Evaluation of Leakage and Airflow Pattern in Different Fume Hood Styles

Author

Salman A. AltamimiFollow

Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Nuclear Engineering

Major Professor

Lawrence H Heilbronn

Committee Members

Jason Davis, Howard Hall, Laurence Miller, Sarah Donaher

Abstract

Scientific laboratories must ensure good workplace safety. Most laboratories employ fume hoods as local exhaust to prevent harmful contaminants in the hood from entering the rest of the laboratory. If the hood works well, worker exposure may be reduced. The ability to contain and remove airborne contaminants defines its effectiveness. The efficacy and safety of fume hood operation depend on several factors, one of the most important factors is the correct use of the fume hood by laboratory personnel. Unfortunately, researchers typically ignore the inherent restrictions of fume hoods.

Knowing the amount of material that may escape the fume hood, leading to worker exposure through inhalation and/or external deposition is crucial to determining if the hoods serve as adequate containment for the contaminants. Unfortunately, the literature indicates that such fume hoods leak, but qualitative and experimental results were the most prevalent, and quantitative results were scarce, with little study combining qualitative and quantitative data. Importantly, laboratory research conducted with radioactive particles was of limited quantity. From all the literature review conducted, only four studies were found related to radioisotopes, two of which looked at the laboratory environment [1, 2], while the other two looked at gaseous radioisotopes in fume hoods [3, 4].

This study evaluates the confinement and analyzes the airflow patterns, leakage, ejection of particles and/or granules in the hood, and workers’ arm and body position effect on two types of fume hoods: a standard laboratory fume hood and a floor-mounted fume hood. This research aims to employ a discrete phase model under transient-state fluid dynamic analysis to (1) evaluate the efficacy of fume hoods pollutant containment, (2) airflow patterns, (3) learn how workers' arm and body position and work habits affect both a traditional laboratory fume hood and a floor-mounted fume hood performance experimentally and by modeling using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and (4) the impact and leakage of a second medium, such as small particles and/or granules, simulating a spill, or hood performance and leakage.

Recommended Citation

Altamimi, Salman A., "Evaluation of Leakage and Airflow Pattern in Different Fume Hood Styles. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2025.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12334