The Implementation of Stand-Alone Air Cleaners in Ventilated and Non-ventilated Meeting Rooms for the Mitigation of the Airborne Particles

Résumé et principaux résultats

Article présenté lors de la Conférence IEQ Montréal 2025.

Indoor air quality concerns leading to research on stand-alone air cleaner (AC) implementation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of mobile stand-alone air cleaners (ACs) in reducing airborne particles in two meeting rooms: one mechanically ventilated (1.5 vol/h) and one non-ventilated. Four AC units with varying flow patterns and equipped with HEPA filters, were deployed in the rooms at airflow rates of 1, 2.5 and 5 vol/h. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, treating particles as a gas, were conducted to analyze various implantation configurations, assess airflow patterns, air velocity, and particle concentration over time at different locations in the breathing zone. To quantify the air cleaners' effect on particle mitigation, the C16/C0 ratio is presented, where C16 represents the particles concentration after 16 minutes of AC operation, and C0 the initial concentration. Experimental measurements of particle concentrations for different particle sizes between 0.3 and 5 ?m were taken for some simulated configuration using low-cost sensors, both to validate the simulation results and to study the variation in cleaning efficiency based on particle size.
The differences between measured and calculated particle reduction values were minimal. The findings indicate that higher particle reduction (lower C16/C0 ratio) is achieved with increased airflow rates, particularly in the non-ventilated room due to the absence of particle influx from ventilation. Air flow rates emerge as the key parameter influencing cleaning efficiency. Furthermore, the center of the room is identified as the optimal position for AC placement, while corners are the least effective. Using two AC units is preferable from an acoustic standpoint while achieving similar results with one unit. This study provides insights for optimizing stand-alone air cleaners (ACs) use in indoor environments, enhancing overall particle reduction and size-specific cleaning efficiency to improve indoor air quality in both ventilated and non-ventilated spaces.

Thème

Dépoussiérage et épuration des gaz

Mots-clés

Aéraulique générale, Aérosols, Epurateurs d'air, Filtres à très haute efficacité, Mesure des aérosols, Modélisation, Qualité de l'air intérieur, Ventilation

Auteurs

BOITEUX Lionel, GINESTET Alain, GOLAZ Benoît, PUGNET Dominique, ROBITU Mirela, THIEBAUT Jean-Marc