Experimental study indoor aerosol transmission characteristics

• Main Author: Shong, Timothy Guohui
• Other Authors: Wan Man Pun
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering; Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150462
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Studies has found that indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can have profound effects on one’s health and cognitive ability. For this project, a two-part experiment is conducted to examine the air quality in office environments and is a continuation of a prior experiment relating renovation works to indoor air quality. The project first aims to analyse the effects air purifiers have on indoor air pollutant concentrations. An experimental setup is prepared in three offices in Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Air Traffic Management Research Institute (ATMRI) to monitor seven types of indoor air pollutants – particulate matter (PM), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), bioaerosols, formaldehyde, ozone, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. During the experiment, air purifiers are introduced into the offices as an experimental variable. A mass equation model is also used to calculate the actual indoor TVOC concentration. From the data collected, the air purifiers are found effective in filtering VOC, formaldehyde and bacteria. The second objective is to examine the effects of TVOC concentration on IEQ and subsequently the occupants’ cognitive ability. Over the course of the experiment, occupants are asked to respond to a questionnaire on three occasions to assess perceived IEQ and cognitive ability. A linear regression analysis is done and perceived office satisfaction and Raven Matrices results are observed to be inversely related to TVOC concentrations. The analysis did not find any conclusive results for the other question types. While the project is effective to some degree in achieving the objectives, it is largely limited by its sample size and a larger scaled project can help create more realistic models to answer the research question.