Investigation of infectious droplet dispersion in a hospital examination room cooled by split-type air conditioner.

Autor: Yüce BE; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Bitlis Eren University, 13100 Bitlis, Türkiye.; Department of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology, Bursa Uludag University, Yenişehir İbrahim Orhan Vocational School, 16900 Bursa, Türkiye., Kalay OC; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye.; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409 USA., Karpat F; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye., Alemdar A; Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Translational Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye., Temel ŞG; Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Translational Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Genetics, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Histology & Embryology, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye., Dilektaşlı AG; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Türkiye., Başkan EB; Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Translational Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Türkiye., Özakın C; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Bursa Uludağ University, Bursa, Türkiye., Coşkun B; Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Translational Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, 16059 Bursa, Türkiye.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Urology, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, Türkiye.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental health science & engineering [J Environ Health Sci Eng] 2024 May 29; Vol. 22 (2), pp. 471-482. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 29 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1007/s40201-024-00905-1
Abstrakt: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak has spread worldwide, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic in March 2020. The transmission mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor environments has begun to be investigated in all aspects. In this regard, many numerical studies on social distancing and the protection of surgical masks against infection risk have neglected the evaporation of the particles. Meanwhile, a 1.83 m (6 feet) social distancing rule has been recommended to reduce the infection risk. However, it should be noted that most of the studies were conducted in static air conditions. Air movement in indoor environments is chaotic, and it is not easy to track all droplets in a ventilated room experimentally. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) enables the tracking of all particles in a ventilated environment. This study numerically investigated the airborne transmission of infectious droplets in a hospital examination room cooled by a split-type air conditioner with the CFD method. Different inlet velocities (1, 2, 3 m/s) were considered and investigated separately. Besides, the hospital examination room is a model of one of the Bursa Uludag University Hospital examination rooms. The patient, doctor, and some furniture are modeled in the room. Particle diameters considered ranged from 2 to 2000 μm. The evaporation of the droplets is not neglected, and the predictions of particle tracks are shown. As a result, locations with a high infection risk were identified, and the findings that could guide the design/redesign of the hospital examination rooms were evaluated.
(© The Author(s) 2024.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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