Indoor air aerosol modeling and evaluation based on simulation chamber experiments

High levels of particulate matter (PM) are observed in indoor environments and are of great concern to human health. INCA-Indoor is an indoor air quality (IAQ) model that is able to simulate more than 1200 gaseous species in several rooms of a building. The present study details the aerosol module of this model, which is implemented to simulate aerosol formation by the nucleation of gaseous species, the growth of particles by coagulation and condensation, their deposition on surfaces, and their exchanges with the outdoors and between rooms. To assess the performance of the new modeling system, the simulations are compared with measurements from atmosphere simulation chambers obtained from the EUROCHAMP-2020 database. Two different types of processes are studied: the growth of diesel soot in the AIDA chamber and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and evolution following the ozonolysis of alpha-pinene in the EUPHORE chamber. INCA-Indoor nicely reproduces the evolution of the number of diesel soot particles, their size distribution during growth by coagulation, and their deposition surfaces. The model also nicely reproduces the formation of aerosols from the ozonolysis of alpha-pinene, the competitive growth processes, condensation and coagulation, and aerosol deposition. The sim- ulations confirm previous experimental findings and associated assumptions regarding aerosol formation by ozonolysis.

Automated summary

High levels of particulate matter (PM) in indoor environments are a major concern for human health. INCA-Indoor is an IAQ model capable of simulating over 1200 gaseous species in various rooms of a building. This study focuses on the model's aerosol module, which accurately simulates aerosol formation, growth, deposition, and exchanges in indoor environments. Comparisons with measurements from atmosphere simulation chambers confirm the model's ability to reproduce the evolution of diesel soot particles and the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) through ozonolysis.