IJV12

In Mediterranean regions, characterized by a hot and humid climate during summer, the exposure of facades and the position of opening windows are important parameters to enhance passive cooling in the building using buoyancy-driven airflow. An example is the double skin façade which is directly exposed to solar radiation.

Wind catchers are natural ventilation systems attached to buildings in order to ventilate the indoor air. In order to design and evaluate the performance of wind catchers, as a natural ventilation system, an accurate CFD simulation of indoor airflow and outdoor wind flow is fundamental. It is widely known that there are a large number of computational parameters influencing CFD simulations. Consequently, comprehensive sensitivity analyses of the effect of these parameters on the simulation results are essential to provide guidance for the evaluation of a CFD study.

As a part of the development of a numerical method of close capture exhaust systems for machining devices, a test rig recreating a situation similar to a grinding operation, but in a perfectly controlled environment, was produced. The properties of the obtained spray of solid particles were initially characterized using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), in order to obtain input and validation parameters for numerical simulations. The dispersion of a tracer gas (SF6), emitted simultaneously with the particle jet, was then studied experimentally.

On the basis of modelling with similarity theory and by using the Archimedes number, Ar, as the similitude parameter, this paper analyzes the air distribution of a busbar corridor in a hydropower station by using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement technique.

It is estimated that people in the developed world spend more than 85-90% of their time indoors. Of this, most is spent in homes. To minimize health risks from pollutants occurring in homes, exposures should be controlled. The most effective way to achieve this is to control sources of pollutants and to reduce emissions. Often, especially in existing buildings, this strategy is difficult to implement, in which case exposures are controlled by providing sufficient, presumably clean, outdoor ventilation air to dilute and remove the contaminants.

The National Museum of Western Art is the only work of Le Corbusier in Japan and 50 years have already passed since its construction. In order to maintain the museum’s value as a cultural asset, there is an urgent need to draft a thorough retrofit plan both to maintain the building’s function as an art museum and to restore Le Corbusier’s original design concept.

The rate of ventilation in buildings is regulated in most European countries to provide a sufficient exchange of clean air to maintain and ensure the health and comfort of building occupants. Information on the actual level of ventilation rates is needed to estimate the consequences of reduced ventilation on the potential increasing risk of health problems. Unfortunately only limited population based data are available on the measured ventilation rates of residences in European countries.

INRS has evaluated the performance of fume extraction systems on road pavement asphalt pavers over a two year period between 2009 and 2011. These systems are used to reduce operator exposure by capturing fumes at the auger, where most emissions are generated, and discharging them above the paver at sufficient velocity to prevent fumes blowing back towards the operator cab. Evaluation was conducted using a tracer gas (SF6), based on the NIOSH-proposed protocol (1997).

Open fronted ventilated enclosures are commonly used in industry to control worker exposure to a wide range of chemicals. These enclosures tend to be of basic design and often consist of nothing more than a box like structure with an open front to allow worker access and extraction at the rear to remove contaminated air. This design forces the worker to stand at the face of the enclosure and by doing so presents a blockage to the airflow.

Air handling units are used to provide a mixture of fresh and recycled (recirculated) air to buildings. They include general ventilation filters for the removal of particles and gases in order to protect the components of the air handling units and to provide clean air to occupants. Standardised test methods exist for the laboratory performance assessment of particulate filters - EN 779 (2012) in Europe and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2 (2007) in USA - and gas phase filters - ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 145.2 (2011) in USA and draft International Standard ISO/FDIS 10121-2 (2012).