CFD simulation of particle matter inside an automotive car and the purification efficiency of cabin air purifier

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis work was to study the airflow patterns and the particle distribution in a generic car cabin in order to evaluate the air quality and find how it can be improved. A 3D CAD model was created using the Solidworks software program and meshed using ICEM CFD software. The ICEM CFD software was used to generate the mesh and ANSYS FLUENT was adapted for the simulation. In total, 12 different cases were simulated by considering different inlet velocities and vent setup. The predicted results were further used to analyze the airflow and particle distribution in the entire car cabin. With higher inlet velocity there were more particles being transported to the rear part of the cabin. In general, the particle concentration was higher in the front of the cabin when they were introduced through the inlets, especially with low inlet velocities. Opening the recirculation vents resulted in a slight reduction of the flow to the rear side and reduced the particle distribution accordingly. When smoke particles were introduced in the rear seats, they mostly stayed in the rear of the cabin, especially with low inlet flow velocities as the air did not mix sufficiently. Overall a higher inlet airflow velocity reduced the number of particles that were trapped on the front and rear seats. However, an increase in the number of particles that were trapped on the ceiling, floor and walls were obtained.