CONTAMW 1.0 User Manual: Multizone Airflow and Contaminant Transport Analysis Software.
CONTAMW 1.0 User Manual: Multizone Airflow and
Contaminant Transport Analysis Software.
(744 K)
Dols, W. S.; Walton, G. N.; Denton, K. R.
NISTIR 6476; 137 p. June 2000.
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
Order number: PB2000-107352
Keywords:
airflow analysis; predictive models; building
technology; computer programs; contaminant dispersal;
indoor air quality; multizone analysis; smoke control;
ventilation
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.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899