ERIES-Pollutant Reintroduction Investigation for Occupational Risk Reduction - a Benchmark

A series of experiments was conducted in the closed-circuit Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel at Eindhoven University of Technology, involving a building model at a reduced geometric scale of 1:40. The building model includes a working single-flow mechanical ventilation system and a pollutant source above the roof. The aim of this test was to provide an experimental benchmark to quantify pollutant re-introduction due to both building ventilation and atmospheric wind effects. The steady-state normalized pollutant concentration at the exhaust ventilation fan was measured for 13 reference wind directions (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 50°, 60°, 75°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270° and 315°) and 3 reference wind speeds (6.4 m/s, 9.0 m/s and 11.1 m/s), leading to 39 wind conditions. For the two most critical scenarios, an internal mapping of the normalized pollutant concentration was conducted on a 3x3x3 grid inside the building. For one wind condition, the normalized pollutant concentration was measured at each of the 40 ventilation air inlets of the building model. In the framework of occupational risk control, these data can be used first to better understand the dynamics of pollutant dispersion around and into a ventilated building, then to assess corresponding numerical simulations.