Skip to main content

Application of a Coupled CFD-Multizone Code on Ventilation and Filtration Analysis for Covid-19 Airborne Infection Control in a Small Office

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment (COBEE 2022)

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ESE))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 36 Accesses

Abstract

The evidence of airborne transmission of Covid-19 through respiratory aerosols, and the experienced restrictions on commercial activity reinforce the necessity of a paradigm shift in the design of building ventilation systems for this new post-pandemic context. Therefore, this study has used a coupled multizone-CFD code developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and an infection risk model on ventilation analysis for a small office application. The influence of different ventilation modes and air filtration efficiencies on infection risk was assessed. The code was validated by a high-quality benchmark, and the results demonstrate that the simulations reproduce the basic performance of the ventilation strategies that were selected. The purposes of this study are to assess the reduction of airborne infection risk of Covid-19 due to ventilation strategies and to present a framework that may contribute to the selection of rational solutions for the future challenges in this new post-pandemic era.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 429.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • ASHRAE (2021) ASHRAE building readiness for COVID-19 reopening. Atlana, GA, USA: American society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers (ASHRAE)

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa BPP, Brum NCL (2021) Ventilation mode performance against airborne respiratory infections in small office spaces: limits and rational improvements for Covid-19. J Braz Soc Mech Sci 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-03029-x

  • Bazant MZ, Bush JWM (2021) Beyond six feet: a guideline to limit indoor airborne transmission of COVID-19. PNAS 118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018995118

  • Bivolarova M, Ondráček J, Melikov A, Ždmíal V (2017) A comparison between tracer gas and aerosol particles distribution indoors: the impact of ventilation rate, interaction of airflows, and presence of objects. Indoor Air 27. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12388

  • Buonanno G, Stabile L, Morawska L (2020) Estimation of airborne viral emission: quanta emission rate of SARS-CoV-2 for infection risk assessment. Environ. Int 141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105794

  • CDC (2021) Covid-19: ventilation in buildings: centers for disease control and prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation.html

  • Chen Q, Glicksman L, Yuan X, Hu S, Hu Y, Yang X (1999) Performance evaluation and development of design guidelines for displacement ventilation. Final report for the ASHRAE research project 949. American society of heating refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers (ASHRAE), Atlanta

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh T, Jimenez JL, Prather KA et al (2021) Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Lancet 397:1603–1605. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00869-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kowalski W, Bahnfleth WP, Whittam T (1999) Filtration of airborne microorganisms: modeling and prediction. ASHRAE Trans 105:4–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Qian H, Hang J et al (2021) Probable airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a poorly ventilated restaurant. Build Environ 196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107788

  • Liu S, Koupriyanov M, Paskaruk D, Fediuk G, Chen Q (2022) Investigation of airborne particle exposure in an office with mixing and displacement ventilation. Sustain. Cities Soc 79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.103718

  • Melikov AK (2021) COVID-19: Reduction of airborne transmission needs paradigm shift in ventilation. Build Environ 186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107336

  • Miller SL, Nazaroff WW, Jimenez JL et al (2020) Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by inhalation of respiratory aerosol in the Skagit Valley Chorale superspreading event. Indoor Air 31:314–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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. J Aerosol Sci Air 40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2008.11.002

  • Park SY, Kim YM, Yi S et al (2020) Coronavirus disease outbreak in call center, South Korea. Emerg Infect Dis 26:1666–1670. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2608.201274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • REHVA (2021) How to operate HVAC and other building service systems to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) in workplaces: Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Associations (REHVA)

    Google Scholar 

  • Srebric J, Chen Q, Glicksman LR (1999) Validation of a zero-equation turbulence model for complex indoor airflows. ASHRAE Trans 105:414–427

    Google Scholar 

  • Su W, Yang B, Melikov A, Liang C, Lu Y, Wang F, Li A, Lin Z, Li X, Cao G, Kosonen R (2022) Infection probability under different air distribution patterns. Build Environ 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108555

  • Walton GN, Dols WS (2013) CONTAM user guide and program documentation. National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Chen Q (2007) Theoretical and numerical studies of coupling multizone and CFD models for building air distribution simulations. Indoor Air 17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2007.00481.x

  • Wang L, Dols WS, Chen Q (2010) Using CFD capabilities of CONTAM 3.0 for simulating airflow and contaminant transport in and around buildings. HVAC&R Res 16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10789669.2010.10390932

  • Wang CC, Prather KA, Sznitman J et al (2021) Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses. Science 373. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd9149

  • WHO (2021) Roadmap to improve and ensure good indoor ventilation in the context of COVID-19. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization (WHO)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiaoping L, Jianlei N, Naiping N (2010) Spatial distribution of human respiratory droplet residuals and exposure risk fot the co-occupant under different ventilation methods. HVAC&R Res 17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10789669.2011.578699

  • Zhang C, Nielsen PV, Liu L, Sigmer ET, Mikkelsen SG, Jensen RL (2022) The source control effect of personal protection equipment and physical barrier on short-range airborne transmission. Build Environ 211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.108751

  • Zhou Q, Qian H, Ren H, Li Y, Nielsen PV (2017) The lock-up phenomenon of exhaled flow in a stable thermally-stratified indoor environment. Build Environ 116:246–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.02.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruno Perazzo Pedroso Barbosa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Barbosa, B.P.P. (2023). Application of a Coupled CFD-Multizone Code on Ventilation and Filtration Analysis for Covid-19 Airborne Infection Control in a Small Office. In: Wang, L.L., et al. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment. COBEE 2022. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9822-5_229

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9822-5_229

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-19-9821-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-19-9822-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics