aercon - air pressure control valves and stabilisers Page 1 of 2

Air Pressure Control Valves and Air Pressure Stabilisers

Clean rooms
Clean rooms and laboratories for industrial, scientific, pharmaceutical and electronics manufacturing applications.
Clean rooms, laboratories and pharmaceutical/electronic manufacturing facilities frequently use cascade ventilation sy
to maintain a sterile environment.
Pressure stabilisers are used to maintain a typical 15 Pascal differential between rooms. (For Cat 3 and Cat 4 laboratories highe
differential pressures are normal.) For clean rooms and manufacturing facilities it is possible to work on the "10% rule". In positiv
pressure rooms the supply volume is worked out to provide the necessary air change rate, taking account of heat loads etc. Sub
any door leakage and constant equipment extract from this figure gives the nett outflow, i.e. the amount of air to be removed from
room.
It has been found from practical experimentation that 10% of this can be passed through pressure stabilisers to the next room an
balance extracted thus obviating the need for very large transfer volumes between rooms. In the case of large clean rooms with
supply rates it is possible to reduce the transfer to as little as 5% of the nett outflow.

A similar scenario applies in negative pressure areas but in reverse. The Aercon® Division of Power Utilities Group has assisted
design and supplied the pressure control equipment for many clean rooms conforming to BS 5295 and meeting Medicines
Home Office and FDA requirements. We can also work to US FS 209E standard for FDA approved facilities, the EU GMP stand
ISO 14644-1.

Suitable equipment

The Aercon® LF range of Pressure stabilisers in standard, fire rated and smoke rated forms are suitable for these applications a
be provided with carbon steel bodies with white polyester coated finish or in Grades 304 or 316 stainless steel. 50LF
suitable for use with thin partitioning systems of 50 - 79mm thickness and for door mounting, while 80LF units can be used in 80
partitioning sytems.
The premium range Type W Air Pressure Control Valves are also ideal for pharmaceutical applications.
The standard heavy duty polyester/epoxy coated carbon steel bodies offer excellent chemical resistance and Type W valves
available in all Grade 304 or 316 stainless steel. All Type W valves can be removed from their wall sleeves for cleaning purpose
without the need for tools.

Design and application service

A free computer aided design and application service is available for clean room applications.
To take advantage of this, please forward a floor plan, indicating either by fax, or by e-mail (in a recognised CAD format, e.g .DX
or .DWG) and we will be delighted to provide a set of calculations showing where every litre of air comes from and goes to and h
gets there.

Comparison of Clean room standards and Air change rates

Clean Room classification
Room Classifications Class
ISO 14644-1 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8
US FS 209E 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000
EU GMP - - A/B - C D
BS 5295 C D E/F G/H J K

Airflow and air change rates

Standard ISO/US FS 209D Average Air Flow Velocity Air changes/hour
3 (Class 1) 0.305 - 0.457 m/s (60 - 90 ft/min) 360 - 540
4 (Class 10) 0.254 - 0.457 m/s (50 - 90 ft/min) 300 - 540
5 (Class 100) 0.203 - 0.406 m/s (40 - 80 ft/min) 240 - 480

http://www.aercon.com/cleanroom.html 20/5/2554
aercon - air pressure control valves and stabilisers Page 2 of 2

6 (Class 1,000) 0.127 - 0.203 m/s (25 - 40 ft/min) 150 - 240

7 (Class 10,000) 0.051 - 0.076 m/s (10 - 15 ft/min) 60 - 90
8 (Class 100,000) 0.005 - 0.041 m/s (1 - 8 ft/min) 5 - 48

Typical applications
US FS 209E US FS 209D BS 5295 GMP Applications
M 1.5 1 C - Electronics manufacture (no people allowed)
M 2.5 - D - Electronics manufacture
Medicines and fluids
packing. Microbiological control rooms.
M 3.5 100 E/F A/B
Protective disinfected
clothing worn
M 4.5 1000 G/H - Pharmaceuticals
M 5.5 10,000 I C Operating theatres, electronics production
M 6.5 100,000 - D Tabletting

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) (January 1997) is used by EU member countries.

BS 5295 1989 The British Standard for clean rooms.
ISO 14644 1999/ISO 14644 : 2000 International Standard. US Federal Standard 209E
1992 - America's current FDA approved clean room standard.
US Federal Standard 209D 1988 was replaced by Edition E in 1992.The terms Class 100,000, 10,000, 1,000, 100, 10, & 1 refer
maximum number of airborne particles per cubic foot equal to or larger than 0.5 microns in diameter based primarily on the aver
all samples taken.
^ back to top of page

http://www.aercon.com/cleanroom.html 20/5/2554