Industrial production halls may require large exhaust-air treatment systems when contaminated process air is mixed unnecessarily with much larger quantities of relatively clean room air. Improving the local airflow can therefore reduce both the required treatment capacity and energy use.
FlowMotion used CFD to analyse the airflow around the relevant process and extraction system. The simulations showed how contaminated air spread through the space and how effectively it was captured by the existing extraction points.
Local velocities, pressure differences and recirculation determine whether emissions are captured close to the source or diluted into the surrounding hall. By modifying the supply and extraction arrangement, the contaminated air stream could be separated more effectively from the general ventilation flow.
Different concepts were compared on the basis of the required exhaust volumetric flow and the resulting flow pattern around the source.
The CFD analysis provided a route to reducing the size and energy demand of the exhaust-air treatment system without compromising capture performance.
