NIH Fume Hood Testing Protocol
Developed by Farhad Memarzadeh, Ph.D., P.E., at the National Institute of Health, the NIH fume hood testing protocol is a comprehensive and extensive series of tests that can be conducted by only a handful of testing agencies throughout the world. ECT is well qualified to conduct these tests. We have conducted numerous tests for our clients by following the NIH protocol and using our state-of-the-art testing equipment and software.
Testing is conducted on a loaded enclosure using simulated apparatus. Tests conducted according to the NIH protocol include:
- Hood Static Pressure Measurement
- Face Velocity Measurement
- Steady State Face Velocity Measurement (10 readings per second)
- Tracer Gas Containment (6 liters per second)
- Rapid Walk-By Containment Test
Our use of high-speed omni-directional velocity probes, allows ECT the capability to calculate the turbulence intensity and correlate this to a “Box Leakage Factor”. This information shows the relationship between tracer gas escape and turbulence at the face of the hood.