Influence of the Airflow Concept on the Aerosol Spreading in a Generic Train Compartment

Abstract

In our recent studies, we applied this aerosol spreading measurement system in the generic train laboratory Göttingen (GZG) for different source locations and various ventilation concepts. The latter comprise, among others, different exhaust positions localized either in the lateral ceiling positions or in the foot-room (see Figure 1, right). The measurements are performed until a quasi-stationary local aerosol particle concentration is found. The average values for this quasi-stationary period, i.e. the 300 s before switching-off the aerosol source (see Figure 2, left), are calculated for all seats (see Figure 2, right). The evaluation is performed in terms of mean aerosol concentration load in the compartment and with regard to the number of seats, which reveal aerosol concentrations above certain thresholds. First results highlighted the influence of the air flow concept on the aerosol spreading within the passenger compartment. Thereby, the exhaust position revealed only a minor change of the local aerosol particle concentrations, whereas larger differences were found for alternative air supply positions.