HVAC for Cleanroom Facilities - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Architects and Surveyors

HVAC for Cleanroom Facilities

Course Outline

Although the idea of a cleanroom may seem right out of science fiction, clean and controlled environments are actually used by a wide range of industries. From their more obvious uses in medical facilities to their necessity in integrated circuit manufacture, cleanrooms provide an essential role in modern production and research.

This 5 -hour course provides an overview of cleanroom and discusses the key HVAC design aspects applicable to cleanrooms.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the reader will:

State the four fundamental rules that apply to cleanrooms;
Understand the characteristics of airborne particles;
Define contamination and list the various sources of contamination;
List the various classifications of cleanrooms in accordance with Fed standard 209 and ISO 14644 standards;
List the key differences between cleanroom HVAC and conventional systems HVAC;
State the four basic mechanisms of filtration (1) inertial impaction, (2) interception, (3) diffusion, and (4) electrostatic attraction;
Understand the difference between filter arrestance and dust spot efficiency;
Learn the online methods of testing HEPA filters using particle count, weight and DOP techniques;
State the specifications of HEPA and ULPA filters;
Describe the air velocity and the air change requirements for different cleanliness classifications;
Describe the design approaches for unidirectional and non-unidirectional air distribution;
State the methods for achieving temperature and relative humidity requirements;
Describe the cleanroom pressurization requirements and its impact on energy use;
Describe the energy conservation approaches and new developments applicable to cleanroom technology; and
Describe the cleanroom architectural requirements and the interaction interface.

Intended Audience

This course is aimed at mechanical and HVAC engineers, facility managers, environmentalists, H &S professionals, O & M personal, safety engineers, industrial hygienists, and engineers responsible for the design, purchase or upkeep of cleanrooms.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendees of this course will get to know how to minimize the introduction, generation and retention of contaminants. The course is useful to the personnel responsible for design and operation of healthcare facilities, optics, pharmacy, bio-technology, food and drink, electronic rooms, data centers and semi-conductor facilities.

Course Introduction

A cleanroom is a controlled environment where the concentration of airborne particles is controlled to specified limits. The only way to control contamination is to control the total environment. Air flow rates and direction, pressurization, temperature, humidity and specialized filtration all need to be tightly controlled. Exceptionally large quantities of filtered air is supplied to (1) dilute and remove the particles and bacteria dispersed from personnel and machinery within the room and, (2) to pressurize the room and ensure that no dirty air flows into the cleanroom. Secondly, a cleanroom is built with materials that do not generate particles and can be easily cleaned. Finally, cleanroom personnel use clothing that envelops them and minimizes their dispersion of particles and micro organisms. Cleanrooms can also control the temperature, humidity, sound, lighting, and vibration.

This course will provide you the measures that minimize the introduction, generation and retention of contamination in a cleanroom.

Course Content

This course is in the following PDF document:

HVAC for Cleanroom Facilities

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

At its most basic level, a cleanroom is just what it sounds like: an area kept free of contaminants. There are 5 key elements for the control of airborne particulate matter:

Preventing entry of particulate matter - This is accomplished by filtration of the air entering into the cleanroom.
Purging of particulate matter - The air handling system changes the air in the room and thus removes particulate matter generated within the room.
Prohibiting the generation of particulate matter - Cleanroom materials and finishes are selected for their resistance to particle generation.
Protecting the product from impact and settling of particulate matter - The low level of particulate matter in cleanrooms contains a majority of the smaller size particles, which settle out very slowly. These smaller particles have a very long “life” in the air.
Providing an area for the cleaning of parts and personnel - Everything entering the cleanroom is cleaned, so that as little contamination as possible is added to the room atmosphere by transfer from dirty objects.

Cleanrooms can also control the temperature, humidity, sound, lighting, and vibration.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.