The Development of Fume Extractor for a Welding Booth

Abstract

In our society today, there are several welding activities in the manufacturing establishments, production factories and metal fabrications on our streets daily. During this welding processes, welders are exposed to welding fume that are dangerous to their health. This can be prevented. The aim of the work is to develop a system that remove welding fume from the breathing zone of welder and leave the surrounding safe for other personnel. The system was designed using American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard among others. The booth volume, hood size, hood location, duct size and fan size were designed, selected and fabricated. The designed static pressure of the system is 164.412 Pa and the design volumetric flow is 6.126 m3/min. The ventilation system was tested by using thermo anemometer, thermometer and a measuring tape. Volumetric flow test on the flexible duct shows that at 150 mm extension, maximum air flow of 4.217 m3/min is achievable with this system while at full extension, 5.376 m3/min is achievable. Results, shows that welding at 0 mm to 100 mm from the hood extract smoke from the source whilst between 200 mm to 400 mm distance from the hood were significant lagged in extracting the smoke but at 500 mm, smoke reaches the welder’s breathing zone.