PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF FAN FILTER UNIT PROTOTYPE IN TEST RIG

Abstract

Haze is transboundary and affects Singapore on almost a yearly basis. Long term exposure to haze is harmful to human health. The aim of this dissertation is to test a Fan Filter Unit (FFU) prototype in a test rig with simulated haze as the period of this study was done outside of the haze season in Singapore. The FFU prototype is a draw through system where the a 200mm by 200mm MERV 13 filter is placed upstream of the fan. The fan used in the prototype was a Kruger MTD Silent 160 mixed flow fan, type of filter. This dissertation involves the study of energy consumption, filtration efficiency, pressure differential and the flow rate of the prototype FFU. The FFU was able to filter larger sized particles more effectively than smaller sized particles. As the airtightness of the room deteriorate, the flow rate of the fan needs to be increased to prevent infiltration of polluted outdoor particles into the room. Unexpectedly, the filtration efficiency of the FFU was better when operating at a high speed over low speed. There is a need to investigate this cause over future studies. There are several limitations in this study which include the consistency readings of the haze particles, which could be due to the relatively small scale of the test rig and the lack of a mixing fan to ensure that the air is sufficiently mixed before it is sampled. Another limitation was that the filter was not properly designed to be clamped into the FFU to provide an airtight seal.