Public Health Challenge: Containment of Pathogens in Confined Spaces
With the high density of individuals in confined spaces, such as public transportation, maintaining good air quality is essential. Effective ventilation systems play a key role in circulating fresh air and reducing the concentration of airborne pathogens and pollutants. The use of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, injection of disinfectants, and air purifiers can significantly minimize the risk of respiratory illnesses and their spread.
Engineering Solution
Therefore, the engineers must design effective ventilation systems and even disinfectant sprayer systems for cabins of trains, airplanes, buses, etc. This requires advanced understanding of air flow patterns inside cabin using numerical methods to further:
1. Study the spread of cough particles from various passenger locations, under different operating conditions of the cabin air-conditioning.
2. Select disinfectant spray nozzles and design spray duration and frequency based on disinfectant residence time and virus inhibition time.
3. Optimize locations of disinfectant release.
Ansys Solution Benefits
Ansys offers flow simulation CFD software (such as Fluent) that enables faster model preparation using fault tolerant meshing technology for complex and dirty CAD cabin models. An example of a Fluent model and solution is illustrated below.
Fig. 1 Fluent model of cough particles spread in an AC coach bus
Another capability of Fluent software is the unsteady particle tracking (and/or species transport) that will predict both disinfectant and cough particles inside the cabin as shown in the next figure.
Fig. 2 Disinfectant particle cover on truck cabin seats
Users of Ansys software will receive the following benefits:
1. Reduced lab testing for design optimization, yielding significant time and cost savings.
2. Easily quantify the efficiency of virus inhibition and visualize particle traces.
3. Increased customer acceptance of safer transport vehicles.
Ozen Engineering Expertise
Ozen leverages its extensive consulting expertise in CFD, FEA, optics, photonics, and electromagnetic simulations to achieve exceptional results across various engineering projects, addressing complex challenges like multiphase flows, erosion modeling, and channel flows using Ansys software.
We offer support, mentoring, and consulting services to enhance the performance and reliability of your hydraulic systems. Trust our proven track record to accelerate projects, optimize performance, and deliver high-quality, cost-effective results for both new and existing water control systems. For more information, please visit https://ozeninc.com.
Suggested blogs
- Ozen Engineering Inc. Blog: Ansys Discovery Room Ventilation Simulation
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- Ansys Blog: How HVAC Simulation Can Improve Safety in Public Spaces
