Airflow Characteristics of Two Symmetric Exhaust Inlets and of a Single Inlet near an External Boundary Surface

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate airflow characteristics of two symmetric exhaust inlets and of a single inlet near a boundary surface. These configurations are often considered to have close aerodynamic similarity, e.g., when using “imaginary” inlets to simulate solid surfaces in an airflow. The inlet configurations studied consisted of a plain rectangular inlet, width-to-length ratio of 0.25, at different distances and angles of orientation with respect to the axis-of-symmetry/solid boundary surface. Airflow test conditions were typical of high velocity/low volume exhaust ventilation, which has provided data representative of conventional ventilation in previous studies. Static pressure and velocity characteristics verified the double-symmetric and single-bounded configurations to be quite similar. This finding supports and encourages the use of symmetry in computer models. Empirical data was obtained to describe velocity characteristics, which can be used to evaluate the performance and aid in the development of computer models for local exhaust inlet design. Garrison, R.P.; Erig, M.: Airflow Characteristics of Two Symmetric Exhaust Inlets and of a Single Inlet Near an External Boundary Surface. Appl. Ind. Hyg. 3:182–188; 1988.