7^0

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE,
Book II.
Sect. XIII.
VENTILATION OF BUILDINGS.
2278. Though this and the following section can scarcely be said to come legitimately
under the heading of this chapter, the subjects are so intimately connected with each of
the sections, and tjave been relerred to occasionally in their de.^cription
;
and as, moreover,
the architect is expected to make himself fully acquainted "with these subjects, this place,
then, appears to be suitable for the consideration of them.
2278a. NV hether ventilation be left to chance, or -whether any special apparatus be erected
for the purpose, foul or vitiated air must be got rid of ; while fresh air, adapted to the
purposes of respiration, must be admitted in sufficient quantity, that is, at the rate of aliout
4 cubic feet per minute for each individual in the apartment. The force or impetus of the
incoming air ought slightly to compress the air of the room and assist the efflux of the
vitiated air; and this, in its turn, ought to be so heated as to have a certain amount (jf
ascensional power. Mechanical meaijs are sometimes necessary to expel or withdraw the
air, such as tanners, bellows, pumps, &c. ; but for general purposes it is more convenient, as
well as economical, to trust to the natural method of getting rid of vitiated air; that is, by
making certain ventiiatii,g tubes or openings at the highest point of the room, towards
whicli the hot air tends to flow.
22786. Some authors have divided artificial ventilation into two branches, called ple7inm
and vacuum, By the first, fresh air is forced into the interior of a budding, and the
A-iiiated air is allowed to escape by openings contrived for the purpose. By the second,
vitiated air is drawn out of the building, and fresh air finds an entrance through channels
adapted to the purpose.
2278c. As the velocity of a falling body in a second of time is known to be eight times
the square root of the height of the descent, in decimals of a foot, so the velocity of dis-
charge per second, through vent tubes or chimneys, may be briefly stated as equal to
eight times the square root of the difference in height of any two columns of air, in deci-
mals of a foot. This number, reduced one-fourth for friction, and the reraaiuder multi-
plied by 60, will give the true velocity of efflux per minute. The area of the tube in feet
or decimals of a foot, multijilied by this last number, will give the number of cubic feet of
air discharged per minute. The height of a column of heated air must be calculated from
the floor of the room to the top of the tube where it discharges into the open air. Where
several vent tubes are employed, they mu.-t all be of the same vertical height, or the higiiest
vent will prevent the efficient action of the lower ones, so that there might be a smaller
discharge through two tubes than through one only.
2'^78d. Yv'lien several openings are made above the level of the floor of a room, the
highest one may be the only one capable of acting as an abduction tube, the otlier lower
openings often serving as induction tubes, discharging cold air into the room instead of
taking it out, and, in doing so, it may lower the temperature of the hot vitiated air atid
prevent it from escaping, thus not only causing the bad air to be brciithid over again,
but filling the room with unpleasant draughts. But if the highest alduction tube be too
small to carry off the requisite qu ntity of hot air, the tube i:ext below it in elevation at
any part of the room will act as an abduction tube. If the lower openings (to be provided
with sliding valves) for the admission of fresh air be too small in proportion to thise for
the escape of hot air, a current of cold air will descend through one part of the hot air
tube, and the hot air will ascend through another part of the same tube. In order that
ventilating tubes or openings may be effective, the lower opening for the admission of
fresh air must be at least as large as the iipper ones, and larger if possible. Trtdgold re-
commended that the lower should be about double the area of the upper openings, and be
so subdivided as to break the cuiTent. (Tomliuson, Warming and Ventilation, ^o.,
1850.)
2278e. It must be noted that all noxious gases do not rise, and therefore that in a few
exceptional cases ventilation must be effected at the floor level. Taking atmospheric air
at 00
Fahr., and under a pressure equal to 30 inches of mercury as 1,000, then hydrogen
gas equals
6,026; nitrogenous miasma, about
075; olefiant gas,
978;
sulphuretted hydrogen
gHS,
1,178;
carbonic oxide,
957;
and sulphurous acid, when anhydrous, 3,000. On the
contrary, cnrburetted hydrogen gas, or marsh miasma, is as light as 555; and common coal
gas ranges between 514 and 420. Thus above or below the temperHlure of G0 the con-
diiions of the diffusion of gases vary in a marked manner, and it is on this account that the
f'<ul air of sewers, &c., exercises a more extended action laterally in hot weather, when it
is able to difl'use itself more easily through an attenu;ited atmosphere, than in cold weather,
when the greater density of the atmosphere, and the comparatively higher tempeiatiu'e of