Experimental measurements for gaseous transport within an aircraft cabin

Publication date: July 2015
Source:Building and Environment, Volume 89
Author(s): A. Keshavarz , B.W. Jones , M.H. Hosni , J.M. Beneke
Given the vast route structures for aircraft operations and the diversity of people who fly on aircraft, the contamination of aircraft by dangerous pathogens is a concern. The research reported in this paper was part of a larger project to investigate the use of gaseous decontamination agents that may potentially be used to address such pathogens. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are used to evaluate the distribution of such agents in an aircraft cabin under a variety of conditions. Such models required experimental data for validation and tuning. An 11-row wide-body aircraft cabin mockup with air distribution components from an actual aircraft was used to collect such data. Carbon dioxide was used as a tracer gas to simulate a gaseous decontamination agent. Detailed data for gaseous transport in the cabin were collected both with and without the use of supplementary fans. Geometric, thermal, and airflow boundary conditions were also measured or documented. Even though the cabin and boundary conditions are symmetrical, the gaseous transport in the cabin was shown to be non-symmetrical due to a horizontal circulation of air that naturally forms in the cabin. This horizontal circulation has a substantial impact on longitudinal gaseous transport. It also results in substantial left-to-right differences between normal-mode operation Environmental Control System (ECS) flows and the supplementary fans. The data collected captures the impact of this asymmetry both for normal-mode operation and supplementary fan operation and provide sets of data that should provide adequate challenges to CFD models needed for validation.