Exposure Assessment of Infectious Virus Particles in a Classroom Setting Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Model

Abstract

Indoor air quality in classrooms directly affects comfort, focus, and academic performance. This research leveraged Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyze the dispersion of infectious virus particles in classrooms. While Negative Pressure Systems (NPS) are often used at medical centers to inhibit virus particles’ dispersion, those are seldom applied in educational settings. The study aimed to pinpoint optimal ventilation and heating/AC flow rates to prevent virus particle spread. Results showed that prioritizing a higher flow rate at the ventilation unit over the heating/AC unit creates a negative pressure differential, decreasing virus dispersion by up to 93%. To establish negative pressure, the minimum flow rate ratio of ventilation to heating/AC should be 1.0. But for maximal virus particle reduction, a ratio of 2.8 is optimal. This research underscores CFD's value in understanding NPS dynamics and simulating virus behavior in classrooms. The findings suggest that NPS implementation in schools could significantly curb virus particle spread.