ABSTRACT
Positive pressure ventilators (PPV) used by 97.7% of officers of the National Fire Service in Poland, are characterized by work that is not in line with the expectations of the firefighters. In order to improve the technical and operational features of these devices, a survey was conducted among 25,000 eligible firefighters, identifying the application of these devices, problems in use and expected development directions. A total of 682 officers voluntarily completed the survey. Based on their findings, it was determined that ventilators are most often used to smoke out buildings after or during a fire. Mentioned problems when using these devices were mainly noise (78.2%), exhaust emissions (68.5%), and impediments to mobility through the device's relatively heavy weight (40.2%). Other inconveniences were mentioned by less than 20% of firefighters. Polish firefighters expect the development of these devices mainly in terms of the above-mentioned features (noise reduction (81.7%) and reduction of the weight and size of the ventilators (about 50%)). Other expectations relate to the improvement of smoke removal in buildings: increasing the efficiency of smoke removal (46.4%) and efficiency regarding the rate of smoke removal in a building by increasing the size of the incoming airflow from the building's surroundings (33.2%). About 15% of firefighters expect changes in the operation of the ventilator itself, that is, an increase in the effective operating time (electric ventilators) and an increase in the device's uptime. The aim of the article is to identify the issues encountered during the operation and to indicate the expected direction of development for PPV by users. This information can be used by engineers to initiate new development work on these devices.
ABSTRACT
Air quality is one of the most important problems of the modern world, as it determines human health and changes occurring in other elements of nature, including climate change. For this reason, actions are taken to reduce the amount of harmful substances in the air. One such action is the use of building materials with special properties achieved by the application of self-cleaning coatings and photocatalytic additives. This article presents achievements in the field of additives and modifiers for building materials, whose task is to improve air quality. Concrete, cement, paints, and facade coatings modified based on the achievements of nanotechnology have been analyzed in terms of new properties and the possibility of their application in the area of modern environmental requirements. Both positive aspects and doubts were described in the scope of the effective reduction of the amount of gases such as VOC, NOx, dust and microorganisms.
