Booker, Douglas and Molden, Nick (2018) Vehicle Interior Air Quality Dynamics. In: UNSPECIFIED.
Vehicle_Interior_Air_Quality_Dynamics.pdf - Published Version
Download (1MB)
Abstract
Many studies have addressed Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) that arises from traffic, and its associated negative impacts on public health. However, less has been done to understand Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) despite the average person now spending more than 90% of their time indoors (Klepeis et al. 2001). Around one hour of this indoor exposure is spent inside vehicles (Müller et al. 2011), and is referred to as Vehicle Interior Air Quality (VIAQ). This exposure is important to understand given the immediate proximity to significant pollutant sources (other vehicles), plus, in urban areas, high AAP concentrations compared to other micro-environments. To address this knowledge gap, two NAQTS V1000 Integrated Air Quality Monitors were used to simultaneously monitor inside-outside four vehicles for Particle Number (PN) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The vehicles were analysed to understand Ingress Ratio (how much ambient PN is getting into the vehicle cabin) and Stuffiness (how well the vehicle is ventilating CO2). The data from these four vehicles shows the heterogeneity of Ingress Ratios (ranging from 24% to 99% with recirculation mode off, and 517% with recirculation mode on) and Stuffiness Factors (1.2 – 1.4 with recirculation mode off, and 3.3 – 4.97 with recirculation mode on) across different manufacturers and vehicle types. The results raise an inherent tradeoff between protecting passengers from ambient PN ingress, and adequate ventilation to prevent Stuffiness. This demonstrates the huge influence of passenger habit on dose of CO2 and PN. By driver education, and/or automation of HVAC controls, exposure to PN can be reduced significantly.