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The effect of opening on the enhancement of natural ventilation in indoor spaces

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Abstract

More than 90% of people’s everyday life is spent indoors, and indoor pollution is responsible for 2.2 million annual deaths on the global scale. The present study investigates the feasibility of natural ventilation for a point source of carbon monoxide in a workshop with side openings. The dynamics of the flow were numerically simulated via a new modified solver in the OpenFOAM software. As the model of a real case, the flow has been configurated to enter from a point source on the floor with insignificant momentum and high buoyancy. The model first was validated using the Haghgoo et al.’s (J Environ Stud 45:725–740, 2019) experiments for the case of having no opening, and then, it was performed for the same flow condition, this time with two openings on the sidewalls. Due to the positive buoyancy, it was observed that in both cases, the CO plume moves upward and disperses in the workshop up to eventually exiting from the roof window. The presence of openings, however, exhibited that is able to improve natural ventilation in indoor space by 30% and considerably reduce CO concentration down to the breathing standards compare to no-opening scenario.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the funding support of the Babol Noshirvani University of Technology through grant program No. BNUT/390035/1401.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Shariati Ave., P.O. Box: 484, Babol, 47148 – 7116, Mazandaran, Iran

    A. Abdi & O. Abessi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

    E. Khavasi

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  1. A. Abdi
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  2. O. Abessi
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  3. E. Khavasi
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Correspondence to O. Abessi.

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Editorial responsibility: Chenxi Li.

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Abdi, A., Abessi, O. & Khavasi, E. The effect of opening on the enhancement of natural ventilation in indoor spaces. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 1875–1886 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04720-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04720-9

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