Discover the SciOpen Platform and Achieve Your Research Goals with Ease.
Search articles, authors, keywords, DOl and etc.
It has been widely accepted that the most effective way to mitigate airborne disease transmission in an indoor space is to increase the ventilation airflow, measured in air change per hour (ACH). However, increasing ACH did not effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19. To better understand the role of ACH and airflow large-scale patterns, a comprehensive fully transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of two-phase flows based on a discrete phase model (DPM) was performed in a university classroom setting with people present. The investigations encompass various particle sizes, ventilation layouts, and flow rates. The findings demonstrated that the particle size threshold at which particles are deemed airborne is highly influenced by the background flow strength and large-scale flow pattern, ranging from 5 μm to 10 μm in the cases investigated. The effects of occupants are significant and must be precisely accounted for in respiratory particle transport studies. An enhanced ventilation design (UFAD-CDR) for university classrooms is introduced that places a premium on mitigating airborne disease spread. Compared to the baseline design at the same ACH, this design successfully reduced the maximum number density of respiratory particles by up to 85%. A novel airflow-related parameter, Horizontality, is introduced to quantify and connect the large-scale airflow pattern with indoor aerosol transport. This underscores that ACH alone cannot ensure or regulate air quality. In addition to the necessary ACH for air exchange, minimizing horizontal bulk motion is essential for reducing aerosol transmissibility within the room.
Abuhegazy M, Talaat K, Anderoglu O, et al. (2020). Numerical investigation of aerosol transport in a classroom with relevance to COVID-19. Physics of Fluids, 32: 103311.
Al Assaad D, Ghali K, Ghaddar N (2019). Particles dispersion due to human prostration cycle and ventilation system in a prayer room. Building and Environment, 150: 44–59.
Alsved M, Matamis A, Bohlin R, et al. (2020). Exhaled respiratory particles during singing and talking. Aerosol Science and Technology, 54: 1245–1248.
Anfinrud P, Stadnytskyi V, Bax CE, et al. (2020). Visualizing speech-generated oral fluid droplets with laser light scattering. The New England Journal of Medicine, 382: 2061–2063.
Arjmandi H, Amini R, Khani F, et al. (2022). Minimizing the respiratory pathogen transmission: numerical study and multi-objective optimization of ventilation systems in a classroom. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 28: 101052.
Brohus H, Nielsen PV (1996). Personal exposure in displacement ventilated rooms. Indoor Air, 6: 157–167.
Chan TL, Dong G, Leung CW, et al. (2002). Validation of a two-dimensional pollutant dispersion model in an isolated street canyon. Atmospheric Environment, 36: 861–872.
Chen C, Zhao B (2010). Some questions on dispersion of human exhaled droplets in ventilation room: answers from numerical investigation. Indoor Air, 20: 95–111.
Chen C, Zhao B, Weschler CJ (2012). Indoor exposure to “outdoor PM10”. Epidemiology, 23: 870–878.
Dias Pereira L, Raimondo D, Corgnati SP, et al. (2014). Energy consumption in schools—A review paper. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 40: 911–922.
Gao NP, Niu JL (2007). Modeling particle dispersion and deposition in indoor environments. Atmospheric Environment, 41: 3862–3876.
Gao N, Niu J, He Q, et al. (2012). Using RANS turbulence models and Lagrangian approach to predict particle deposition in turbulent channel flows. Building and Environment, 48: 206–214.
Gao R, Li A (2012). Dust deposition in ventilation and air-conditioning duct bend flows. Energy Conversion and Management, 55: 49–59.
Gupta JK, Lin C-H, Chen Q (2010). Characterizing exhaled airflow from breathing and talking. Indoor Air, 20: 31–39.
Hassan AM, Megahed NA (2021). COVID-19 and urban spaces: A new integrated CFD approach for public health opportunities. Building and Environment, 204: 108131.
Hendiger J, Chludzińska M, Ziętek P (2016). Influence of the pressure difference and door swing on heavy contaminants migration between rooms. PLoS One, 11: e0155159.
Jayaweera M, Perera H, Gunawardana B, et al. (2020). Transmission of COVID-19 virus by droplets and aerosols: a critical review on the unresolved dichotomy. Environmental Research, 188: 109819.
Klepeis NE, Nelson WC, Ott WR, et al. (2001). The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 11: 231–252.
Kohanski MA, Lo LJ, Waring MS (2020). Review of indoor aerosol generation, transport, and control in the context of COVID-19. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, 10: 1173–1179.
Leung NHL (2021). Transmissibility and transmission of respiratory viruses. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 19: 528–545.
Li Y, Leung GM, Tang JW, et al. (2007). Role of ventilation in airborne transmission of infectious agents in the built environment? A multidisciplinary systematic review. Indoor Air, 17: 2–18.
Li X, Niu J, Gao N (2013). Co-occupant’s exposure to exhaled pollutants with two types of personalized ventilation strategies under mixing and displacement ventilation systems. Indoor Air, 23: 162–171.
Li J, Cao X, Liu J, et al. (2018). PIV measurement of human thermal convection flow in a simplified vehicle cabin. Building and Environment, 144: 305–315.
Li Y, Wang J, Chen X (2020). Can a toilet promote virus transmission? From a fluid dynamics perspective. Physics of Fluids, 32: 065107.
Li P, Liu W, Zhang TT (2023). CFD modeling of dynamic airflow and particle transmission in an aircraft lavatory. Building Simulation, 16: 1375–1390.
Liu Y, Wang L, Di Y, et al. (2013). The effects of clothing thermal resistance and operative temperature on human skin temperature. Journal of Thermal Biology, 38: 233–239.
Liu Z, Liu H, Rong R, et al. (2020). Effect of a circulating nurse walking on airflow and bacteria-carrying particles in the operating room: An experimental and numerical study. Building and Environment, 186: 107315.
Liu Z, Wu M, Cao H, et al. (2021). Influence of the visitor walking on airflow and the bioaerosol particles in typical open tomb chambers: an experimental and case study. Buildings, 11: 538.
Mirzaie M, Lakzian E, Khan A, et al. (2021). COVID-19 spread in a classroom equipped with partition - A CFD approach. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 420: 126587.
Morawska L (2006). Droplet fate in indoor environments, or can we prevent the spread of infection? Indoor Air, 16: 335–347.
Morawska L, Johnson GR, Ristovski ZD, et al. (2009). Size distribution and sites of origin of droplets expelled from the human respiratory tract during expiratory activities. Journal of Aerosol Science, 40: 256–269.
Morawska L, Tang JW, Bahnfleth W, et al. (2020). How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised? Environment International, 142: 105832.
Ounis H, Ahmadi G (1990). A comparison of Brownian and turbulent diffusion. Aerosol Science and Technology, 13: 47–53.
Pendar MR, Páscoa JC (2020). Numerical modeling of the distribution of virus carrying saliva droplets during sneeze and cough. Physics of Fluids, 32: 083305.
Phuong NL, Yamashita M, Yoo S-J, et al. (2016). Prediction of convective heat transfer coefficient of human upper and lower airway surfaces in steady and unsteady breathing conditions. Building and Environment, 100: 172–185.
Ramponi R, Blocken B (2012). CFD simulation of cross-ventilation for a generic isolated building: impact of computational parameters. Building and Environment, 53: 34–48.
Rencken GK, Rutherford EK, Ghanta N, et al. (2021). Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 aerosol spread in typical classrooms. Building and Environment, 204: 108167.
Rogak SN, Rysanek A, Lee JM, et al. (2022). The effect of air purifiers and curtains on aerosol dispersion and removal in multi-patient hospital rooms. Indoor Air, 32: e13110.
Romano F, Marocco L, Gustén J, et al. (2015). Numerical and experimental analysis of airborne particles control in an operating theater. Building and Environment, 89: 369–379.
Saarinen PE, Kalliomäki P, Tang JW, et al. (2015). Large eddy simulation of air escape through a hospital isolation room single hinged doorway—Validation by using tracer gases and simulated smoke videos. PLoS One, 10: e0130667.
Shahdad S, Hindocha A, Patel T, et al. (2021). Fallow time determination in dentistry using aerosol measurement in mechanically and non-mechanically ventilated environments. British Dental Journal: 1–8.
Tang Y, Guo B, Ranjan D (2015). Numerical simulation of aerosol deposition from turbulent flows using three-dimensional RANS and LES turbulence models. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 9: 174–186.
Tao Y, Inthavong K, Tu JY (2017). Dynamic meshing modelling for particle resuspension caused by swinging manikin motion. Building and Environment, 123: 529–542.
Thatiparti DS, Ghia U, Mead KR (2017). Computational fluid dynamics study on the influence of an alternate ventilation configuration on the possible flow path of infectious cough aerosols in a mock airborne infection isolation room. Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 23: 355–366.
Tominaga Y, Stathopoulos T (2009). Numerical simulation of dispersion around an isolated cubic building: comparison of various types of k-ε models. Atmospheric Environment, 43: 3200–3210.
Tung Y-C, Shih Y-C, Hu S-C (2009). Numerical study on the dispersion of airborne contaminants from an isolation room in the case of door opening. Applied Thermal Engineering, 29: 1544–1551.
Vuorinen V, Aarnio M, Alava M, et al. (2020). Modelling aerosol transport and virus exposure with numerical simulations in relation to SARS-CoV-2 transmission by inhalation indoors. Safety Science, 130: 104866.
Wang H, Lin M, Chen Y (2014). Performance evaluation of air distribution systems in three different China railway high-speed train cabins using numerical simulation. Building Simulation, 7: 629–638.
Wang C, Holmberg S, Sadrizadeh S (2021a). Impact of door opening on the risk of surgical site infections in an operating room with mixing ventilation. Indoor and Built Environment, 30: 166–179.
Wang J-X, Cao X, Chen Y-P (2021b). An air distribution optimization of hospital wards for minimizing cross-infection. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279: 123431.
Wu Q, Liu J, Zhang L, et al. (2020). Effect of temperature and clothing thermal resistance on human sweat at low activity levels. Building and Environment, 183: 107117.
Xu S, Zhang G, Liu X, et al. (2023). CFD modelling of infection control in indoor environments: A focus on room-level air recirculation systems. Energy and Buildings, 288: 113033.
Yan W, Zhang Y, Sun Y, et al. (2009). Experimental and CFD study of unsteady airborne pollutant transport within an aircraft cabin mock-up. Building and Environment, 44: 34–43.
Yang C, Liu J, He F (2017). Evolution of large-scale flow structures and traces of marked fluid particles within a single-aisle cabin mock-up. Building Simulation, 10: 723–736.
Yang Y, Wang Y, Tian L, et al. (2022). Effects of purifiers on the airborne transmission of droplets inside a bus. Physics of Fluids, 34: 017108.
Yu ITS, Li Y, Wong TW, et al. (2004). Evidence of airborne transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus. New England Journal of Medicine, 350: 1731–1739.
Yu H, Thé J (2017). Simulation of gaseous pollutant dispersion around an isolated building using the k-ω SST (shear stress transport) turbulence model. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 67: 517–536.
Zhang Z, Wang Y, Li J (2010). Mathematical simulation and experimental measurement of clothing surface temperature under different sized air gaps. Fibers and Polymers, 11: 911–916.
Zhao B, Zhang Z, Li X (2005). Numerical study of the transport of droplets or particles generated by respiratory system indoors. Building and Environment, 40: 1032–1039.
Zukowska D, Melikov A, Popiolek Z (2012). Impact of geometry of a sedentary occupant simulator on the generated thermal plume: Experimental investigation. HVAC&R Research, 18: 795–811.