Effect of the floor on the ventilation performance of the vortex vent

The vortex ventilation system (VV) which uses a rotating finned swirler installed coaxially with the exhaust duct is a very effective local ventilator. VV can enhance the capture depth by a factor of 3-5 compared to the conventional exhaust hood, in the absence of any solid walls nearby. In real situations there may exist ceiling, side wall and floor, all of which can affect the flow field and suction performance by way of the no-slip condition on the walls. 3D CFD simulation was performed in order to see the effect of the floor on the capture performance of the VV. The presence of floor reduced suction flow velocity, and increased the critical rotational speed which is the rotational speed required for stable vortex formation. Flow velocity profile along the axis could be well approximated by a universal functional form when the distance from the exhaust inlet is non-dimensionalized by the distance to the floor. Capture depth, define by the distance from the exhaust inlet to a point of velocity decreased to 10% of that at the inlet, is reduced by about 10% when the floor distance is 6 times the exhaust hood diameter.