Augmented HVAC Sensors for Near- Real-Time Modeling of Dispersed

Sandia National Laboratories Engineering, 2004-05

Liaison(s): Marvin Larsen, Richard Griffith
Advisor(s): Mary Cardenas
Students(s): Robert Krohn (TL), Alex Cohan, Justin Kauwale (F), Catherine Meyers (F), Jennifer Shockro (S), Jay Wright (S)

The threat of a contamination event in a building dispersing air through the heating and ventilation system has recently become a major concern to national security. The fate and transport of contaminants through a local building were modeled using CONTAM software. In order to accurately simulate contaminant flow, the standard HVAC system was augmented with additional flow sensors. The model was then validated through a series of on-site tracer gas releases.