Numerical Simulation and Experiment on the Transport of Fine Particles in a Ventilated Room

ABSTRACT

The change in concentration distribution of particulate contaminants emitted in a room was studied experimentally and theoretically to investigate whether the transport of contaminants in a room with a source of particles can be predicted by numerical simulation. Tracer contaminants, monodisperse latex particles, were introduced into a 3.3 m ×2.7 m ×2 m room with clean air for a given time, and the change in the contaminant concentrations with time was measured at various positions in the room. Calculations of the spatial and temporal distributions in the gas velocity and contaminant concentration were performed to predict the concentration change, with the Navier-Stokes and convection-diffusion equations solved numerically. The experimental results showed that the concentration distribution depends on the position of introduction of the contaminants. It was also indicated that the contaminants introduced near the room floor diffuse more than predicted. However, the calculated concentrations agreed almost quantitatively with the measured results, except near the floor and walls. The change in the concentration with time and the dependence of the concentration distribution on the position of the particle source were well reproduced by the calculation.