Skip Navigation



Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access published online on August 11, 2009
Annals of Occupational Hygiene, doi:10.1093/annhyg/mep057
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lambert, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by O'shaughnessy, P.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lambert, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by O'shaughnessy, P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society

CFD Simulation of Contaminant Decay for High Reynolds Flow in a Controlled Environment

Andrew R. Lambert1,*, Ching-Long Lin1, Eunice Mardorf2 and Patrick O'shaughnessy3

1 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa, 3100 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
2 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Iowa, Health Protection Office, 122 Grand Avenue Court, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
3 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Iowa, 137 IREH, Oakdale Campus, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +(712) 251-7946; fax: +1-319-335-1527; e-mail: andrew-lambert{at}uiowa.edu

This study examines the usage of computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) for estimating the time-elapsed decay of contaminants within a chamber experiencing high Reynolds flow. CFD results were compared with measurements taken at a controlled facility. In addition, parameters of the CFD simulation were examined; namely the effects of turbulence and inertial transport at high Reynolds number ventilating flows, as well as inlet duct configuration and its effect on the inlet velocity profile. The agreement between the computational and experimental clearance times was quite good, with percent errors as low as –5.32% at high flow rate and –11.8% at the lower flow rate. This study determined that for high Reynolds flow, diffusive transport effects may be ignored as the majority of mass is transported via the bulk stream, i.e. momentum transport. In addition, resolving the inlet velocity profile was of prime importance for accurate simulation of ventilating flows and prediction of contaminant washout. This was done by including the inlet duct geometry in the computational domain. In addition, it was found that despite different flow rates, the predicted contaminant washout took ~12–13% longer than predicted assuming instantaneous mixing. Furthermore, percent error between computational and experimental data as low as –5.32% shows that CFD is a useful tool for studying ventilation phenomena.

carbon dioxide • computational fluid dynamics • contaminant transport • indoor air quality • Reynolds number • species decay

Received February 18, 2009; in final form July 8, 2009


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.