How Particle Resuspension from Inner Surfaces of Ventilation Ducts Affects Indoor Air Quality—A Modeling Analysis

Dust particles deposited on the inner surfaces of the ventilation ducts can be resuspended by passing airflow. A physical-science-based model is developed to understand how particle resuspension affects the indoor air quality. This integrated model takes into consideration particle mass balance models for straight ventilation duct, duct bend, ventilation room, and air filter. The straight duct and room models have been validated using experimental data. With the integrated model, we find that in-duct resuspension of particles could lead to significant increase in exposure to airborne particles for indoor occupants. It is also found that indoor particle exposure is a linear function of dust mass loading. Greater ventilation rate, which means higher air speed above the dust particles, would lead to greater exposure ratio, while fresh air ratio has little influence. Possible control methods are discussed as well.

[1]  Z. Zheng,et al.  Transient Response of Particle Distribution in a Chamber to Transient Particle Injection , 2009 .

[2]  F. Dominici,et al.  Fine particulate air pollution and mortality in 20 U.S. cities, 1987-1994. , 2000, The New England journal of medicine.

[3]  Reza Mortazavi.  Reentrainment of Submicron Solid Particles , 2005 .

[4]  Jonathan Thornburg,et al.  Resuspension of Particulate Matter from Carpet Due to Human Activity , 2008 .

[5]  P. Pasanen,et al.  Culturable and Total Fungi in Dust Accumulated in Air Ducts in Single‐Family Houses , 1997 .

[6]  R. Holopainen.  Dust in ventilation ducts : accumulation, measurement and removal , 2004 .

[7]  M S Zuraimi.  Is ventilation duct cleaning useful? A review of the scientific evidence. , 2010, Indoor air.

[8]  R. Burnett,et al.  Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. , 2002, JAMA.

[9]  A. Lai.  Particle deposition indoors: a review. , 2002, Indoor air.

[10]  William W. Nazaroff,et al.  Modeling particle loss in ventilation ducts , 2003 .

[11]  Andrew R. McFarland,et al.  Aerosol deposition in bends with turbulent flow , 1997 .

[12]  Thomas E McKone,et al.  Indoor particulate matter of outdoor origin: importance of size-dependent removal mechanisms. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  M. Fairweather,et al.  Inertial particle resuspension in a turbulent, square duct flow , 2010 .

[14]  P Pasanen,et al.  The effect of cleanliness control during installation work on the amount of accumulated dust in ducts of new HVAC installations. , 2002, Indoor air.

[15]  O. Seppänen,et al.  Classification of Indoor Climate, Construction, and Finishing Materials , 1997 .

[16]  M. L. Laucks,et al.  Aerosol Technology Properties, Behavior, and Measurement of Airborne Particles , 2000 .

[17]  S. Matsusaka,et al.  Reentrainment of deposited particles by drag and aerosol collision , 2003 .

[18]  Wei-Zhen Lu,et al.  Microorganisms and particles in AHU systems: Measurement and analysis , 2009 .

[19]  D. Dockery,et al.  An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. , 1993, The New England journal of medicine.

[20]  Bin Zhao,et al.  Effect of ventilation duct as a particle filter , 2007 .

[21]  David Faulkner,et al.  Indoor Particles and Symptoms Among Office Workers: Results from a Double-Blind Cross-Over Study , 2002, Epidemiology.

[22]  K. W. Nicholson.  Wind tunnel experiments on the resuspension of particulate material , 1993 .

[23]  Goodarz Ahmadi,et al.  Particle Detachment, Resuspension and Transport Due to Human Walking in Indoor Environments , 2008 .

[24]  Gwen A. Loosmore,et al.  Evaluation and development of models for resuspension of aerosols at short times after deposition , 2003 .

[25]  G Murphy,et al.  Airborne spread of measles in a suburban elementary school. , 1978, American journal of epidemiology.

[26]  Angui Li,et al.  The effect of air-conditioning parameters and deposition dust on microbial growth in supply air ducts , 2010 .

[27]  Tracy L. Thatcher,et al.  Deposition, resuspension, and penetration of particles within a residence , 1995 .

[28]  Jae-Weon Jeong,et al.  Critical Review of Aerosol Particle Transport Models for Building HVAC Ducts , 2009 .

[29]  R. Brach,et al.  Microparticle detachment from surfaces exposed to turbulent air flow: Effects of flow and particle deposition characteristics , 2004 .

[30]  E G Luebeck,et al.  Particulate air pollution and mortality. , 1996, Epidemiology.