L’objectif de cette étude est de bien décrire les mécanismes impliqués dans la remise en suspension des microparticules en conduite ventilée. Une méthodologie expérimentale est utilisée, et cela en tenant compte de la période d’accélération de l’écoulement qui précède l’atteinte du régime permanent. Une méthode optique a été choisi pour étudier le mouvement initial des particules, et leur cinétique de remise en suspension. Parallèlement, nous avons recueilli des données locales de l’écoulement en période d’accélération et au régime permanent.Le démarrage de la remise en suspension a été analysé relativement à l’évolution temporelle de trois paramètres pouvant influencer le démarrage de la remise en suspension, le premier est la vitesse instantanée en proche paroi, le second est l’intensité turbulente, et enfin le troisième est l’énergie cinétique turbulente. Le paramètre prépondérant sur le démarrage de la remise en suspension semble être l’énergie cinétique turbulente. / The objective of this study is to well describe the mechanisms involved in the resuspension of particles in ventilated duct by using an experimental methodology and taking into account the acceleration of the air flow which always precedes steady state. For that purpose, we chose an optical method in order to investigate the initial movement of particles, and to quantify the resuspension kinetics. In parallel we collected local data of the flow during acceleration and steady state.We observed that the resuspension kinetics starts during the acceleration period and extends to steady state. We highlighted the relevant velocity characteristics (critical velocity at the center duct and close to the wall, critical kinetic energy range) to explain this phenomenon. The resuspension start seems to be linked with a critical kinetic energy range.

<p>Infant exposure to the microbial and allergenic content of indoor floor dust has been shown to play a significant role in both the development of, and protection against, allergies and asthma later in life. Resuspension of floor dust during infant locomotion induces a vertical transport of particles to the breathing zone, leading to inhalation exposure to a concentrated cloud of coarse (> 1μm) and fine (≤ 1μm) particles. Resuspension, and subsequent exposure, during periods of active infant locomotion is likely influenced by gait parameters. This dependence has been little explored to date and may play a significant role in floor dust resuspension and exposure associated with forms of locomotion specific to infants. This study explores associations between infant locomotion dynamics and floor dust resuspension and exposure in the indoor environment. Infant gait parameters for walking and physiological characteristics expected to influence dust resuspension and exposure were identified, including: contact frequency (steps min^-1), contact area per step (m²), locomotion speed (m s^-1), breathing zone height (cm), and time-resolved locomotion profiles. Gait parameter datasets for standard gait experiments were collected for infants in three age groups: 12, 15, and 19 months-old (m/o). The gait parameters were integrated with an indoor dust resuspension model through a Monte Carlo framework to predict how age-dependent variations in locomotion affect the resuspension mass emission rate (mg h^-1) for five particle size fractions from 0.3 to 10 μm. Eddy diffusivity coefficients (m² s^-1) were estimated for each age group and used in a particle transport model to determine the vertical particle concentration profile above the floor.</p><p>Probability density functions of contact frequency, contact area, locomotion speed, breathing zone height, and size-resolved resuspension mass emission rates were determined for infants in each group. Infant standard gait contact frequencies were generally in the range of 100 to 300 steps min^-1and increased with age, with median values of 186 steps min^-1for 12 m/o, 207 steps min^-1 for 15 m/o, and 246.2 steps min^-1 for 19 m/o infants. Similarly, locomotion speed increased with age, from 67.3 cm s^-1at 12 m/o to 118.83 cm s^-1 at 19 m/o, as did the breathing zone height, which varied between 60 and 85 cm. Resuspension mass emission rates increased with both infant age and particle size. A 19 m/o infant will resuspend comparably more particles from the same indoor settled dust deposit compared to a 15 m/o or 12 m/o infant. Age-dependent variations in the resuspension mass emission rate and eddy diffusivity coefficient drove changes in the vertical particle concentration profile within the resuspended particle cloud. For all particle size fractions, there is an average of a 6% increase in the resuspended particle concentration at a height of 1 m from the floor for a 19 m/o compared to a 12 m/o infant. Time-resolved locomotion profiles were obtained for infants in natural gait during free play establish the transient nature of walking-induced particle resuspension and associated exposures for infants, with variable periods of active locomotion, no motion, and impulsive falls. This study demonstrates that floor dust resuspension and exposure can be influenced by the nature of infant locomotion patterns, which vary with age and are distinctly different from those for adults.</p>