Fabric air dispersion system (FADS), as a ventilation terminal, can help create a clean and comfortable indoor environment. Several studies mainly focused on the characteristics of airflow generated by FADS. However, the effects of the configurations on the airflow characteristics were rarely studied. Based on our pervious work, the effects of fiber porosity, fiber diameter and supply air flow rate on characteristics of air velocity and pressure inside FADS were numerically studied and the results were validated by experiments. It is shown that larger porosity or fiber diameter lead to lower pressure inside and poorer distribution of air velocity along the length direction of FADS. Higher supply air flow rate aggravates the non-uniformity of air velocity distribution, and increases the pressure inside. The combined effects of the three factors should be taken into consideration in order to achieve a uniform distribution of air velocity along the length direction and reduce fan energy consumption and noise level. Results of this study would be useful to guide the optimum design of FADS in penetration mode to expand its applications, especially in small enclosed spaces, where air quality, energy conservation and noise level are in high demand. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.