Experimental study of the factors influencing the uniformity of an air curtain and numerical simulation of the factors influencing its dust barrier effect

Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2024 Oct 28:1-14. doi: 10.1080/10803548.2024.2413814. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

This study analyzes the influence of air curtain diameter and internal duct structure on the uniformity of an air curtain using Fluent numerical simulation combined with an experimental method after actual measurement of relevant parameters at the construction site, and simulates the best dust insulation parameters of a uniform air curtain. As the diameter of the air curtain supply duct increases and the internal air duct structure is reasonably designed, the axial static pressure of the air curtain generator and the air velocity at the curtain outlet are more uniform, which forms a higher strength of the air curtain. The best dust separation parameter of the uniform air curtain is the vertical downward generated air curtain with an outlet air velocity of 12 m/s and an outlet strip slit width of 80 mm, in which the dust separation efficiency could reach about 79.5%.

Keywords: Fluent simulation; air curtain; distribution uniformity; dust isolation.