CFD Modeling of Ventilation and Dust Flow Behavior in Polishing and the Design of an Innovative Wet Dust Removal System.

Jianghai Qian,Hailong Liu,Junfeng Wang,Haojie Xu

doi:10.3390/ijerph17166006

Jianghai Qian, Hailong Liu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17166006

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Abstract

Fine aluminum dust pollution in the polishing process was detected during a field survey. To obtain a fundamental understanding of the airflow patterns and the fine dust dispersion characteristics during a polishing process, computational fluid dynamics simulations were first performed to analyze the data collected in field measurements. The inappropriate ventilation arrangement and lack of effective dust control measures were identified as the main reasons for the high dust exposure levels (in excess of 1000 μg/m3). Simulation results showed that inhalable dust particles (PM10) could be significantly diluted at the operator’s breathing level by adding a supply air inlet above the operating area. Moreover, dry dust collection systems create a risk of aluminum dust explosion accidents. An innovative design of wet dust removal system which could mitigate the occurrence of dust explosions was proposed and then implemented on site. An independent field dust assessment showed that a reduction of fine dust particles up to 95% in the worker’s breathing area and the fine dust in the vents was reduced to 80%. Therefore, the proposed strategies are implemented immediately to address the combustible dust in the polishing working environment and can provide guidance for operators.

Highlights

With the rapid development of the aluminum products industry, aluminum and aluminum alloys are one of the most widely used nonferrous structural materials in industrial applications which have been widely used in the aerospace, automobile, mechanical manufacturing, and chemical industries [1]
Dry dust collection systems create a risk of aluminum dust explosion accidents
The results showed that the suction flow rate and the speed of rotating disk have obvious effects on the performance of local exhaust ventilation system. which illustrated the complexity of the dust removal in polishing processes [18]

Summary

Introduction

With the rapid development of the aluminum products industry, aluminum and aluminum alloys are one of the most widely used nonferrous structural materials in industrial applications which have been widely used in the aerospace, automobile, mechanical manufacturing, and chemical industries [1]. As a result of the metal surface requirements, raw metal must be polished. The polishing process produces a lot of metal dust which introduces occupational hazards to workers, such as aluminosis ( known as “aluminum lung”), significantly affecting the health of employees. More than 975,000 cases of occupational illness occurred in 2018, and 90% of reported occupational diseases were pneumoconiosis in China [2]. New cases of worker pneumoconiosis have risen continuously every year. According to data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 20,000 to 250,000 new cases of pneumoconiosis have been reported annually since 2010, and the actual number of cases was much higher than the number of reported cases (CDC, 2019) [3]

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