HI-85-40-3 -- Documenting Air Movements and Infiltration in Multicell Buildings Using Various Tracer-Gas Techniques PDF

Tracer gas techniques for measuring airflows in buildings fall into three categories -- dilution, constant injection, and constant concentration. Dilution of a single tracer works well in buildings with a single zone and also in some two-zone buildings. Multiple tracer gas measurements, necessary to characterize flows among more zones, are best conducted using the constant injection approach. The constant concentration method uses a single tracer gas to determine the air flow rates from the outside into each of as many as ten building zones.

The paper outlines the different tracer techniques for making airflow measurements in multicell buildings and describes the operation of a constant concentration system. This system measures tracer gas concentration in different zones and injects accordingly to maintain a constant concentration in each zone. The system was tested in a single zone structure and successfully applied to a small three-zone house. Sensitivity analyses and calibration procedures described in this paper define the capabilities and limitations of this technique. Although this method does not fully characterize all interzone airflows in the building, it can be useful in analyzing the energy balance of multizone buildings. Additionally, these measurements can be used to evaluate the dilution of indoor air pollutants and the ventilation efficiency of buildings.

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