Low Momentum Supply with Exterior Hoods

Exterior hoods intended to capture contaminants should be placed as close to contaminant sources as possible. In actual practice, however, the hoods can not always be placed close to the source due to circumstances such as working conditions. In such cases, to enhance the exhaust efficiency of exterior hoods, it is useful to use a low-momentum air supply directed toward the exhaust outlet. The supply airflow, which functions to transport contaminants emitted from sources located at a distance from the exhaust outlet,. should be relatively low with a uniform velocity but high enough so that it is not disturbed by the. surrounding air motions. The advantages of using low-momentum supply with exterior hoods are that (1) a lower supply airflow rate to the workspace is possible, (2) a lower exterior hood exhaust flow rate is possible, and (3) it is possible to supply clean air to the breathing zone of the worker. 

FIGURE 10.87 The fundamental operation and dimensions of the low-momentum supply with exterior hood system. 

An established design method for this type of system is not available. The practical design of the low-momentum supply with exterior hood system described in the previous part of this section used the flow ratio method. How-evec, the actual exhaust flow rate was adjusted visually to the appropriate value in order to exhaust only the contaminants transported by the supply airflow. 

In the low-momentum supply system, the contaminants are emitted within the low -momentum airflow blown from the supply inlet and they are transported to near the exhaust opening. If the contaminants diffuse into the whole of the supply airflow, the exterior hood must exhaust the whole of the airflow. To diminish the exhaust flow rate, some methods to prevent the contaminants from diffusing into the whole of the airflow are required. One possible method is to supply the air as slowly as possible but with enough velocity to reach the exhaust outlet and to control the surrounding air motion. Another method is to blow supply air with uniform... 

Gases, vapors, and fumes usually do not exhibit significant inertial effects. In addition, some fine dusts, 5 to 10 micrometers or less in diameter, will not exhibit significant inertial effects. These contaminants will be transported with the surrounding air motion such as thermal air current, motion of machinery, movement of operators, and/or other room air currents. In such cases, the exterior hood needs to generate an airflow pattern and capture velocity sufficient to control the motion of the contaminants. However, as the airflow pattern created around a suction opening is not effective over a large distance, it is very difficult to control contaminants emitted from a source located at a di,stance from the exhaust outlet. In such a case, a low-momentum airflow is supplied across the contaminant source and toward the exhaust hood. The... 

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