Fume Hood
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2) Mounted in a normal fashion, standard fume hoods require a very
large classroom. (A minimum of 47 square feet per student) A
standard hood is usually mounted against a wall. A teaching lab with 30
students would require 138 lineal feet of fume hood to simultaneously
accommodate the 30 students. This would, at minimum, require a
classroom 38 feet on a side, or 1428 square feet. (fig. 2)
The most common contemporary solutions to teaching hood problems have been
less than satisfactory.
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Initially, “box” structures with sashes on both sides were employed on island or
peninsula benching. (fig. 3) Such units had glass walls for greater supervisory
scrutiny, plus they could be mounted on island or peninsular benches to take
greater advantage of floor space. These units, however, did not contain fumes
well, mostly due to the lack of a baffle system. Most failures in containment
happened when both sashes were opened simultaneously. Also such units
exhausted large amounts of air and were therefore not economical to operate.
Most importantly, while such hoods were frequently used as two independent
hoods, the two sides were very dependent upon each other. Opening the right
side would diminish the left side face velocity.
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Such problems really became apparent when economy-minded schools installed
two-sided “box” hoods inside a wall between classrooms (fig. 4). In such an
arrangement, exhaust load on each room became a complex function of hood
exhaust, sash position, room static pressure, and room make-up air. More often
than not, such systems were next to impossible to get working properly.
More modern versions of this original design have been devised with a single
glass wall separating the two halves of the hood. (fig. 5) While both halves of
such a hood now function with reasonable flow independence depending on their
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design, the exhaust ducting is complicated as the lower exhaust air follows a
different general route than the upper air.
While these modified two-sash “boxes” were considerably better than the
original, their general performance was still less than what was expected from a
standard fume hood. Many times, manufacturers would call these devices
“ventilated work stations” to emphasize this diminished performance expectation.
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Modifications Undertaken by Kewaunee in the Single
Baffle Student Hood Design:
The researcher used criticisms and shortcomings of earlier student fume hood
designs to develop the following updated single baffle student fume hood (fig.6):
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modified bypass improves fume hood containment, particularly during
walk-bys and other dynamic challenges.
This down wash of uncontaminated laboratory air behind the sash plane
has previously been used by Kewaunee in its "dynamic barrier" low
constant volume fume hood. 1
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Energy Savings: Another Expectation of the Single
Baffle Design
Because the two halves of the unibaffle hood are aerodynamically isolated, both
sides can be equipped with an 18” sash stop without worry that a sash “violation”
on one side will lower the face velocity on the other. What follows is a graphical
comparison between the unibaffle design at 18” versus a 30” opening on a “box”
design.
1) Does the single baffle really isolate the two halves of this hood so that the
face velocity on one side is not changed by sash movement on the
opposite side?
2) Are the flow dynamics and face velocity distributions stable and
consistent?
3) Does this fume hood contain under the conditions outlined in Table 1?
4) Will this fume hood contain under dynamic challenge?
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Test Methodology:
A. INDEPENDENCE OF FACE VELOCITY AS OPPOSING SASH IS RAISED
AND LOWERED:
The researchers took an average face velocity on one side of the fume hood
with the opposing sash lowered. A second average face velocity was then
taken with the opposing sash completely raised. Results are shown below:
The researchers tested face velocity profiles for this unit both at 100 FPM full
open (31.5”; 2975 CFM) and at 80 FPM at 18” open (1360 CFM).
In all cases, velocity profiles were even and laminar as shown below:
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Face Velocity at 18” Open, West Side:
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The researchers decided to use ANSI /ASHRAE 110-1995 as the test
methodology for evaluating the TruView Fume Hood.
The tracer gas used is 100% SF6. The detection instrument used is a Miran
103 by Foxboro with 13.5 M path length and a 10.7-micron filter. Meter
response was set at 1 second and 10x was expansion control setting.
The above tests were done on the 6' two-sided single baffle TruView fume hood
in the following orientations:
1) East & West Vertical open 18" (left, center, & right manikin positions)
2) East & West Vertical open 31.5" (left, center, & right manikin positions)
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OBSERVATIONS:
ASHRAE CHARTS:
1) 31.5”; 100 fpm; LEFT POSITION
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2) 31.5”; 100 FPM; CENTER POSITION
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4) 18”; 80 FPM; LEFT POSITION
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6) 18”; 80 FPM; RIGHT POSITION
CONCLUSIONS:
The 6' Single Baffle TruView bench fume hood showed excellent containment
and stability to dynamic sash challenge in all positions detailed in Table 2. Test
results obtained were comparable to 100 FPM full-open standard fume hood
performance.
In addition, opening and closing one sash did not affect the average face velocity
on the opposite side of the fume hood.
While these containment results are both exciting and positive, the application of
this technology to any laboratory must be thoughtfully undertaken.
1. As with any fume hood product, users should be trained in the safe
operation of this device.
3. Existing face velocity guidelines for fume hoods are not to be ignored!
Table 3 shows published recommended face velocity minima.
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TABLE 3: PUBLISHED FACE VELOCITY
RECOMMENDATIONS
Organization Citation Face Velocity
1) ACGIH Industrial Ventilation 19th edition p.5.24 60-100 FPM
2) ASHRAE 1999 ASHRAE Handbook, 13.5 20%-50% of exterior
disturbance velocities.
(60-175 FPM) if 300 FPM
walkby used to calculate)
3) ANSI/AIHA ANSI/AIHA Z9.5, Sect 5.7 80-120 FPM
4) CALOSHA CCR Title VIII, Subchapter 7.5454.1 Min 100 FPM
5) Nat. Rsrch.Cnc. Prudent Practices, p.187 80-100 FPM
6) NFPA NFPA 45: 6-4.5 & A6-4.5 "Sufficient to prevent
escape from hood; 80-
120 FPM;
40 CFM/lin foot min
7) NIOSH Recommended Indust. Ventil. Guidelines p166 100-150 FPM
8) NRC NRC Guide, 6.3 100 FPM for hospital
radioactives
9) OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Appendix A Sec. A.C.4.g 60-100 FPM
10) SEFA SEFA 1.2: 5.2 75-100 FPM
While the research here demonstrates the TruView Fume Hood can work
effectively, reduced face velocity fume hoods of this design are a different story.
A slow walk producing a turbulence wake of 200 FPM behind a student can
overpower a low input vector at a fume hood face of, say, 40 FPM. It is this
researcher's opinion that HVAC savings and safety can be achieved by using
smaller fume hood openings (say 18”) at face velocities at the level shown in
Table 3. These smaller openings can be made flexible, offer more protection
from spatters and small debris, and can be opened very wide for equipment set-
ups when no fume-evolving experiment is taking place. In addition, the single
baffle design allows for set-up mode on one side, while an experiment is being
run in containment mode on the other.
Footnote:
1) Laboratory Design, April,2000, “Containment Study Shows Performance of Dynamic Barrier Low Flow
Hoods”
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