Flow and containment characteristics of a sash-less, variable-height inclined air-curtain fume hood.

To increase containment efficiency and reduce energy consumption, a sash-less, variable-height inclined air-curtain fume hood (sIAC hood) was developed and tested by a laser-assisted flow visualization technique and tracer-gas detection method. This novel design requires neither sash nor baffle. The sIAC hood employed the inclined push-pull air-curtain technique and two deflection plates installed on the side walls of the hood to induce a tetra-vortex flow structure. The results of flow visualization showed that the slot for suction flow, offset from the slot for the up-blowing jet, caused the air curtain to incline towards the rear wall, thus enhancing the robustness of the tetra-vortex flow structure. Such a flow structure could reduce the influence of draught and human walk-by across the hood face. The containment around the central area of the hood was isolated by the inclined push-pull air curtain. The pollutants carried by the reverse flow induced by the flow separation were guided by the deflection plates from the side walls towards the rear, thus contributing to the formation of the tetra-vortex flow structure. The up/down movable ceiling positioned the suction slot close to the device's pollutant emission opening, but left room (less than 50 cm) for unrestricted hand movement. Testing was carried out based on the methodology described in EN14175. The results of a static test showed that small face velocities of 0.25 and 0.16 m s(-1) were enough to obtain nearly null leakage levels for low and tall pollutant sources. The results of a traversing plate test showed that the face velocity, 0.32 m s(-1), would cause negligibly small leakage levels. The sIAC hood could obtain significantly higher containment efficiency than a conventional hood by operating at a face velocity significantly lower than that of conventional hoods.