Analyzing Factors Affecting In-cab Air Quality In Heavy-Duty Diesel Construction Equipment
Abstract
The United States construction industry is one of the largest sectors providing labor jobs. As construction involves several hazards on the job site every day, ensuring a safe and healthy workplace for all construction workers is a challenge. One of the hazards is exposure to air pollutants, which can have many adverse effects on human health. Among all the construction workers, six percent are construction equipment operators. The operator sits inside an enclosed cabin near the exhaust tailpipe of the equipment. Given the number of pollutants emitted through the tailpipe, the air quality inside the cabin is a significant concern for the operator's health. The purpose of this study was to add knowledge to the understudied occupation of construction equipment operators exposed to diesel exhaust pollutants. The primary objectives of this research were to identify and characterize factors affecting air quality inside the operator cabin of heavy-duty diesel construction equipment.
This research considered six factors to collect and analyze the data: (a) tailpipe pollutant emissions, (b) in-cab air quality data, (c) equipment duty cycles, (d) diesel engine performance, (e) operator behavior, (f) job site/environmental conditions. We collected real-world 13 number of datasets for 13 days of testing. The data analysis was performed in two stages. In the first stage, descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum were determined. The simple regression analysis was performed in the second stage to determine the correlation among potential factors.
Subject
Indoor Air QualityHeavy-Duty Diesel
Diesel Exhaust
Construction Equipment
Construction Operator
Carbon Dioxide
Particulate Matter
Air Pollution
Citation
Kasar, Hardik (2022). Analyzing Factors Affecting In-cab Air Quality In Heavy-Duty Diesel Construction Equipment. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /197344.