Dust Particles Entering a Room

Dust Particles Entering the Room — ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation

Description

This project uses ANSYS Fluent to study how dust particles enter a room through windows and move and deposit inside. Dust-laden air drawn in through the windows carries particles that then disperse, settle, and accumulate within the space — a practical problem for indoor air quality, cleanliness, and ventilation design. The simulation captures both the airflow through the room and the transport and deposition of the dust particles it carries. Within the DPM: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project applies the discrete-phase method to indoor particle transport, building on the injection cases toward a real environmental application.

Methodology

The 3D geometry, built in DesignModeler, represents a room with two windows and a chimney, meshed in ANSYS Meshing with 42,061 elements. Because the deposition evolves over time, the simulation is transient. Dust-laden air enters through the two window inlets at 0.25 m/s and exits through a pressure outlet at the chimney top. Particle transport and settling are modeled with a two-way coupled Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to capture the interaction between the particles and the carrier flow, and the laminar flow model is used for the continuous phase.

Analysis

The outputs include 2D velocity contours, vectors, and streamlines, revealing the airflow paths and the dust motion through the room. The wind-driven flow carries particles along the main stream, while recirculation zones promote enhanced deposition and sediment accumulation — showing where dust is most likely to collect. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a transient two-way coupled DPM simulation of indoor particle transport, define particle-laden inlets and deposition behavior, and interpret the flow and particle results to understand where dust disperses and settles within a room.