AI Skill Report Card
Designing Industrial Ventilation
Quick Start13 / 15
Given a facility with pollutant sources, immediately scope the problem:
- What are the sources? (dust, fumes, heat, moisture, VOCs) — count and locate each
- What's the required capture method? (hood, enclosure, downdraft table, cabinet)
- What's the target emission limit? (mg/m³) and applicable standard
- What's the rough air volume? (first estimate: sources × local exhaust rate)
Example quick estimate: 14 dust sources at a cement plant → ~450,000 m³/h total exhaust, ductwork sized at 18–22 m/s, cyclone + baghouse filtration to hit <10 mg/m³ against a 30 mg/m³ norm.
Recommendation▾
Translate the Russian-language step headers and terminology to English (or at least provide consistent bilingual labels) for broader usability and clarity
Workflow14 / 15
Progress:
- Step 1: Анализ вредных выделений (identify pollutant type, concentration, source geometry, release rate)
- Step 2: Расчёт воздухообмена (determine required air exchange rate per source and per room, using mass balance or standard multiplicity ratios)
- Step 3: Проектирование местных отсосов (design local exhaust hoods — size, capture velocity, placement relative to source)
- Step 4: Гидравлический расчёт воздуховодов (duct sizing for 18–22 m/s transport velocity for dust-laden air; compute pressure losses, balance branches)
- Step 5: Подбор фильтров и пылеуловителей (select cyclones for coarse pre-separation, baghouse/cartridge filters for fine particulate, compute filtration area and pressure drop)
- Step 6: Подбор вентиляторов (select fan type — radial, high-pressure — matching system curve: flow rate + total pressure drop + margin)
- Step 7: Автоматизация (differential pressure sensors for filter cleaning cycles, VFD control, interlocks with process equipment, emissions monitoring)
Step details
1. Анализ вредных выделений
- Classify: pyли (dust), газы, пары, тепло/влага
- For each source: emission rate (kg/h or g/s), particle size distribution (affects filter choice), temperature, explosivity/fire class
2. Расчёт воздухообмена
- Method A (mass balance): L = G / (C_пдк − C_приток), where G = pollutant release rate, C = concentration limits
- Method B (multiplicity): L = n × V_room (use when no reliable emission data)
- Cross-check both; use the larger value
3. Местные отсосы
- Prefer enclosing hoods > receiving hoods > capturing hoods (in order of efficiency)
- Capture velocity 0.5–10 m/s depending on how violently the contaminant is generated (ACGIH Industrial Ventilation tables)
- Minimize hood-to-source distance — capture velocity falls off with square of distance
4. Гидравлический расчёт
- Transport velocity for dust: 15–23 m/s depending on particle density (heavier = faster, to avoid settling)
- Balance method: size branches so pressure losses match at junctions (adjust diameter, not just dampers)
- Account for local resistances (elbows, tees, dampers) separately from friction losses
5. Фильтры и пылеуловители
- Cyclones: pre-separation for particles >10–20 µm, low cost, no consumables, efficiency 70–90%
- Rukavnye (baghouse) filters: for fine particulate, efficiency >99%, filtration velocity 0.8–1.5 m³/min/m² (adjust for dust type)
- Cartridge filters: compact, for lower volumes, finer dust
- Wet scrubbers: when dust is combustible/explosive or combined with gas absorption needed
- Always size for pressure drop increase over the cleaning cycle, not just clean-filter state
6. Вентиляторы
- Plot system resistance curve, select fan operating near peak efficiency point (BEP)
- Add 10–15% margin for future filter loading and recalculation uncertainty
- For abrasive dust: radial-blade fans, wear-resistant housing/impeller coating
7. Автоматизация
- Differential pressure across filters triggers pulse-jet cleaning cycles
- VFDs on fans for flow trim and energy savings
- Interlock dust collection start with process equipment start (no process without active collection)
- Continuous emission monitoring where regulation requires
Recommendation▾
Add a third example showing a failure case or edge case (e.g., combustible/explosive dust requiring wet scrubbers) to round out the examples with more variety
Examples15 / 20
Example 1: Input: Деревообрабатывающий цех, 6 станков, древесная пыль и стружка, норма ПДК выброса 30 мг/м³ Output: Местные отсосы на каждом станке (капюшоны/зонты), воздуховоды Ø200–400 мм на скорости 18 м/с, циклон как первая ступень + рукавный фильтр (фильтрация 1.2 м³/мин/м²) как вторая, вентилятор радиальный на расчётный напор с запасом 15%, итоговый выброс <15 мг/м³
Example 2: Input: Аспирация цементного завода; 14 источников пыления; выброс 450 000 м³/ч Output: Местные отсосы → воздуховоды (18–22 м/с) → циклоны + рукавные фильтры → вентиляторы → дымовая труба → контроль выбросов. Выбросы <10 мг/м³ (норма 30), стоимость $8.4 млн, окупаемость 2.8 года за счёт возврата уловленного цемента (1200 т/год)
Recommendation▾
Include a brief section on required inputs/deliverables (drawings, calculation sheets) expected as output of the full workflow, since this is a design skill that presumably produces documentation
Best Practices
- Always compute air exchange by two independent methods (mass balance and multiplicity) and reconcile
- Design hoods as close to source as physically possible — this is the single biggest lever on required airflow
- Size ducts for minimum transport velocity by particle type — undersizing causes settling and blockage, oversizing wastes energy
- Stage filtration: coarse separation (cyclone) before fine filtration (baghouse) to extend filter life and reduce load
- Always include pressure drop growth over the filter service life in fan selection, not just clean-state numbers
- Validate critical/complex layouts (large volumes, odd geometries, explosive dust) with CFD before construction
- Check compliance against both local standards (СП 60.13330) and any applicable international reference (ASHRAE) when client operates internationally
Common Pitfalls
- Don't size ducts only for low pressure loss — too-low velocity causes dust to settle inside ducts, leading to blockages and fire risk
- Don't ignore particle size distribution when choosing filter type — a cyclone alone is useless against sub-10 µm particulate
- Don't select a fan based only on clean-filter pressure drop — fans must handle the dirtiest operating point in the cleaning cycle
- Don't place receiving/capturing hoods far from sources to "simplify" layout — this multiplies required airflow and costs
- Don't skip automation/interlocks for combustible dust applications — explosion risk requires process-collection interlocks, not optional extras
- Don't balance ductwork branches using dampers alone on dusty systems — dampers create dead zones where dust accumulates; prefer sizing-based balancing