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Module 1: Basic Concepts - Plane Geometry
Contents: Practice Problems
Objective
- Calculate the surface areas and volumes of common geometric shapes important in air pollution control.
Geometry is needed in many types of air pollution control problems involving the sizing of equipment, the emissions from sources, and the design of control system components. For example, plane geometry is used to evaluate the velocities through ductwork and stacks, the minimum and maximum sizes of control systems, and the areas available for heat transfer in condensers. Solid geometry is used to evaluate the capacity of hoppers and the residence time of combustion gases in incinerators.
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#1 - What 3-dimensional geometric shapes do you see in this fabric
filter?
Animations of Area and Volume Calculations
Provided below are four animations that show how to calculate the area and volume of geometric shapes commonly found in the field of air pollution control. Note the many different shapes associated with the parallel large-diameter cyclone (see Figure below). This type of cyclone is used for removing relatively large-sized particles.
 Four Animations |
 |
To see animations, Note: Animations require a Netscape 4.7 or
Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher browser and a Shockwave Flash plug-in
(Netscape browsers) or Shockwave Flash ActiveX Control (Internet Explorer
browsers). Shockwave Flash plug-in/ActiveX Control (version 3.0 minimum)
can be obtained at the
Macromedia
web site. Before downloading or installing any software or plug-ins, please
refer to your organization's network/computer policies or check with your
system administrator.
The following Table summarizes the formulas commonly encountered in
air pollution work.
Example Problem 1 illustrates how solid geometry formulas might be used
to calculate emission rates.
Example Problem 1.
Calculate Droplet Emission Rate
What is the total emission rate of droplets in terms of pounds mass
per hour, if an emission testing instrument indicates that the droplet
concentration in the gas stream is 1 
106 drops/cm3 and the gas flow rate is 10,000 actual
ft3/min? Assume that all of the droplets are 1 micrometer in
diameter and that the density of the droplet is 1.0 gm/cm3.
Solution:
- Calculate the volume of a 1 micrometer droplet.
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- Calculate the mass of a droplet.
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- Calculate the total emission rate of droplets in grams per minute.
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- Convert the emission rate of droplets from grams per minute to pounds
mass per hour.
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Practice Problems
Plane Geometry
- Instructions:
- Complete the Practice Problems before proceeding to the next lesson. Click on the button below.