The application of an air curtain range hood in reducing human exposure to cooking pollutants

Abstract The function of air curtain range hood in improving human exposure was investigated by conducting experiment and CFD simulation. The intake fraction was estimated to reflect the effect of the air curtain. Factors affecting human exposure, including the exhaust rate, heat source intensity, air supply angle, air supply velocity, and slot width of the air curtain, were incorporated according to an orthogonal design. To comprehend the roles that the air curtain performed, the characteristics of flow and concentration field were captured through visualization experiment and CFD method. Furthermore, the effect of using an air curtain to resist the impact of human walking on human exposure was examined. The exhaust rate, heat source intensity, and air supply angle were significant factors that affect human exposure with a significance level of 0.01. Compared with the traditional range counterpart, air curtain range hood could decrease the intake fraction by factor of 1.5–5. Air curtain could reduce turbulent intensity around the range hood and improve local airflow organization. Meanwhile, air curtain would considerably protect walking humans from exposure to pollutants. The outcome of this study could help us understand the effect of air curtain range hood with a comprehensive perspective.