Ventilation and Air Quality in Indoor Ice Skating Arenas

There are thousands of indoor ice rink arenas in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The combustion byproducts from the fuel powered ice resurfacing equipment impose a potential health risk to both athletes and spectators. A field survey of ten ice rink arenas in Greater Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia indicates that the fuel type used by the resurfacer as well as the air exchange rate, the air distribution method, and the operation strategy of the ventilation system are significant contributing factors to the indoor air quality (IAQ). Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to systematically investigate the impact of air exchange rate, air distribution method, and ventilation control strategies on the IAQ in an arena. With CFD, it is possible to develop design and operating guidelines for ventilation systems in order to reduce contamination levels in the arenas.