Dust deposition in ventilation and air-conditioning duct bend flows

Particles carried by airflows in ventilation and air-conditioning systems have adverse effects on the quality of air in buildings and hence the health of building occupants. Gaining insight on particle deposition onto ventilation and air-conditioning duct bends is important for controlling pollutant dispersion. Based on the Reynolds stress transport model (RSM), this paper has taken into account the effects of drag, lift force, gravity, inertia force, turbulent diffusions, particle size and air velocity on the dimensionless deposition velocity of particles in smooth duct bends using fully developed velocity profiles. At two different air velocities of 3.0 m/s and 7.0 m/s, the aforementioned effects were predicted by Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)-Lagrangian simulation on square shaped duct bends with different ways of placement. inary results suggest that gravity and inertia force enhance the dimensionless deposition as dimensionless relaxation time rises. Change tendency of the dimensionless particle deposition velocity on different surfaces of bend duct agrees well with previous studies. As air velocity and particle diameter increase, a significant increase of particle deposition coefficient in the duct bends is observed. Particle deposition to intrados can be intensified by the combined action of gravity and inertia force in different direction.