Putting up and taking down temporary structures is very common in military camps, and when doing so dust and other unwanted particles in the air are inescapable problems. Opening a door to get in, a window for air, or any kind of ventilation is going to bring in unwanted dust and particles. Some activities cause more problems than others and some places have more contaminants in the air, but more often than not controlling that dust is a key need of any military camp. It seems like a simple fix to blow in clean air, however having clean air readily available all the time is no easy task, especially in a dirty environment such as the desert or jungle.
The Air Cleaning BlowerTM (ACB) was developed specifically to remove dust, pollen and other particles from the air in dusty and harsh environments while eliminating the need for filter maintenance due to clogging filters. After removing most kinds of desert and military dusts, without using any filter elements or media, the ACBs blow out clean air into your tent, modular building or other temporary facility.
The Air Cleaning Blowers work by pulling that dirty air into their housings like any other fans would. The impeller and housing are specially designed to use the momentum of the contaminants to separate them from the air (or almost any other gas) and fling them toward the outside of the housing and eject them, most commonly back into the atmosphere from where they came. The clean air then continues toward the application such as ventilation or pressurization. ACBs accomplish all this without any type of filter elements, sheets, cartridges, bags or other media to maintain.
Media filters remove contaminants from air and other gases by stopping and collecting them. As a result, they all clog and need maintenance and, sooner or later, replacement. In addition, as they clog, media filters and air purifiers increasingly impede the flow of air. When they do, the blower has to work harder and consume more electricity or other power to maintain the same airflow and air pressure at the application. In contrast, because they do not trap debris, ACBs do not clog. Without clogging, the filter maintenance is almost eliminated, and, consequently, so is deferred maintenance.
Perhaps more important, particularly to designers of the systems: when ACBs supply the air moving and air cleaning, they eliminate the fluctuations in airflow, air pressure and power consumption, which makes it much easier to predict and calculate the air-systems’ performances, and therefore, to design optimal systems.
Rugged, light-weight and self-contained, and easily transported, mounted and removed without training, and often by one person, ACBs can readily travel with troops. They can be designed to run on virtually any type of electricity, even direct current from vehicles. Therefore, they can bring improved comfort and health conditions, even in expeditionary activities.
Another key feature is that the ACBs can remove rain, mist and snow from the air, helping the air stay dryer and reducing the load on any air conditioning, refrigeration or dehumidifying equipment. In addition, because there is no filter media catching that rain or snow there is nothing that will become wet or freeze up and prevent the air from passing through.
In addition, ACBs can pressurize the spaces so that air will flow out of the facilities and help prevent dusts and sand from blowing in. That pressurization will also help protect computers and other electronics. Since they do not collect the debris, ACBs will not create dangerous hot spots in the filter media if there are CBRNE particles in the surrounding environment. Further: all ACBs can be adapted for use with virtually any explosive or flammable gas or dust, Division/Zone 1 or Division/Zone 2.
Our ACBs were tested independently at an internationally-recognized filter-testing laboratory to establish their effectiveness. The testing found that standard models remove up to 98%+ of the mass of dust and other particles from the air. The laboratory results show that they remove virtually all particles larger than 10 microns and about 40% of the particles down to 3 microns from the air. The smallest particles most people can see are about 50 microns. Models under development will consistently remove sub-micron contaminants. Hence, they will help keep mosquitos out of tents in the jungle while blowing cool air through them.
Originally developed to work in harsh environments such as steel, mining and fertilizer plants, the Air Cleaning BlowerTM can help no matter what kind of structures you have, or where. Our ACBs are so effective that they are being used today by the US Military in the Middle East to keep air conditioners cooling, even in sandstorms.
Potential applications:
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Removing dust and particles from the air to keep people and equipment clean
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Keeping mist and humidity out of the air
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Remove dust and particles form the air for military personnel to breathe more easily
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Eliminating the need for replacement filters in-hard-to-supply locations
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Reducing the size and weight of filtration systems
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Incorporating them into ECUs (environmental control units)
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Keeping flying insects out while ventilating, particularly in temporary structures where ECUs are not an option
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Ventilating munitions-storage and other enclosures