Air handling system for buildings and clean rooms

Abstract

The present invention includes a system and method for air flow improvement in central air handling systems primarily for buildings and clean rooms. It may include a return flow path, a reversing element, an axial flow device, and a supply flow path where at least a portion of a supply flow path is substantially parallel to the return flow path and one of the flow paths at least partially surrounds the other flow path and could include an annulus between the supply and return flow paths and may provide uniform flow to the axial flow device. The system could include a filter which could be inclined, converging, or a skewed flow face filter, or combinations thereof. It may also include a coil, with a variety of shapes including flat, circular, or frustoconical and could be arranged perpendicular to a primary flow direction of the one or both of the flow paths. The system might also include at least one boundary layer affecting element. A remote access and replacement filter changing element may be included. To assist in turning the flows in such a system, possibly in combination with the reversing element, a conditioning element oriented at some angle to a primary flow direction and selected from a group consisting essentially of conditioning elements affecting filtration purity and temperature may be included. The above may be especially applicable to clean rooms and may include an air handling system for undivided and divided zones to filter the zone specific contaminants.