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Ventilation Job Matcher

Run the Ventilation Job Matcher MicroSim Fullscreen

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About This MicroSim

A customer describes a job; you recommend the product line built for it. This MicroSim gives you twelve illustrative job cards, shuffled once per session. For each card you choose one of twelve product lines and the one deciding factor, then commit both:

  • Air contents: what the air carries (grease, smoke and heat, corrosive vapor).
  • Discharge path: where the air must go when it leaves the unit.
  • Mounting location: where the fan can sit.
  • Occupant exposure: whether people stand in the airflow.

The twelve product lines are kitchen exhaust fan, smoke and heat exhaust fan, fiberglass fan, mancooler, downblast centrifugal roof exhauster, laboratory exhaust fan with entrained flow, plenum fan, cabinet ventilator, gravity relief ventilator, square inline centrifugal fan, centrifugal wall exhauster and tubeaxial fan. Each fits exactly one card.

Each card gets one attempt. The product line is marked "✓ Correct: ." or "✗ A better fit is .", followed by the reason. The deciding factor is marked separately: "✓ Right reason." or "✗ The deciding factor here is ." Two running scores are shown: "Product lines correct: n of 12" and "Reasons correct: n of 12". Mastery is 10 of 12 product lines on the first attempt; the reasons score makes your reasoning visible but is not part of mastery. After the twelfth card a summary lists each job, your choice and the correct choice, grouped by deciding factor.

How to Use

  1. Read the job card. Ask what is in the air, where it must go, where the fan can sit and whether people are in the airflow.
  2. Choose a product line in Product line, or click it in the list of twelve.
  3. Choose the deciding factor (keys 1–4 or the four buttons), then press Commit.
  4. Read both verdicts and the reason, then press Next card. After card 12, press Show summary.
  5. Press Start over to clear both scores and repeat the twelve cards in the same order.

Keyboard: Tab reaches the product line list, the factor buttons and the other buttons. Keys 1–4 choose the factor (when focus is not in the list) and move focus to Commit once a product line is chosen; Enter commits, then Enter goes to the next card.

Data label: "Job cards are illustrative · Sources: tcf.com product pages; FanPedia pp. 4–6, 170", shown at the bottom left of the drawing.

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://moroshek.github.io/FanTASTIC-textbook/sims/ch05-ventilation-job-matcher/main.html"
        height="672px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective

The learner will recommend the product line that fits each of twelve building ventilation jobs, judged by the air contents, discharge path, mounting location and occupant exposure described in the job (Bloom: Evaluate, verb: recommend).

Audience

Adult professional development: new application engineers, sales staff, representatives and facilities staff.

Duration

15 minutes

Prerequisites

Housed centrifugal, plenum, square inline centrifugal and tubeaxial fans; upblast and downblast discharge; centrifugal wall exhausters, gravity relief and cabinet ventilators; kitchen, smoke and heat, and fiberglass fans; mancoolers; and entrained flow, all in Chapter 5.

Activities

  1. Recommend (10 min): Work the twelve cards. Say the deciding factor aloud before choosing the product line.
  2. Review (3 min): In the summary, notice that air contents decide the grease, smoke and corrosive jobs, while the cleanroom, ceiling, duct-turn and wall jobs turn on where the fan can sit.
  3. Discuss (2 min): Pick one missed card and explain which word in the job description should have pointed to the right line.

Discussion Questions

  1. A customer asks for a cheaper downblast unit for a grill hood. What do you tell them, and why?
  2. Why is stainless steel not the only answer for corrosive exhaust?
  3. When does a relief opening need no fan at all?

Common Misconceptions Addressed

  • Any roof exhauster can handle any exhaust air: the kitchen and restroom cards put grease and clean air side by side.
  • A smoke exhaust job only needs a large ordinary fan: the smoke card's reason gives the temperature rating an ordinary fan lacks.
  • Stainless steel is the only answer for corrosive air: the wastewater card's reason compares FRP with stainless steel.
  • A mancooler is an exhaust fan: the foundry card turns on occupant exposure, not on exhaust.
  • Every relief opening needs a powered fan: the warehouse card has no second motor.

Assessment

  • First-attempt score shown as "Product lines correct: n of 12"; mastery is 10 of 12 product lines on the first attempt.
  • "Reasons correct: n of 12" is shown beside it and is not part of mastery.
  • Follow-up: write a thirteenth job card for a product line that is not in this set and trade it with a colleague.

References

  1. Twin City Fan. tcf.com product category pages: Kitchen & Restaurant Exhaust Fans, Smoke & Heat Exhaust Fans, Fiberglass Fans, Mancoolers, Ceiling & Cabinet Ventilators, Gravity Relief Ventilators - listings, ratings and applications used in the reasons.
  2. Twin City Fan & Blower. FanPedia: The Fan & Blower Encyclopedia, pp. 4–6 (housed, plenum and square inline fans; upblast and downblast paths; entrained flow) and p. 170 (Arrangement 4 plenum fans in cleanrooms). PDF
  3. Twin City Fan & Blower. FanPedia online - the same encyclopedia in web form.
  4. UL. UL 705, Standard for Power Ventilators, Supplement SC (grease-laden air) - the kitchen fan listing the chapter cites.
  5. Chapter 5: Roof, Wall and Specialty Exhaust Fans, "Matching the Job to the Product Line" - the chapter this MicroSim supports.