Gaseous and very small aerosol and particulate contaminants are transported in room air motion by a combination of turbulent, diffusive, and fluid convection processes. Such contaminants ordinarily do not effect the flow field, hence their dispersion can be assessed by conducting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) experiments on the solution of an inert species mass transport equation. An available, PC-compatible, mass transport CFD procedure for contaminant dispersion prediction in two-dimensional flows is briefly described. Factors affecting prediction accuracy are highlighted as a function of mesh resolution and convection/diffusion balance. The results of CFD experiments are then presented, parametrically assessing factors controlling apparent dispersion of a contaminant source emanating from a cooking surface for two available under-hood flow fields.

KEYWORDS: computer programs, algorithms, calculating, contaminants, air cleaning, air movement, aerosols, particles, turbulent flow, experiment, accuracy, air quality, indoor, kitchens, exhaust hoods