{"id":{"repo_id":"tamu","oai_identifier":"oai:oaktrust.library.tamu.edu:1969.1/1588995"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/tamu/oai:oaktrust.library.tamu.edu:1969.1/1588995","repository":{"repo_id":"tamu","name":"Texas A&M University","base_url":"https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Characterizing Effects That Influence Measured Range Hood Capture Efficiency","abstract":"Kitchen range hoods remove harmful contaminants released by cooking, and they are essential for maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Standardized range hood capture efficiency (RHCE) experiments and tests were performed, and the resulting data were used to calculate RHCE, which is a parameter that provides a measure of how contaminants are removed. The goal of the studies reported herein is to improve the repeatability and reproducibility of RHCE tests performed in accordance with ASTM E3087.18. Changes to the standard aligning with the results of these reported studies will contribute to a reduction in error between measurements made at different testing laboratories, as well as a reduction in test variability. Achieving these goals is an essential step in ensuring further widespread adoption of the testing standard and RHCE as a metric, which in turn will lead to improved indoor air quality and human health, along with less energy consumed and greenhouse gas released. A detailed experimental study was performed to analyze the effect of tracer gas injection rate, emitter assembly surface temperature, and chamber volume on measured RHCE. One study herein found that when the chamber volume was reduced from 36.6 m3 to 21.0m3 then a sample produced average results 3.6%CE lower at its higher operating speed and 7.8%CE lower at its lower operating speed. In contrast, in another study herein, a more extreme volume reduction led to a decrease in RHCE for another sample’s high-speed setting and an increase on its low-speed setting, suggesting that while chamber volume change has a definite effect on measured RHCE, this effect is not always consistent between samples or operating conditions. Two analytical models were derived to predict chamber and exhaust concentrations during an RHCE test. The second model, which is the more useful model, assumes that there are two bodies of chamber air with limited interaction. It was validated by comparing its predicted results against experimentally measured ones. While the model predicted chamber CO2 concentration within 1.8% for a high-RHCE case, its accuracy was just 14.8% for a low-RHCE case. Further analysis found the model to have a consistent decrease in accuracy with decreasing nominal RHCE. The models can be used to predict performance and trends if one keeps in mind the limitations of the model with regards to its accuracy in specific flow ranges. Another experimental study was performed herein to characterize the distribution of tracer gas throughout the test chamber. Results of this study confirmed that the concentration of tracer gas decreases as distance from the emitters increases, but that there is also a local zone of relatively low tracer gas concentration along the centerline of the room. A reference range hood frame without a blower was constructed and tested for comparison against conventional range hoods. This test series aimed to determine whether the fan blower and motor selection impacts low-CE results. Using the exhaust as a prime mover, the reference box achieved capture efficiencies of 96.5% at 250 CFM, 93.3% at 160 CFM, and 81.3% at 100 CFM, outperforming other range hoods while showing lower test variance, with the result that fan and motor installation have a negative effect on RHCE. While design refinement is needed to better satisfy the initial goal of replicating low-RHCE results, the box’s low variance between tests suggests only minor modification of the design should be needed to do so. A chamber inlet modification was performed and validated to ensure it did not severely impact the quality of measured RHCE. Three units were tested before and after installing the inlet modification. The results show that the inlet modification slightly reduced variance without noticeably affecting mean RHCE in four of five tested cases, but in one case it led to an increase in mean RHCE from 75.6%CE to 87.2%CE accompanied by an increase in variance from 0.94%CE to 3.06%CE. The results of this study found that the inlet change does not noticeably interfere with RHCE measurements.","abstract_html":"Kitchen range hoods remove harmful contaminants released by cooking, and they are essential for maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Standardized range hood capture efficiency (RHCE) experiments and tests were performed, and the resulting data were used to calculate RHCE, which is a parameter that provides a measure of how contaminants are removed. The goal of the studies reported herein is to improve the repeatability and reproducibility of RHCE tests performed in accordance with ASTM E3087.18. Changes to the standard aligning with the results of these reported studies will contribute to a reduction in error between measurements made at different testing laboratories, as well as a reduction in test variability. Achieving these goals is an essential step in ensuring further widespread adoption of the testing standard and RHCE as a metric, which in turn will lead to improved indoor air quality and human health, along with less energy consumed and greenhouse gas released. A detailed experimental study was performed to analyze the effect of tracer gas injection rate, emitter assembly surface temperature, and chamber volume on measured RHCE. One study herein found that when the chamber volume was reduced from 36.6 m3 to 21.0m3 then a sample produced average results 3.6%CE lower at its higher operating speed and 7.8%CE lower at its lower operating speed. In contrast, in another study herein, a more extreme volume reduction led to a decrease in RHCE for another sample’s high-speed setting and an increase on its low-speed setting, suggesting that while chamber volume change has a definite effect on measured RHCE, this effect is not always consistent between samples or operating conditions. Two analytical models were derived to predict chamber and exhaust concentrations during an RHCE test. The second model, which is the more useful model, assumes that there are two bodies of chamber air with limited interaction. It was validated by comparing its predicted results against experimentally measured ones. While the model predicted chamber CO2 concentration within 1.8% for a high-RHCE case, its accuracy was just 14.8% for a low-RHCE case. Further analysis found the model to have a consistent decrease in accuracy with decreasing nominal RHCE. The models can be used to predict performance and trends if one keeps in mind the limitations of the model with regards to its accuracy in specific flow ranges. Another experimental study was performed herein to characterize the distribution of tracer gas throughout the test chamber. Results of this study confirmed that the concentration of tracer gas decreases as distance from the emitters increases, but that there is also a local zone of relatively low tracer gas concentration along the centerline of the room. A reference range hood frame without a blower was constructed and tested for comparison against conventional range hoods. This test series aimed to determine whether the fan blower and motor selection impacts low-CE results. Using the exhaust as a prime mover, the reference box achieved capture efficiencies of 96.5% at 250 CFM, 93.3% at 160 CFM, and 81.3% at 100 CFM, outperforming other range hoods while showing lower test variance, with the result that fan and motor installation have a negative effect on RHCE. While design refinement is needed to better satisfy the initial goal of replicating low-RHCE results, the box’s low variance between tests suggests only minor modification of the design should be needed to do so. A chamber inlet modification was performed and validated to ensure it did not severely impact the quality of measured RHCE. Three units were tested before and after installing the inlet modification. The results show that the inlet modification slightly reduced variance without noticeably affecting mean RHCE in four of five tested cases, but in one case it led to an increase in mean RHCE from 75.6%CE to 87.2%CE accompanied by an increase in variance from 0.94%CE to 3.06%CE. The results of this study found that the inlet change does not noticeably interfere with RHCE measurements.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yokubaitis, Edgar Michael"],"institution":"Texas A&M University","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Pate, Michael"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Delgado-Marquez, Adolfo","Liang, Hong","King, Maria"],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05","date_published":"2024-05","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:48:40Z","subjects":["Engineering, Mechanical"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1588995","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"source_record":{"url":"https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Aoaktrust.library.tamu.edu%3A1969.1%2F1588995","prefix":"dim"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Pate, Michael"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Delgado-Marquez, Adolfo","Liang, Hong","King, Maria"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yokubaitis, Edgar Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-04-01T19:41:33Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Texas A&M University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Engineering, Mechanical"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1588995"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Kitchen range hoods remove harmful contaminants released by cooking, and they are essential for maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Standardized range hood capture efficiency (RHCE) experiments and tests were performed, and the resulting data were used to calculate RHCE, which is a parameter that provides a measure of how contaminants are removed. The goal of the studies reported herein is to improve the repeatability and reproducibility of RHCE tests performed in accordance with ASTM E3087.18. Changes to the standard aligning with the results of these reported studies will contribute to a reduction in error between measurements made at different testing laboratories, as well as a reduction in test variability. Achieving these goals is an essential step in ensuring further widespread adoption of the testing standard and RHCE as a metric, which in turn will lead to improved indoor air quality and human health, along with less energy consumed and greenhouse gas released. A detailed experimental study was performed to analyze the effect of tracer gas injection rate, emitter assembly surface temperature, and chamber volume on measured RHCE. One study herein found that when the chamber volume was reduced from 36.6 m3 to 21.0m3 then a sample produced average results 3.6%CE lower at its higher operating speed and 7.8%CE lower at its lower operating speed. In contrast, in another study herein, a more extreme volume reduction led to a decrease in RHCE for another sample’s high-speed setting and an increase on its low-speed setting, suggesting that while chamber volume change has a definite effect on measured RHCE, this effect is not always consistent between samples or operating conditions. Two analytical models were derived to predict chamber and exhaust concentrations during an RHCE test. The second model, which is the more useful model, assumes that there are two bodies of chamber air with limited interaction. It was validated by comparing its predicted results against experimentally measured ones. While the model predicted chamber CO2 concentration within 1.8% for a high-RHCE case, its accuracy was just 14.8% for a low-RHCE case. Further analysis found the model to have a consistent decrease in accuracy with decreasing nominal RHCE. The models can be used to predict performance and trends if one keeps in mind the limitations of the model with regards to its accuracy in specific flow ranges. Another experimental study was performed herein to characterize the distribution of tracer gas throughout the test chamber. Results of this study confirmed that the concentration of tracer gas decreases as distance from the emitters increases, but that there is also a local zone of relatively low tracer gas concentration along the centerline of the room. A reference range hood frame without a blower was constructed and tested for comparison against conventional range hoods. This test series aimed to determine whether the fan blower and motor selection impacts low-CE results. Using the exhaust as a prime mover, the reference box achieved capture efficiencies of 96.5% at 250 CFM, 93.3% at 160 CFM, and 81.3% at 100 CFM, outperforming other range hoods while showing lower test variance, with the result that fan and motor installation have a negative effect on RHCE. While design refinement is needed to better satisfy the initial goal of replicating low-RHCE results, the box’s low variance between tests suggests only minor modification of the design should be needed to do so. A chamber inlet modification was performed and validated to ensure it did not severely impact the quality of measured RHCE. Three units were tested before and after installing the inlet modification. The results show that the inlet modification slightly reduced variance without noticeably affecting mean RHCE in four of five tested cases, but in one case it led to an increase in mean RHCE from 75.6%CE to 87.2%CE accompanied by an increase in variance from 0.94%CE to 3.06%CE. The results of this study found that the inlet change does not noticeably interfere with RHCE measurements."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Characterizing Effects That Influence Measured Range Hood Capture Efficiency"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Pate, Michael"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Delgado-Marquez, Adolfo","Liang, Hong","King, Maria"],"dc:creator":["Yokubaitis, Edgar Michael"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-04-01T19:41:33Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Kitchen range hoods remove harmful contaminants released by cooking, and they are essential for maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Standardized range hood capture efficiency (RHCE) experiments and tests were performed, and the resulting data were used to calculate RHCE, which is a parameter that provides a measure of how contaminants are removed. The goal of the studies reported herein is to improve the repeatability and reproducibility of RHCE tests performed in accordance with ASTM E3087.18. Changes to the standard aligning with the results of these reported studies will contribute to a reduction in error between measurements made at different testing laboratories, as well as a reduction in test variability. Achieving these goals is an essential step in ensuring further widespread adoption of the testing standard and RHCE as a metric, which in turn will lead to improved indoor air quality and human health, along with less energy consumed and greenhouse gas released. A detailed experimental study was performed to analyze the effect of tracer gas injection rate, emitter assembly surface temperature, and chamber volume on measured RHCE. One study herein found that when the chamber volume was reduced from 36.6 m3 to 21.0m3 then a sample produced average results 3.6%CE lower at its higher operating speed and 7.8%CE lower at its lower operating speed. In contrast, in another study herein, a more extreme volume reduction led to a decrease in RHCE for another sample’s high-speed setting and an increase on its low-speed setting, suggesting that while chamber volume change has a definite effect on measured RHCE, this effect is not always consistent between samples or operating conditions. Two analytical models were derived to predict chamber and exhaust concentrations during an RHCE test. The second model, which is the more useful model, assumes that there are two bodies of chamber air with limited interaction. It was validated by comparing its predicted results against experimentally measured ones. While the model predicted chamber CO2 concentration within 1.8% for a high-RHCE case, its accuracy was just 14.8% for a low-RHCE case. Further analysis found the model to have a consistent decrease in accuracy with decreasing nominal RHCE. The models can be used to predict performance and trends if one keeps in mind the limitations of the model with regards to its accuracy in specific flow ranges. Another experimental study was performed herein to characterize the distribution of tracer gas throughout the test chamber. Results of this study confirmed that the concentration of tracer gas decreases as distance from the emitters increases, but that there is also a local zone of relatively low tracer gas concentration along the centerline of the room. A reference range hood frame without a blower was constructed and tested for comparison against conventional range hoods. This test series aimed to determine whether the fan blower and motor selection impacts low-CE results. Using the exhaust as a prime mover, the reference box achieved capture efficiencies of 96.5% at 250 CFM, 93.3% at 160 CFM, and 81.3% at 100 CFM, outperforming other range hoods while showing lower test variance, with the result that fan and motor installation have a negative effect on RHCE. While design refinement is needed to better satisfy the initial goal of replicating low-RHCE results, the box’s low variance between tests suggests only minor modification of the design should be needed to do so. A chamber inlet modification was performed and validated to ensure it did not severely impact the quality of measured RHCE. Three units were tested before and after installing the inlet modification. The results show that the inlet modification slightly reduced variance without noticeably affecting mean RHCE in four of five tested cases, but in one case it led to an increase in mean RHCE from 75.6%CE to 87.2%CE accompanied by an increase in variance from 0.94%CE to 3.06%CE. The results of this study found that the inlet change does not noticeably interfere with RHCE measurements."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1588995"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:subject":["Engineering, Mechanical"],"dc:title":["Characterizing Effects That Influence Measured Range Hood Capture Efficiency"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Texas A&M University"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:48:40Z"}