With the realization that many traditional energy supplies are truly limited, more and more emphasis is being placed upon conscientious and efficient energy consumption. One specific area where energy conservation techniques are of great concern is industrial ventilation. While reductions in ventilation and exhaust system capacities could reduce energy requirements, these systems must meet stringent health and safety requirements. Therefore, the approach of design-criteria re-evaluation promises reductions in energy usage in industrial ventilation, while maximizing the reliability of the system to meet mandated health standards.

This research project was an investigation into the degradation of an industrial exhaust system in an effort to substantiate the degradation reliability model developed by Dorgan and Ermer. The experimental part of the project was designed to establish a data base relating system static pressures and flow rate to long term degradation. Since the basic concept of utilizing a closed system was new, instrumentation maintenance and updating as required to insure data reliability was an additional objective. The collection and analysis of the data was directed toward determining degradation patterns of two exhaust systems.