Numerical investigation of airflow pattern and particulate matter transport in naturally ventilated multi-room buildings
Journal
Indoor Air
Journal Volume
16
Journal Issue
2
Pages
136-152
Date Issued
2006
Author(s)
Abstract
This study reports on a numerical investigation of transport behavior of indoor airflow and size-dependent particulate matter (PM) in multi-room buildings. An indoor size-dependent PM transport approach, combining the Eulerian large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow with the Lagrangian particle trajectory tracking, was developed to investigate indoor airflow pattern and PM1/PM2.5/PM10 removal efficiency in naturally ventilated multi-room buildings. A displacement ventilation with a measured indoor PM10 profile in Taipei Metropolis as the initial condition was carried out to characterize spatial and temporal variations of indoor PM 1/PM2.5/PM10 removal behavior. The effects of indoor airflow pattern on particle transport mechanisms, e.g., deposition, suspension, migration and escape, were analyzed. Two comparison scenarios, which considered the effects of no indoor partition and different air change rate, respectively, were also conducted. In comparison with the effectiveness of PM1/PM2.5/PM10 removal, the simulated results showed that coarse particles were easier to be removed out of the building than fine particles. Natural ventilation was not an effective way to remove fine particles such as PM1 and PM2.5 in a multi-room building. Indoor partitions can impede 12% of the mean streamwise velocities and significantly increase 30-50% turbulence intensities. However, indoor partitions increased particle deposition and decreased particle escape. As a result of the two opposite particle removal mechanisms, i.e., deposition and escape, the impact of indoor partitions on PM1/PM2.5/PM10 removal behavior was not as significant as the results of airflow velocities. © 2006 The Authors.
Subjects
Computational fluid dynamics; Displacement ventilation; Indoor partition; Lagrangian particle tracking; Multi-room building; Particulate matter
SDGs
Other Subjects
air; air conditioning; air pollutant; article; computer simulation; construction work and architectural phenomena; indoor air pollution; particle size; reproducibility; theoretical model; Air Movements; Air Pollutants; Air Pollution, Indoor; Computer Simulation; Facility Design and Construction; Models, Theoretical; Particle Size; Reproducibility of Results; Ventilation
Type
journal article