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Design factors affecting the passive release of tracer gas for ventilation measurements

Ahmed, Jalal; Altamirano-Medina, Hector; Rovas, Dimitrios; Allinson, David; Mawditt, Ian; (2023) Design factors affecting the passive release of tracer gas for ventilation measurements. In: Ooka, R, (ed.) E3S Web of Conferences Proceedings. EDP Sciences: Tokyo, Japan. Green open access

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Abstract

The ventilation rate is an important parameter for assessing indoor air quality and energy efficiency. In occupied buildings, ventilation measurements utilising passive methods are preferable to active methods due to their simplicity and less intrusive nature. The perfluorocarbon tracer method can be used to measure long-term ventilation rates for this purpose. This method requires the passive release of a tracer gas which is often a liquid chemical diffusing out of a vial. The tracer gas emission rate is a key parameter of the vial design as if it is too low, the sampler will not be able to detect the tracer gas. If the emission rate is too high, the sampler can become saturated. Both scenarios will lead to inaccurate ventilation results. There is wide variability in vial design but little information about the relative impact of each design factor. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the emission rate of a common tracer gas, perfluoromethylcyclohexane, using different vials designs i.e. capping styles, septa materials, and fill levels. Samples were kept in an incubator and gravimetric analysis was carried out using a semi-microbalance (resolution: 0.01 mg). The results demonstrate that the emission rate is significantly affected by capping style but not by fill level.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: Design factors affecting the passive release of tracer gas for ventilation measurements
Event: The 11th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation & Energy Conservation in Buildings (IAQVEC2023)
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202339602028
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202339602028
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http ://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174485
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