Effects of room furnishings and air speed on particle deposition rates indoors

Particle deposition to surfaces plays an important role in determining exposures to indoor particles. However, the effects of furnishings and air speed on these rates have not been well characterized. In this study, experiments were performed in an isolated room (volume=14.2m³) using three different indoor furnishing levels (bare, carpeted, and fully furnished) and four different air flow conditions. Deposition loss rates were determined by generating a short burst of polydispersed particles, then measuring the size-resolved (0.5-10μm) concentration decay rate using an aerodynamic particle sizer. Increasing the surface area from bare (35m² nominal surface area) to fully furnished (12m² additional surface area) increased the deposition loss rate by as much as a factor of 2.6 with the largest increase seen for the smallest particles. Increasing the mean airspeed from 2.5 or PM₁₀). Copyright © 2002 .