PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOLS AND ENHANCEMENTS OF THE EXISTING FACILITY Dr. ing. Ilinca Nastase – CAMBI Center

Schema of the experimental apartment with air diffusers and air distribution system

First idea of the experimental set-up:

If the first version is retained, different enhancement of the existing experimental set-up must be done: Replacement of the existing battery of filters from the air handling unit This operation should allow a prefiltration of the air directed to the experimental apartment.

If the first version is retained, different enhancement of the existing experimental set-up must be done: Introduction of a special battery of filters on the air introduction (only for Air diffuser 3 or for the entire air distribution system – in order to allow all combinations of air diffusers). This equipment should be composed of a metallic filter for retaining large dust particles, that should be followed by a pockets filter for smaller particles and an active carbon filter for gaseous pollutants. The active carbon filter is necessary in order to purify the introduced air in the controlled polluted zone (Hallway 1) – from the point of view of gaseous pollutants. In the same time the other two filters are needed to purify the same air from the point of view of particulate matter pollution as this could affect the carbon filter and the other equipment. Several manufacturers of filters have been contacted in order to decide which combination has to be chosen.

If the first version is retained, different enhancement of the existing experimental set-up must be done: Introduction of a distribution circuit for the pollutant generator. This circuit has to be equipment with a high precision gas flowmeter in order to control the pollutant flow rate. This should be a flowmeter similar to the ones used in medical applications, which are dedicated to high precision measurement of small flow rates of gaz.

If the first version is retained, different enhancement of the existing experimental set-up must be done: Introduction of a dedicated flow meter on the air distribution system Sealing and resealing of the test cell walls and non used air diffusers. This procedure should be correlated with permeability tests using the existing Blower Door Equipment

Some ideas and remarks about the first version of experimental set-up: The experimental facility is composed by an existing experimental apartment from our laboratory having four distinctive enclosures as presented in a schematized form in Figure 1. The apartment has an air distribution system connected with a real air handling unit presented in Figure 2. Air can be introduced through various air diffusers numbered from 1 to 4 in Figure 1. They can be used together or separately since all the supplying pipes are equipped with dampers (see previous description of the existing facility). Air is extracted through exhaust grilles numbered with 5 and 6. In the same way these extraction grilles can be decoupled. During the present study, as explained previously, the idea is to use Test Room 1 and Test Room 2) in order to simulate an indoor environment and the Hall ways 1 and 2 should be used to simulate a controlled polluted outdoor environment. In this case only the air diffuser 3 will be used. The possibility of using several other configurations by combining all air diffusers in order to create different pressure regimes would be possible also. Problem : The pollutant flow should be too important, much too important for the existing O3 generator

Second idea of the experimental set-up:

Some ideas and remarks about the secondversion of experimental set-up: Problem : one door (and a corresponding space) should be condemned !? This second version has the advantage that is decoupled from the existing air distribution system allowing parallel studies in the new air diffusion cell It is much easier to apply and control