What makes the air in aeroplane so dry?

Question

After 20hrs in the aeroplane I can see fine wrinkles on my face.

Answer 1

The air needs to be dry to prevent corrosion of the airframe and to prevent fog. This air comes from a unit called PACK - Portable Air Conditioning Kit - which takes hot air bled from the compressor section of jet engines and cools it. It features a COALESCENT BAG which will trap any moisture and dirt before is deliverd to the cabin.

Answer 2

One clarification for dry air in an plane cabin is that the air at altitude is less warm and at a decrease tension than air at sea point, so it could no longer carry as a lot moisture because of fact the air we are used to on the floor. The air interior the cabin comes from the engine compressors at countless hundred degreed F and oftentimes is going by way of a series of warmth exchangers and a turbine to relax it to a cushty temperature. Coalescer systems eliminate a stable deal of the moisture at decrease altitudes. The air administration gadget combines this clean air with recirculated air in an attempt to maximise passenger convenience. Humidification systems could be a possibility, yet because of fact the cabin isn't maintained at sea point tension, there could be an excellent variety of condensation via the time the plane landed.

Answer 3

My understanding of this is the fact that you are in an environment that literally draws moisture out of the air. Air conditioning on aircraft works in the same way as your home/business reverse cycle air conditioner does, in it gets the outside air to flow over superheated air (& in this case it happens to be from the compressor section of the engine) that cools the air but also cause a pressure drop which creates moisture and all the moisture from that pressure drop is collected to be used in either cooling air more or re-heating air at a different stage except some of that recycled heated air is used to de-ice other parts of the aircraft.

So if you are in an enviroment that removes the moisture form the air your body willreact. to counteract this get youself a good moisturizer and apply everytime you feel your skin is becoming dry.

Answer 4

Bostonian is right about the relative humidity at altitude. However, transport jets' air conditioning packs have what is known as a water separator. Its function is to remove the water and dirt from the air in order to keep a supply of clean air to the pressurized envelope. If a water separator fails open, you get water running out of the ducting, dripping anywhere and everywhere. If it is humid the next time you fly, you may notice a water puddle under the aircraft. That's the water separator draining onto the tarmac.

Answer 5

For every 18 degree F rise in temperature, relative humidity is halved. If the outside temp at altitude is -65 F and the inside temp is 75 F, the RH would be halved over 7 times. Even if the RH outside the airplane was 100%, the interior RH would be less than 2% -- much drier than Death Valley.

Answer 6

Air conditioning removes the moister. It is the same in a car, bus, train, your house. Spend enough time in an air conditioned atmosphere and you will dry out

Answer 7

The air for the cabin comes from bleed air off the engine. The bleed air is from the Compressor section(front) of the engine. Since the air is hot comming off that sectionand there isn't much moisture in the air at altitude. you have very dry cabin air

Answer 8

The colder the air outside is the less moisture it will hold. If the plane is using compressed air, then it is dryed to prevent rust in the tanks and the system. That's my guess.

Answer 9

The humidity.