MODELING INDOOR PARTICLE DEPOSITION FROM TURBULENT FLOW ONTO SMOOTH SURFACES

Particle deposition to indoor surfaces is frequently modeled by assuming that indoor air flow is homogeneously and isotropically turbulent. Existing formulations of such models, based on the seminal work of Corner and Pendlebury (1951, Proc. Phys. Soc. Lond. B 64, 645), lack a thorough physical foundation. We apply the results of recent studies of near-surface turbulence to produce an analogous model for particle deposition onto indoor surfaces that remains practical to use yet has a stronger physical basis. The model accounts for the effects of Brownian and turbulent diffusion and gravitational settling. It predicts deposition to smooth surfaces as a function of particle size and density. The only required input parameters are enclosure geometry and friction velocity. Model equations are presented for enclosures with vertical and horizontal surfaces, and for spherical cavities. The model helps account for a previously unexplained experimental observation regarding the functional dependence of deposition velocity on particle size. Model predictions agree well with recently published experimental data for a spherical cavity (Cheng, Y. S., Aerosol Sci. Technol. 27, 131–146, (1997)).