ENSC 461 (S 11) Gas Vapor Mixtures and HVAC 1 Gas Vapor Mixtures and HVAC Atmospheric air normally contains some water vapor (moisture). The dry-air contains no water. Although the amount of water vapor in the air is small, it plays a major role in human comfort and thus in air-conditioning applications. The temperature of air in air-conditioning applications ranges from about -10 to 50°C. In t...

Field measurement of soil moisture is undertaken traditionally using point based measurement techniques such as neutron probes or time domain reflectrometry (TDR). Recently, a new technique has been developed that can be used to derive soil moisture at larger spatial scales by measuring neutrons that are generated by cosmic rays within the air and soil, and emitted back into the atmosphere. A ...

Fat and moisture analysis by microwave drying and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a direct method that yields accurate results in minutes without solvents or the frequent calibration required by indirect methods such as near infrared (NIR) or Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). In the past, NMR was unreliable for determining fat content in foods because the signal from moisture present in th...

In the western United States, mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common forest management practices aimed at reducing potential wildfire severity and restoring historic forest structure, yet their effects on forest microclimate conditions are not well understood. We collected microclimate data between 1998 and 2003 in amixed-conifer forest in California’s Sierra Nevada. Air and soil te...

The moisture budget associated with the eastward-propagating Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was diagnosed using 1979–2001 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data. A marked zonal asymmetry of the moisture relative to the MJO convection appears in the planetary boundary layer (PBL, below 700 hPa), creating a potentially more unstable stratification to the east of the MJO convection and favoring th...

Experimental and field studies of different turtle species suggest that moisture influences embryonic development and sex ratios, wetter substrates tend to produce more males, and drier substrates produce more females. In this study, we used Trachemys scripta elegans to test the effect of moisture on embryonic development and sex ratios. T. s. elegans eggs were incubated under different tempera...

The methodology afrisk analysis and assessment is reviewed and applied to study the reliability of condensation control measures in lightweight building envelopes. It is generally recognized that airtight construction is an essential part of condensation control. Nowadays, different air barrier systems are developed and documented to prevent air leakage and moisture accumulation in the envelope...

The newly-developed cosmic-ray method for measuring area-average soil moisture at the hectometer horizontal scale is being implemented in the COsmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System (or the COSMOS). The stationary cosmic-ray soil moisture probe measures the neutrons that are generated by cosmic rays within air and soil and other materials, moderated by mainly hydrogen atoms located primarily ...

In concrete repair systems, material properties of the repair material and the interface are greatly influenced by the moisture exchange between the repair material and the substrate. If the substrate is dry, it can absorb water from the repair material and reduce its effective water-to-cement ratio (w/c). This further affects the hydration rate of cement based material. In addition to the chan...

This study was conducted in a school center that had been the focus of intense public concern over 2 years because of suspected mold and health problems. Because several attempts to find solutions to the problem within the community were not satisfactory, outside specialists were needed for support in solving the problem. The study group consisted of experts in civil engineering, indoor mycolog...