The effects of ventilation conditions on mitigating airborne virus transmission

Abstract

The effects of ventilation strategies on mitigating airborne virus transmission in a generic indoor space representative of a lobby area or information desk found in a hotel, company, or cruise ship are presented. Multiphase computational fluid dynamics simulations are employed in conjunction with evaporation modeling. Four different ventilation flow rates are examined based on the most updated post-COVID-19 pandemic standards from health organizations and recent findings from research studies. Three air changes per hour provide the best option for minimizing droplet spreading at reasonable energy efficiency. Thus, a higher ventilation rate is not the best solution to avoid spreading airborne diseases. Simultaneous coughing of all occupants revealed that contagious droplets could be trapped in regions of low airflow and on furniture, significantly prolonging their evaporation time. Multiphase flow simulations can help define ventilation standards to reduce droplet spreading and mitigate virus transmission while maintaining adequate ventilation with lower energy consumption. The present work significantly impacts how heat, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems are designed and implemented.