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ABATEMENT: The reduction of pollutant discharge by means of process modification, shutdown or addition of control equipment.

ABRASIVE DUST: Coarse particles such as sand, metallic compounds, ceramic and glass, that can cause rapid wear on ductwork, air cleaners and fans.

ABSORBER: A kind of scrubber utilizing the absorption principle.

ACCELERATION LOSS: The velocity pressure required to accelerate the air from rest to the duct velocity or slot velocity, whichever is higher.

ACFM: Actual Cubic Feet per Minute of gas volume at the actual conditions of temperature, pressure, moisture, elevation and gas composition. See gas flow rate.

ACGIH: The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists is a professional society devoted to the development of administrative and technical aspects of worker health protection. Membership is limited to professional personnel in governmental agencies or educational institutions engaged in occupational safety and health problems. The ACGIH issues guidelines and recommendations in the form of Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) which are published annually.

ACRYLIC: A synthetic polyermized fiber that contains at least 85% acrylonitrile.

ACRYLONITRILE: A colorless, volatile, flammable liquid nitrile C3H3N used chiefly in organic synthesis and for polymerization.

ADSORBENT: In addition to the adjectival meaning, the term describes any of several substances that collect gaseous pollutants. Used both for measurement and control.

ADSORPTION: The adhesion of a substance to the surface of a solid or liquid.

AEROSOL: Particulate matter solid or liquid, typically under 1 micron, suspended in the air. Particles are sometimes classified as dust, fog, fume, mist or smoke. In general, the term aerosol refers to particles that remain suspended in the air for an extended period of time.

AF: Fan wheel design with airfoil-shaped blades.

AGGLOMERATING DUST: Dust particles that exhibit tendencies for particle growth, such as powdered milk, fertilizer, detergents, etc.

AIR CHANGES PER HOUR (ACH): The movement of a volume of air in a given period of time. If a building has one air change per hour, it means that all of the air in the building will be replaced in a one-hour period.

AIR CLEANER: A device designed for collecting airborne impurities, such as dusts, gases, fumes and smokes.

AIR CONDITIONING: Treating air to meet the requirements of a conditioned space by controlling its temperature, humidity, cleanliness and distribution.

AIR CONTAMINANT: An impurity emitted to the outside air. It can be solid, (dust, particulate matter), liquid (vapor, mist) or gas (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide).

AIR CURTAIN: Mechanical air-moving device designed to limit the in-flux of unwanted air at a building opening.

AIR FILTER: An air cleaning device which removes contaminants from an airstream.

AIR HANDLING UNIT: Factory-made encased assembly consisting of a fan or fans and other equipment to circulate, clean, heat, cool, humidify, dehumidify or mix air.

AIR LEAKAGE: Unwanted air intruding into an exhaust system (holes in ducts, missing and ineffective seals, etc.).

AIRLOCK: Term generally applied to a rotary vane valve that keeps air from entering a dust collector, yet allows collected particulate to continuously discharge from the device.

AIR MONITORING: The continuous sampling for and measuring of pollutants present in the atmosphere.

AIR QUALITY STANDARDS: The approximate concentration level of a selected pollutant that is permitted in the atmosphere to minimize detrimental effects.

AIR POLLUTION: The presence in the atmosphere of gases, fumes or particulate matter alone or in combination with each other, in sufficient concentration to disturb the ecological balance; cause objectionable effects, especially sensory offenses; cause transient or chronic illnesses; or impair or destroy property.

AIR, STANDARD: Dry air at 70° F and 29.92 inches Hg barometric and is approximately equivalent to 0.075 lb/ft3.

AIR-TO-MEDIA RATIO: The ratio of air volume (ACFM) to square feet of effective filter media area. Also referred to as the apparent or face velocity through the media (FPM). Typically 3 to 20 fpm for bag medias and 0.5 to 6 fpm for pleated-type media.

AIR TOXICS: Any air pollutant for which a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) does not exist (i.e., excluding ozone, carbon monoxide, PM-10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides) that may reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer, developmental effects, reproductive dysfunctions, neurological disorders, heritable gene mutations or other serious or irreversible chronic or acute health effects in humans.

AIR VELOCITY: Rate of speed of an airstream, expressed in fpm.

ALTITUDE: The height above sea level of a given location. Density corrections for altitude are made using the following formula, where Z is the feet above sea level. Density (Alt) = Density (Std) x [1 – (6.73 x 10-6) Z]5.258

AMBIENT: Immediate surroundings or vicinity.

AMCA: Air Movement and Control Association.

ANEMOMETER: A device that reads air velocity such as a wind vane. In fan applications, it is usually a spinning-vane-type instrument used to read low velocities at registers and grills.

ANSI: American National Standards Institute.

AQUA-SURGER: UAS’ proprietary, in-place cleaning system associated with SMOG-HOG electrostatic precipitators. Consists of fixed face and overhead cleaning nozzles and associated detergent injection equipment.

ARI: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.

AREA SOURCE: Any small source of non-natural air pollution that is not large enough to be classified as a major source or point source.

AROMATICS: A type of hydrocarbon, such as benzene or toluene, added to gasoline to increase octane. Some aromatics are toxic.

ASHRAE: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.

ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

ASPECT RATIO: The ratio of the width to the length. AR = W/L

ASTM: American Society of Testing Materials.

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE: One atmosphere is approximately 14.7 PSI; 407” water gauge. Airflow is the result of a difference in pressure (above or below atmospheric) between two points.

ATTAINMENT AREA: An area considered to have air quality as good as or better than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined by the Clean Air Act. An area may an attainment area for one pollutant and a non-attainment area for another pollutant.

ATTRITION: Wearing or grinding down by friction. One of the three basic contributing processes of air pollution; the others being vaporization and combustion.

AXIAL FAN: Fan where the airflow through the impeller is predominantly parallel to axis of rotation. The impeller is contained in a cylindrical housing.

AXIAL FLOW: In-line air movement parallel to the fan or motor shaft.