Experiments Measuring Particle Deposition from Fully Developed Turbulent Flow in Ventilation Ducts

Particle deposition in ventilation ducts influences particle exposures of building occupants and may lead to a variety of indoor air quality concerns. Experiments have been performed in a laboratory to study the effects of particle size and air speed on deposition rates of particles from turbulent air flows in galvanized steel and internally insulated ducts with hydraulic diameters of 15.2 cm. The duct systems were constructed of materials typically found in commercial heating, entilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. In the steel duct system, experiments with nominal particle sizes of 1, 3, 5, 9 and 16 µm were conducted at each of three nominal air speeds: 2.2, 5.3 and 9.0 m/s. In the insulated duct system, deposition rates of particles with nominal sizes of 1, 3, 5, 8 and 13 µm were measured at nominal air speeds of 2.2, 5.3 and 8.8 m/s. Fluorescent techniques were used to directly measure the deposition velocities of monodisperse fluorescent particles to duct surfaces (floor, wall and ceiling) at two straight duct sections where the turbulent flow profile was fully developed. In steel ducts, deposition rates were higher to the duct floor than to the wall, which were, in turn, greater than to the ceiling. In insulated ducts, deposition was nearly the same to the duct floor, wall and ceiling for a given particle size and air speed. Deposition to duct walls and ceilings was greatly enhanced in insulated ducts compared to steel ducts. Deposition velocities to each of the three duct surface orientations in both systems were found to increase with increasing particle size or air velocity over the ranges studied. Deposition rates measured in the current experiments were in general agreement with the limited observations of similar systems by previous researchers.