A numerical study on the performance evaluation of ventilation systems for indoor radon reduction

• Published in: The Korean journal of chemical engineering Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 782 - 794
• Main Authors: Lee, Ji Eun, Park, Hoon Chae, Choi, Hang Seok, Cho, Seung Yeon, Jeong, Tae Young, Roh, Sung Cheoul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2016; 한국화학공학회
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Catalysis; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Materials Science; Transport Phenomena; 화학공학; Ventilation; Exhalation; Computational Fluid Dynamics; Radon; Indoor Air
• ISSN: 0256-1115; 1975-7220
• DOI: 10.1007/s11814-015-0214-8

Numerical simulations were conducted using computational fluid dynamics to evaluate the effect of ventilation conditions on radon ( 222 Rn) reduction performance in a residential building. The results indicate that at the same ventilation rate, a mechanical ventilation system is more effective in reducing indoor radon than a natural ventilation system. For the same ventilation type, the indoor radon concentration decreases as the ventilation rate increases. When the air change per hour (ACH) was 1, the indoor radon concentration was maintained at less than 100 Bq/m 3 . However, when the ACH was lowered to 0.01, the average indoor radon concentration in several rooms exceeded 148 Bq/m 3 . The angle of the inflow air was found to affect the indoor air stream and consequently the distribution of the radon concentration. Even when the ACH was 1, the radon concentrations of some areas were higher than 100 Bq/m 3 for inflow air angles of 5° and 175°.