Assessment of Outdoor Air and Particle Infiltration Reduction According to Installation of Door Weather Strips

This study aims to evaluate the performance of outside air and particle infiltration reduction with application of weather strips across different air gap lengths. To evaluate the performance, an experimental chamber was developed to simulate indoor air, outdoor air, and an air gap. By using the chamber, reduction of air and particle infiltration was evaluated when considering 6 types of weather strips and 3 air gap lengths. The findings indicated that at a pressure difference of 10 Pa, the penetration coefficient increased with longer air gap lengths when using the door sweep types (S1 and S2) and the adhesive-backed tape type. However, there was irregularity in the penetration coefficient with longer air gap lengths when using the door sweep type (S3), the tubular rubber type (S4) and the door shoe type (S6). At a 4 Pa pressure difference, excluding one type (S6), the penetration coefficient increased with longer air gap lengths. Furthermore, the penetration coefficient was low when S5 was attached at a 0 mm air gap length, shifting to S6 at 3 mm, confirming the differing particle infiltration reduction performance of weather strip types at each air gap lengths. Types S1, S2, and S5 showed a strong correlation between the effective leakage area and the penetration coefficient, so it is judged that the infiltration of outdoor air and particle can be reduced at the same time when using the weather strip of the corresponding types. These findings can serve as a guideline for selecting and installing weather strips, and inform the development of weather strips for simultaneous reduction of outdoor air and particle infiltration.