Impact of airflow interaction on inhaled air quality and transport of contaminants in rooms with personalized and total volume ventilation

The impact of airflow interaction on inhaled air quality and transport of contaminants between occupants was studied in regard to pollution from floor covering, human bioeffluents and exhaled air, with combinations of two personalized ventilation systems (PV) with mixing and displacement ventilation. In total, 80 L/s of clean air supplied at 20°C was distributed between the ventilation systems at different combinations of personalized airflow rate. Two breathing thermal manikins were used to simulate occupants in a full-scale test room. Regardless of the airflow interaction, the inhaled air quality with personalized and mixing ventilation was higher or at least similar compared to mixing ventilation alone. In the case of PV combined with displacement ventilation, the interaction caused mixing of the room air, an increase in the transport of bioeffluents and exhaled air between occupants and, at low flow rates of personalized air a decrease in the quality of the inhaled air compared to displacement ventilation alone. The PV system supplying air against the face improved the ventilation efficiency in regard to the floor pollution up to 20 times and up to 13 times in regard to bioeffluents and exhaled air, compared to mixing or displacement ventilation alone.