Indoortron

Quality Programme: UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 Certification

The INDOORTRON Facility is a 30m 3 walk-in environmental chamber permitting precise control of parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, air quality and exchange rate. Within its large working space, it is possible to measure emissions from equipment, determine the release dynamics of materials, test models that predict pollutant concentrations, evaluate the efficiency of air-cleaning devices and carry out human exposure studies.

Only stainless steel, glass and "non-stick" polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer coatings were used to construct the airtight chamber to minimise pollutant adsorption and emission by the inner walls. Internal heaters/coolers and a surrounding insulated jacket permit the internal temperature to be maintained with a high degree of accuracy. Ceiling-mounted blowers and a series of fans mix the air and ensure an even temperature distribution.

For experimental purposes, the INDOORTRON is filled with ultra-clean pre-dried and filtered 'zero' air. Controlled humidification is achieved by steam injection into the dry airflow immediately before it enters the chamber. Sealable sampling and monitoring ports distributed over the sidewalls give the flexibility to adapt the unit to different types of test programmes.

The facility incorporates a control room equipped with a computer system for remote control of climatic parameters, as well as analytical laboratories for on-line monitoring of inorganic compounds and VOCs, and off-line determination of VOCs.

The associated laboratories are equipped with state of the art instrumentation: HPLC, GC-FID, GCMS and emission chambers of various sizes.

 

Dimensions of the test chamber

internal chamber dimensions	width depth height volume	3.00 m 4.00 m 2.50 m 30 m 3
door opening dimensions	height width	2.00 m 1.10 m
window dimensions	height width	0.80 m 1.20 m

 

 

Performance characteristics of the test chamber

 

The following parameters can be controlled within the ranges indicated:

Temperature range	+15 to +45 °C
Temperature constancy	+/- 0.5 K
Climate working range (i.e. temperature range within which humidity can be controlled as indicated below)	+15 to +40 °C
Temperature constancy in the climate working range	+/- 0.5 K
Humidity range	20 to 90 % R.H.
Humidity constancy	+/- 5 % R.H.
Dew point range	-7 to +38.5 °C
Clean air flow to the test chamber	3 Nm3/h to 60 Nm3/h (0.1 to 2 air changes per hour)
Purge air flow to the test chamber	up to 180 Nm3/h
Total residual content of VOCs in the clean air	~ 5 µg/m3 with single constituents < 1 ~ µg/m3

 

 

The tightness of the test chamber satisfies the following criterion:

• The air flow leaking from the closed chamber at an overpressure of 1000 Pa (0.01 atm) is < 10-4 chamber volumes per minute (this is equivalent to a decrease of the overpressure to half its value in more than 70 minutes).
• Controlled amounts of mixtures of VOCs can be injected automatically into the dry, clean air flow to the test chamber yielding calibrated total chamber concentrations down to ~ 1 mg/m3 with concentrations of single VOC down to a few µg/m3.

A perforated ceiling with an array of 3x3 fans can be mounted inside the test chamber for emission measurements of VOCs from panel type materials such as particle boards which require a controlled surface air velocity. With this ceiling, the surface air velocity can be controlled from 0.1 to 0.3 + 0.1 m/s .

 

See also the Indoortron Photo Gallery.