An adjacent-effects resistant damper integrating control and measurement functions for duct systems

To ensure a comfortable building environment necessitates accurate measurement and control of air volume within duct systems to meet predetermined requirements for each area. Traditional eccentric torque dampers’ measurement accuracy may be compromised by adjacent effects from local components, resulting in significant measurement errors. To solve this problem, the study combines CFD numerical simulation and full-scale experimental validation to derive a formula for controlling air volume within the dampers under operational condition. Based on the formula, a novel torque damper is developed, capable of effectively controlling and accurately measuring air volume in duct systems. By linking the two blades, the damper resists the adjacent effects of local components (elbow, variable diameter, tee) on air volume measurements without the need for additional devices, ensuring a measurement error within ±5.5%. Additionally, the novel dampers have lower resistance compared to traditional dampers. This paper provides a reference for accurately measuring and effectively controlling air volume, while also maximizing the potential benefits of multi-leaf dampers.