Push-Pull Air Curtain Performances for VOCs Containment in an Industrial Process

The aim of this study is to analyze the efficiency of a Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) containment system using an air curtain (push-pull type) on a manual workstation. This work combines CFD numerical simulations of the air curtain system and experimental studies on a real scale test bench. The point is to evaluate whether the actual worker protection can be replaced by an air curtain system, without weakening human safety. The new system could considerably reduce energetic consumption (ventilation, heating) and VOCs emissions into the atmosphere. Experimental studies of the flow using a Particle Image Velocimetry anemometer (PIV) have been carried out to validate the numerical model kinematics. The containment quality obtained by the model has been validated with experimental concentration fields given by a gaseous analyzer using flame ionization (FID). Numerical simulation provides an overview of the containment efficiency in the global area of the system. Thus, it is possible to evaluate numerically, but accurately, the quality of the containment of the system. Moreover, an energetic study proves the economic benefit of the push-pull system.