Particle Deposition from Turbulent Flow: Review of Published Research and Its applicability to Ventilation Ducts in Commercial Buildings

This report reviews published experimental and theoretical investigations of particle deposition from turbulent flows and considers the applicability of this work to the specific case of particle deposition from flows in the ducts of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Particle deposition can detrimentally affect the performance of HVAC systems and it influences the exposure of building occupants to a variety of air pollutants. The first section of this report describes the types of HVAC systems under consideration and discusses the components, materials, and operating parameters commonly found in these systems. The second section reviews published experimental investigations of particle deposition rates from turbulent flows and considers the ramifications of the experimental evidence with respect to HVAC ducts. The third section considers the structure of turbulent airflows in ventilation ducts with a particular emphasis on turbulence investigations that have been used as a basis for particle deposition models. The final section reviews published literature on predicting particle deposition rates from turbulent flows.