Study of air velocity and turbulence effects on organic compound emissions from building materials/furnishings using a new small test chamber

J. S. Zhang, C. Y. Shaw, J. M. Kanabus-Kaminska, R. A. MacDonald, R. J. Magee, E. Lusztyk, H. J. Weichert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new small chamber (1.0 by 0.8 by 0.5 m) test system was developed to investigate the effect of local airflow conditions on the emission rates of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from commonly used building materials and furnishings. The uniqueness of the new chamber is that it can provide controlled mean air velocity and turbulence level over the surface of the tested material in addition to air temperature, relative humidity, air change rate, and chamber loading as in small test chambers. This paper presents the design, construction, and performance data of this new test chamber system. In addition, VOC emissions from a wood stain were tested using the new small chamber under two different air-velocity conditions. A new procedure was developed to determine the interfacial mass transfer coefficient based on the concentration data measured at the outlet of the chamber. The results indicated that the interfacial mass transfer coefficient and hence the emission rate increased with the air velocity over the material surface when other parameters, such as air temperature, relative humidity, chamber loading, and air change rate were kept unchanged. This confirms the importance of controlling the local velocity and turbulence level over the material surface in conducting emission tests using small-scale environmental chambers in order to better understand and interpret the test results.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)184-199
Number of pages16
JournalASTM Special Technical Publication
Volume1287
DOIs
StatePublished - 1996
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Indoor air quality
  • Material emission
  • Small chamber test

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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