Brookhaven air infiltration measurement system (BNL/AIMS) description and application
A unique capability to measure part-per-quadrillion concentrations of a family of perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) is presented. Together with our unique PFT source and passive sampler, measurement of average air exchange and infiltration rate can be determined for periods as short as 12 hours. A more expensive programmable sampler can provide information on a frequency of as little as once per minute for each of its 23 sampling tubes. The principal of AIMS is based on the applicable steady-state assumption that the average concentration (e.g., in pL/L) of a tracer vapor in a chamber (i.e., a building or room) is equal to the emission rate of the tracer source (e.g., in pL/min) divided by the air leakage or infiltration rate (e.g., in L/min). Knowing the source rate and measuring the average concentration then provides a means to calculate the air leakage rate. Extending this technique to a multichamber concept, in which a different type of PFT source is deployed in each chamber of a building, allows the calculation of not only the infiltration rates in each chamber but also the air exchange rates between chambers as well. Since both the PFT source and the passive sampler, a miniature Capillary Adsorption Tube Sampler (CATS), are about the size of a cigarette, inexpensive, and reusable, the BNL/AIMS is a very cost-effective means (if not the only means) for determining these air exchange rates.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 5521887
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-33846; ON: DE85014884
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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