COMIS v3.1 simulation environment for multizone air flow and pollutant transport modelling

In this paper the main features and the latest improvements of COMIS (that simulates multizone air flow and pollutant transport) are presented.

European inter-laboratory comparison on VOC emitted from building materials and products

Descibes an inter-laboratory comparison between 18 labs from 10 European countries to improve the procedure used to measure VOC emitted from samples of building materials and products in small test chambers.

Development of a passive flux sampler (PFS)

The mitigation to reduce indoor pollutant concentration are increasing ventilation rate or to reduce the emission of the pollutant which is also common in VOCs. Households, furnitures, building materials and so are well known as the source of indoor VOCs. There are several devices to measure emission of VOCs, such as an emission chamber or FLEC, which are adopted in ISO 16000. However these 2 methods has each disadvantages e.g. the chamber is suitable only in a fixed condition such as a laboratory, or the necessity of a pump and humidifer.

Simulation tool for indoor air quality improvement in a covered swimming pool.

The use of hypochlorite for water disinfection is source of chloramines production, which are transferred to the atmosphere.Nitrogen trichloride (NCl3) is the main component, which is a major cause of respiratory and ocular problems for swimmers and lifeguards. This first part comprised a sampling campaign concerning the measurement of NCl3 in a swimming pool (Picardie-France) during 15 days (October 2001). This campaign concerned the air quality diagnostics and showed that the majority of detected levels were critical (P50 = 0,44 mg/m 3 ).

Air purification by photocatalysis : a new system of VOC degradation and odour removal

This article describes a new system developed and patented by a Belgian firm for air purification, using photocatalysis (UVA radiation + titania dioxide) for VOC and odour removal. Results from degradation tests are presented.

Prediction of indoor environmental quality in multizone buildings using zonal models

Prediction of airflow and pollutant transfers in a simple multizone building may use different approaches such as zonal or nodal modeling methods. This paper proposes to improve the modeling of pollutant transport by coupling nodal and zonal models in the SPARK simulation environment.
Nodal model gives mass airflow rates used as boundary conditions in the zonal model to predict pollutants mass transport. Simulation results are compared with experimental data from the 2 zones testing room Minibat.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) validation of the prediction of pesticide dispersion in a naturally-ventilated building

Full-scale laboratory measurements combined with numerical simulations were undertaken to evaluate CFD capability to predict the pesticide dispersion in a naturally ventilated building. CFD successfully reproduced the trends but overestimates the mixing inside the building.

Theoretical study of pollutant mixing in rooms induced by occupancy

This study presents a model to predict the time required by a pollutant to disperse in a room, due to the effects of room occupancy (a moving person enhances the mixing of pollutants).

The relationship between airborne acidity and ammonia in indoor environments.

Forty seven residential buildings were monitored for indoor acid aerosol, nitric acid and ammonia concentrations over a summer in State College, Pennsylvania. Questionnaires were also distributed for information on occupant behaviour. The paper discusses the relationship between ammonia and concentrations of aerosol strong acidity and HNO3 in the buildings. The indoor outdoor relationship was also analysed. High indoor NH3 levels were found and low acid levels. Mass balance models that included an NH3 neutralisation term were found to predict indoor acid concentrations reasonably well.

Modelling the performance of different ventilation systems on VOC removal in a full-scale room.

Among significant occupational health problems are building-related health complaints and symptoms. A potential cause has been identified as the elevated concentrations of various types of indoor contaminants, which are frequently associated with inadequate ventilation. This research aimed to model and evaluate the performance of several ventilation methods on volatile organic compound (VOC) removal in indoor environments. The time history of the contaminant concentrations in a model office have been simulated using a newly developed computer model.

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