Development of a Mobile Module-Based Wind Tunnel for the Determination of Collection Efficiencies of Particulate Matter on Surface Structures

Philipp Spörl, Aron Göndör, Johanna Irrgeher, Thomas Prohaska, Simone Trimmel, Leo Capari, Daniela Haluza, Bernhard Scharf, Anne Kasper-Giebl and Ulrike Pitha
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Philipp Spörl: Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Aron Göndör: Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Johanna Irrgeher: General and Analytical Chemistry, Montanuniversität Leoben, Franz Josef-Straße 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
Thomas Prohaska: General and Analytical Chemistry, Montanuniversität Leoben, Franz Josef-Straße 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
Simone Trimmel: General and Analytical Chemistry, Montanuniversität Leoben, Franz Josef-Straße 18, 8700 Leoben, Austria
Leo Capari: Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Daniela Haluza: Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Bernhard Scharf: Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Anne Kasper-Giebl: Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Ulrike Pitha: Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: Ambient air pollutants are a global public health problem accounting for millions of annual deaths. A mobile module-based wind tunnel (WT) was developed to investigate the interaction between airborne particulate matter and various surface structures. The external dimensions were 4.33 m × 1.96 m × 1.73 m ( lwh ). The tunnel provided a cross-section of 0.40 m × 1.10 m ( wh ) and a total volume of 2.84 m 3 . An exchangeable test section in the WT offered a vertical area of one square meter to introduce variable installations. Due to the modular design, the WT could be divided into seven segments. This enables flexibility in setting, easy transport and set up at different locations. Atmospheric parameters (temperature, humidity, flow speeds and flow directions) were measured. At the test section, determined flow speeds ranged from 0.3 to 2.6 m s −1 , with turbulence intensities detected between 9% and 11% and Reynold numbers from 10,000 to 90,000. Losses of ambient PM within the blank tunnel were less than 10% for particle counts (>0.25 µm), while smaller losses were obtained for PM 1 and PM 2.5 . Thus, the construction, performance, as well as the limitations and various possible applications of the WT are shown in this article.

Keywords: wind tunnel; development; particulate matter; removal rate; green infrastructure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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