ASHRAE recently approved funding totaling $1.1 million for 11 research projects in the areas of indoor air quality, comfort and health, design tools, safety under extraordinary circumstances, environmental quality, seismic and wind restraint design, operating and maintenance, and high risk, innovative and emerging technology.
Among them is Productivity and Perception Based Evaluation of Indoor Noise Criteria, 1322-RP.
Indoor background noise can dramatically impact occupants by causing annoyance, affecting productivity, hindering speech communication, impacting sleep and degrading overall occupant comfort and satisfaction, according to principal investigator Lily Wang, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Heating and ventilating systems are commonly the primary source of that noise.
The study will assess indoor noise criteria systems to evaluate the acceptability of background noise level in buildings, often caused by mechanical systems.
The project is expected to take 15 months at a cost of $69,638. It is sponsored by ASHRAE’s Technical Committee (TC) 2.6, Sound and Vibration.
Other ASHRAE approved projects are:
Operating and Maintenance
oInlet Installation Effects on Small Propeller Fans, Air and Sound, 1223-RP, Corrine Darvennes, Tennessee Technological University, 12 months, $94,320, sponsored by TC 5.1, Fans.
High Risk, Innovative and Emerging Technology
o Performance Characterization of Selected Refrigerants in Flat Plate Microscale Condensers, 1270-RP, Michael Ohadi, University of Maryland, 24 months, $107,248, sponsored by TC 1.3, Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow.
Seismic and Wind Restraint Design
o Static/Dynamic Equipment Testing and Certification, 1323-RP, Andre Filiatrault, State University of New York, 36 months, $80,000, sponsored by TC 2.7, Seismic and Wind Restraint Design.
Safety Under Extraordinary Circumstances
o Maximum Velocity of Make-up Air for Smoke Management Systems in Atria and Other Large Spaces, 1300-RP, George Hadjisophocleous, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, 12 months, $44,800, sponsored by TC 5.6, Control of Fire and Smoke.
Design Tools
o Experimental Evaluation of the Heat Transfer Impacts of Tube Pitch in a Highly Enhanced Surface Tube Bundle, 1316-RP, John Thome, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, 30 months, $169,000, sponsored by TC 8.5, Liquid-to-Refrigerant
Heat Exchangers.
o The Nature, Significance and Control of Solar-Driven Vapor Diffusion in Wall Systems, 1235-RP, Dominique Derome, Ph.D., Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, 30 months, $167,000, sponsored by TC 4.4, Building Materials and Building Envelope Performance.
o Determine the Effect of Duct Fittings on Air Velocity Measurements, 1245-RP, Bruce Babin, Kansas State University, 24 months, $69,808, sponsored by TC 1.2, Instruments and Measurements.
o Revisions to the ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool to Maintain Consistency with Standard 55-2004, 1332-RP, Charlie Huizenga, consultant, Berkeley, Calif., six months, $7,500, sponsored by TC 2.1, Physiology and Human Environment. IAQ, Comfort and Health
oAn Evaluation of the Efficacy of Fill Removal, Cleaning and Disinfection in Controlling Legionella Populations in Cooling Tower Systems, 1307-RP, Nicholas Cianciotto, Northwestern University, 18 months, $164,242, sponsored by TC 3.6, Water Treatment.
o Comparison of Gas-Phase Air Filtration Equipment Lab Tests to Field Experience, 1302-RP, Donald Skedman, University of Denver, 24 months, $158,858, sponsored by TC 2.3, Gaseous Air Contaminants and Gas Contaminants Removal Equipment.
For more information, go to www.ashrae.org.
