| Summary: | The purposes of this thesis were to investigate the contemporary field of air conditioning in industry and education; to determine what equipment should be recommended for installation in the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute; and to design the components and controls for a unit which will be modern, practical, and educational. The components of the unit were designed or selected on the basis of the research summarized in this thesis in Chapter II, ”Review of Literature.”
A central fan system was designed. Within the necessary design limitations, every effort was made to incorporate as many different methods as possible which demonstrate air conditioning processes, and every effort was made to enhance the effectiveness and attractiveness of the unit for its intended purposes of demonstration and research.
The main part of the conditioning apparatus will be supported in ductwork about four feet above the floor level so that weigh tanks, scales, condensate coolers, and drain lines may be placed underneath, thereby allowing the processes to be controlled and observed at normal eye level. In order to keep within the prescribed area, the air measurement chamber and fan will be mounted at a higher level. Ducts will carry air from the existing insulated test room to the unit and return conditioned air to the test room. A duct to extend from an existing roof opening will be large enough to carry 2000 cfm and will contain a freeze-resistant tempering coil.
Manually adjusted opposed blade dampers control air quantities at the junction of the outside air duct and the return air from the test room. Air passing through the built-up unit will pass through the following components: disposable filter, electronic filter, activated carbon filter, steam preheater coll, direct expansion coll, hot or chilled water coil, opposed blade face and bypass dampers, washer, steam reheater coil, air temperature measuring chamber, air flow measuring chamber, and centrifugal fan with inlet vanes. Among the accessory components are a Refrigerant 12 refrigeration unit with water-cooled condenser, water chiller, steam water heater, high-head circulated pump, and a wide assortment of valves and actuators for automatic control on any one of the many cycles being run.
Each piece of conditioning equipment operating on the summer cycle was designed for a nominal cooling capacity of five tone when the system is circulating the equivalent of 2000 standard cfm of air. The winter cycle equipment was designed to supply humidified air to the test chamber at not less than 100°F when 9000 pounds per hour of outside air at 0°F enters the equipment. The apparatus will be capable of maintaining within close limits any reasonable air temperature and humidity under all conditions of operation on both cooling and heating cycles. === Master of Science
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