Engineering ToolBox - Resources, Tools and Basic Information for Engineering and Design of Technical Applications!

This is an AMP page - Open full page! for all features.

Moist Air - Specific Volume

Specific volume of moist air is defined as the total volume of humid air per mass unit of dry air

Sponsored Links

When discussing specific volume of moist air its necessary to differentiate between  

  • specific volume of moist air per mass unit of dry air, or
  • specific volume of moist air per mass unit of dry air and water vapor

Specific Volume of Moist Air per Mass Unit of Dry Air

Specific volume is defined as the total volume of dry air and water vapor mixture per kg of dry air (SI-units). The specific volume can be expressed as

vda = V / ma                                     (1)

where

vda = specific volume of moist air per mass unit of dry air (m3/kg)

V = total volume of moist air (m3)

ma = mass of dry air (kg)

When dry air and water vapor with the same temperature occupies the same volume the equation for an ideal gas can be applied. 

pa V = ma Ra T                                 (2)

where 

pa = partial pressure of dry air (Pa)

Ra = 286.9 - the individual gas constant dry air (J/kg.K) 

T = temperature of the moist air (K)

Combining (1) and (2):

vda =  Ra T / pa                                    (3)

The partial pressure of the air can be expressed as

pa = p - pw   (3b)

where 

p = pressure in the moist air (Pa)

pw = partial pressure water vapor (Pa)

Combining (3) and (2): 

vda =  Ra T / (p - pw)                                 (3c)

The ideal gas law can also be applied to the water vapor as

pw V = mw Rw T                                   (4)

where 

pw = partial pressure of water vapor (Pa)

Rw = individual gas constant water vapor ( 461.4 J/kg.K) 

T = temperature of the moist air (K)

The mass of the water vapor can be calculated by using the humidity ratio and the mass of air as

mw = x ma                                      (5)

where 

x = mw / ma = specific humidity or humidity ratio (kgh2o/kgdry_air)

mw = mass of water vapor (kg)

ma = mass of dry air (kg)

Combining (4) and (5): 

pw V = x ma Rw T                              (6)

Combining (6) with (1):

vda =  x Rw T / pw                             (7)

Transforming (7): 

pw =  x Rw T / vda                            (8)

Combining (8) with (3c):

vda =  Ra T / (p - (x Rw T / vda))                              (9)

(9) can be transformed to express the specific volume of moist air per unit mass of dry air as

 vda =  (1 + x Rw / Ra) Ra T / p                                (10)

Specific Volume of Moist Air per unit Mass of Dry Air and Water Vapor

Specific volume is defined as the total volume of dry air and water vapor mixture per kg of dry air and water vapor (SI-units). The specific volume can be expressed as:

v = V / ma + mw                                (11)

where

v = specific volume of moist air per mass unit of dry air and water vapor (m3/kg)

Combining with (5): 

v = V / ma (1 + x)                              (12)

Combining with (1):

v = vda / (1 + x)                               (13)

and the specific volume of moist air per unit mass of dry air and water vapor (moist air) can be expressed as

v = (Ra T / p) [(1 + x Rw / Ra)/ (1 + x)]                                  (14)

(14) can used to express the inverse of the specific volume - the density - of moist air as

ρ = 1 / v

    = (p / Ra T) (1 + x) / (1 + x Rw / Ra)                                          (15)

Sponsored Links

Related Topics

Related Documents

Sponsored Links

Share

Search Engineering ToolBox

  • the most efficient way to navigate the Engineering ToolBox!

SketchUp Extension - Online 3D modeling!

Add standard and customized parametric components - like flange beams, lumbers, piping, stairs and more - to your Sketchup model with the Engineering ToolBox - SketchUp Extension - enabled for use with the amazing, fun and free SketchUp Make and SketchUp Pro . Add the Engineering ToolBox extension to your SketchUp from the Sketchup Extension Warehouse!

Privacy

We don't collect information from our users. Only emails and answers are saved in our archive. Cookies are only used in the browser to improve user experience.

Some of our calculators and applications let you save application data to your local computer. These applications will - due to browser restrictions - send data between your browser and our server. We don't save this data.

Google use cookies for serving our ads and handling visitor statistics. Please read Google Privacy & Terms for more information about how you can control adserving and the information collected.

AddThis use cookies for handling links to social media. Please read AddThis Privacy for more information.

Topics

Unit Converters

Temperature

oC
oF


Load Calculator!

Length

m
km
in
ft
yards
miles
naut miles


Load Calculator!

Area

m2
km2
in2
ft2
miles2
acres


Load Calculator!

Volume

m3
liters
in3
ft3
us gal


Load Calculator!

Weight

kgf
N
lbf


Load Calculator!

Velocity

m/s
km/h
ft/min
ft/s
mph
knots


Load Calculator!

Pressure

Pa (N/m2)
bar
mm H2O
kg/cm2
psi
inches H2O


Load Calculator!

Flow

m3/s
m3/h
US gpm
cfm


Load Calculator!

3 30

This website use cookies. By continuing to browse you are agreeing to our use of cookies! Learn more