Box Model Approach for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Management in a Subway Station Environment

Abstract

Air quality in a subway tunnel has been crucial in most of the subway environments where IAQ could be affected by many factors such as the number of passengers, the amount and types of ventilation, train operation factors and other facilities. A modeling approach has been introduced to manage the general IAQ in a subway station. Field surveys and CO₂ measurements were initially conducted to analyze and understand the relationship between indoor and outdoor air quality while considering internal pollution sources, such as passengers and subway trains, etc. The measurement data were then employed for the model development with other statistical information. For the model development, the algorithm of simple continuity was set up and applied to model the subway IAQ concerned, while considering the major air transport through staircases and tunnels. Monitored CO₂ concentration on the concourse and platform were correlated with modeling results where the correlation values for the concourse and platform were R²=0.96 and R²=0.75, respectively. It implies that the box modeling approach introduced in this study would be beneficial to predict and control the indoor air quality in subway environments.