Novel air distribution systems for commercial aircraft cabins

Air distribution systems in commercial aircraft cabins are important for providing a healthy and comfortable environment for passengers and crew. The mixing air distribution systems used in existing aircraft cabins create a uniform air temperature distribution and dilute contaminants in the cabins. The mixing air distribution systems could spread infectious airborne diseases. To improve the air distribution system design for aircraft cabins, this investigation proposed an under-floor displacement air distribution system and a personalized air distribution system. This study first validated a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program with the experimental data of airflow, air temperature, and tracer-gas concentration from an environmental chamber. Then the validated CFD program was used to calculate the distributions of the air velocity, air temperature, and CO2 concentration in a section of Boeing 767 aircraft cabin with the mixing, under-floor displacement, and personalized air distribution systems, respectively. By comparing the air and contaminant distributions in the cabin, this study concluded that the personalized air distribution system provided the best air quality without draft risk.