Optimisation of the air flow performance of ventilated painting areas.

Painting large objects like cars or trucks usually generates high levels of pollution that can be eliminated by operating in a closed painting booth equipped with a blowing ceiling which produces a vertical ventilation flow. When the process does not allow the work to be carried out in a completely confined space (in the presence of a travelling crane for example) one of the only ways to remove pollution is the ventilated area. A basic ventilated area is merely a floor area of an industrial premises located above a pit equipped with an air exhaust system. The purpose of this paper is to optimise the design of these systems to meet occupational health and safety standards. CFD modelling was employed to conduct a study focussed on varying the following parameters: exhaust vent size, distribution of the ventilation flow rate, height and shape of the walls, type of air supply systems. The result is a proposal for an optimised ventilated area.