Exposure to airborne particles is detrimental to human health and indoor exposures dominate total exposures for most people.
Also, the release of aerosolized chemical and biological agents within or near a building can lead to exposures of building
occupants to hazardous agents and costly building remediation. Researchers in the Indoor Environment Department are using
experimental and modeling techniques to evaluate the transport and deposition of particles in the indoor environment. This
includes evaluations of particle deposition at cracks in building envelopes, in ventilation systems and to indoor surfaces,
as well as the resuspension and tracking of previously deposited particles by human activities. This research provides needed
information for improving exposure evaluations of ambient particles and hazardous aerosols.
Sample experimental data: Deposition to the vertical walls of steel and insulated ducts.
Sample model results: Fractional loss of particles making a single pass through eighty different supply duct runs and fractional fates of outdoor particles drawn into
the unfiltered ventilation system of an archetypal mechanically ventilated building.
Sample experimental data: Penetration through cracks in brick with two different crack heights.
Sample model results: Penetration through straight cracks in a building envelope.
