- Author
- Dols, W. S. | Walton, G. N. | Denton, K. R.
- Title
- CONTAMW 1.0 User Manual: Multizone Airflow and Contaminant Transport Analysis Software.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NISTIR 6476, June 2000, 137 p.
- Distribution
- For more information contact: Website: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/863/contam or call Air Quality and Ventilation Group (Telephone: 301-975-6431) for set of floppy disks that contain the setup files AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
- airflow analysis | predictive models | building technology | computer programs | contaminant dispersal | indoor air quality | multizone analysis | smoke control | ventilation
- Identifiers
- CONTAMW
- Abstract
- This manual describes the computer program CONTAMW developed by NIST. CONTAMW is a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis program designed to help you determine: aiflows - infiltration, exfiltration, and room-to-room airflows in building systems driven by mechanical means, wind pressures acting on the exterior of the building, and buoyancy effects induced by temperature differences between the building and the outside; contaminant concentrations - the dispersal of airborne contaminants transported by these airflows and transformed by a variety of processes including chemical and radio-chemical transformation, adsorption and desorption to building materials, filtration, and deposition to building surfaces; and/or personal exposure - the prediction of exposure of building occupants to airborne contaminants for eventual risk assessment. CONTAMW can be useful in a variety of applications. Its ability to calculate building airflows is useful for assessing the adequacy of ventilation rates in a building, to determine the variation in ventilation rates over time, to determine the distribution of ventilation air within a building, and to estimate the impact of envelope air-tightening efforts on infiltration rates. The prediction of contaminant concentrations can be used to determine the indoor air quality performance of buildings before they are constructed and occupied, to investigate the impacts of various design decisions related to ventilation system design and building material selection, to evaluate indoor air quality control technologies, and to assess the indoor air quality performance of existing buildings. Predicted contaminant concentrations can also be used to estimate personal exposure based on occupancy patterns. CONTAMW installs from a set of installation files that you can obtain from NIST. These files can either be downloaded from the NIST website (www.bfrl.nist.gov/863/contam) directly onto your computer's hard disk, or you can obtain a set of floppy disks that contains the setup files from the Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation Group (301)-975-6431.