Investigation of exhaled pollutant distribution in the breathing microenvironment in a displacement ventilated room with indoor air stability conditions

Abstract

This study experimentally studied the dispersion of exhaled pollutant in the breathing microenvironment (BM) in a room equipped with a displacement ventilation (DV) system and indoor air stability conditions (i.e., stable and unstable conditions). The vertical temperature differences and the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the BM were measured. Results show that when DV is combined with the stable condition (DS), pollutant tends to accumulate in the BM, leading to a high pollutant concentration in this region. Whereas, when DV is combined with the unstable condition (DU), pollutant diffuses to a relatively wider area beyond the BM, thus the pollutant concentration in the BM is substantially reduced. Moreover, increasing the flow rate can reduce the pollutant concentration in the BM of the DS but yields little difference of the DU. In addition, personal exposure intensity increases with time, and the DS has a relatively higher increase rate than DU. The results suggest that indoor air stability will affect the performance of DV systems. DS will lead to a higher health risk for people when they stay in the indoor environment with pollutant sources, and DU is recommended for minimizing pollutant level in the BM in order to reduce the pollutant concentration and providing better air environments for the occupants.