanged, inasmuch as the dry-bulb temperature of the air drops in proportion to the amount of additional water evaporated. This action is also known as evaporative cooling. A measure of the washer's effectiveness under these conditions is its saturating efficiency which is equal to the drop in drybulb temperature in per cent of the entering wet-bulb depression. Other things being equal, the saturating efficiency of a spray type washer is a function of the number of spray banks and the direction in which they spray. The following table gives a general comparison:
H midifiers may be figured on the same basis as dehumidifiers; the . water temperature, of course, will be higher than the wet-bulb
temperature of the leaving air.
The problem of cooling or heating the circulated water before returning . tjjg washer chamber is external to the unit. It will suffice here to
ote that heating is generally accomplished by passing the water through dosed hot water heaters or by injecting steam into the water circuit; cooling, by passing the water through closed coolers or over refrigerating coils in a Baudelot chamber. Often in a cooling and dehumidifiying application, the refrigerating coils are located within the washer chamber.
3 banks--2 upstream--X downstream.--...........100% saturation efficiency
2 banks--2 upstream__________________
95% saturation efficiency.
2 banks--1 upstream--1 downstream.-............ 85% saturation efficiency
1 bank --upstream..... ........
80% saturation efficiency
X bank --downstream... ..................................... 65% saturation efficiency
When air passes through a washer wherein the circulated water is
either cooled or heated before being returned to the spray chamber, a
heat interchange between the air and water occurs, and the air tends to
become saturated at the temperature of the leaving water. The extent
to which the leaving air and leaving water temperatures approach each
other is an index to the effectiveness of the washer under the operating
conditions. The total heat absorbed by the water in the process equals the total heat given up by the air, or the heat given up by the water equals the heat absorbed by the air. Depending on whether the moisture con tent of the air is increased or decreased during the operation, humidifi cation or dehumidification occurs. Heat will be added to or removed from the air as the water supplied is of a higher or a lower temperature
Washers are sometimes arranged in two or more stages to cool through long ranges or to increase the over-all efficiency of heat transfer between air and the cooling or heating medium (water, brine, etc.). ,A multi-stage washer is equivalent to a number of washers in series arrangement. Each stage is in effect a separate washer.
than the wet-bulb temperature of the entering air.
'
. Usually the catalog capacity of a washer is expressed in cubic feet of
For dehumidifiers, the ratio of the difference between the leaving wet-
air per minute and is based upon an air velodty of 500 feet per minute
'
bulb and the leaving water to .the difference between the entering wet-
through the gross cross-sectional area of the unit above the water level in
bulb and the entering water may be figured as follows:
its tank. At this rating spray type washers handle about 2-j/j gpm of
3 banks--1 downstream--2 upstream. .......... ........................ ............... 0%
2 banks--2 upstream. ..... ..... ..... ............. .
............... 5%
15%
water per bank per square foot of area, that is, about 5 gpm per bank per 1000 cfm. These proportions of air, water, area, and velodty may be departed from to meet the needs of some particular job, but certain
1 bank --downstream............................ ...........
20% ....... .........35%
limiting relationships should be observed. Two of the more important items are:
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