Numerical simulation of VOC Emissions from Dry Materials.pdf

Yang, X., Chen, Q., Zhang, J.S, Magee, R., Zeng, J. and Shaw,C.Y. 2001. “Numerical simulation of VOC emissions from dry materials,” Building and Environment, 36(10), 1099-1107. Numerical simulation of VOC Emissions from Dry Materials 1* 1 2 2 2 2 X. Yang , Q. Chen , J.S. Zhang , R. Magee , J. Zeng , and C.Y. Shaw 1 Building Technology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA 2 National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Research in Construction, Indoor Environment Program, M-24, Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada * Current address: Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-0630, USA, Fax: (305) 284-3492 Abstract This paper presents a numerical approach for simulating volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from dry materials. The approach has been used to examine the VOC emissions from two particleboards. The emission study for the particleboards shows that a fairly good agreement of VOC concentrations between the model prediction and experimental data can be achieved by pre-calculating the partition coefficient (K ) and material age (AGE) and adjusting ma the diffusion coefficient (D ) and initial concentration (C ). Further, the study finds that K m 0 ma only affects short-term emissions while Dm influences both the short-term and long-term emissions. 1. Introduction Numerous field and laboratory studies have found that commonly used dry materials s