Protecting individuals from exposure to environmental and respiratory particles in transport microenvironments is a significant challenge. Personalized ventilation solutions capable of protecting the subject's breathing zone, therefore, represent a promising mitigation strategy, although their effectiveness in transport microenvironments has been only partially investigated in the scientific literature. This paper presents a preliminary numerical-experimental investigation of a personalized air cleaner aimed at reducing exposure to sub-micrometric particles (representative of exhaust traffic-emitted particles) and super-micrometric particles (representative of non-exhaust traffic-emitted and respiratory particles) in transport microenvironments. The proposed device is based on the ad-hoc injection of particle-free airflows designed to shield the breathing zone of subjects sitting in a fixed position. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed as a design-support tool to define suitable airflow injection configurations. Subsequent experimental analyses were conducted on a prototype device to characterize the resulting airflow patterns and to enable the interpretation of the flow behavior. The effectiveness of the proposed concept was then experimentally assessed by measuring particle number and PM10 concentrations within the protected region. The experimental results indicate that suitable airflow injection rates can generate a stable protected region. Particle concentration measurements showed promising reductions inside the protected area, with decreases of up to 60 % for sub-micrometric particles and approximately 45 % for super-micrometric particles compared to the surrounding environment. Overall, the results suggest that the proposed approach represents a proof of principle for reducing particle exposure in transport microenvironments, while further development and quantitative refinement are required.
Design and preliminary experimental assessment of a personalized air-cleaning system for transport microenvironments
L. Stabile
;G. Grossi;E. Caracci;F. Arpino;G. Cortellessa;G. Buonanno
2026-01-01
Abstract
Protecting individuals from exposure to environmental and respiratory particles in transport microenvironments is a significant challenge. Personalized ventilation solutions capable of protecting the subject's breathing zone, therefore, represent a promising mitigation strategy, although their effectiveness in transport microenvironments has been only partially investigated in the scientific literature. This paper presents a preliminary numerical-experimental investigation of a personalized air cleaner aimed at reducing exposure to sub-micrometric particles (representative of exhaust traffic-emitted particles) and super-micrometric particles (representative of non-exhaust traffic-emitted and respiratory particles) in transport microenvironments. The proposed device is based on the ad-hoc injection of particle-free airflows designed to shield the breathing zone of subjects sitting in a fixed position. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed as a design-support tool to define suitable airflow injection configurations. Subsequent experimental analyses were conducted on a prototype device to characterize the resulting airflow patterns and to enable the interpretation of the flow behavior. The effectiveness of the proposed concept was then experimentally assessed by measuring particle number and PM10 concentrations within the protected region. The experimental results indicate that suitable airflow injection rates can generate a stable protected region. Particle concentration measurements showed promising reductions inside the protected area, with decreases of up to 60 % for sub-micrometric particles and approximately 45 % for super-micrometric particles compared to the surrounding environment. Overall, the results suggest that the proposed approach represents a proof of principle for reducing particle exposure in transport microenvironments, while further development and quantitative refinement are required.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
