Thermofluid dynamics and droplets transport inside a large university classroom: Effects of occupancy rate and volumetric airflow

Abstract

The airborne droplets released by humans while speaking or coughing are the main sources of human-to-human contagion for airborne transmissible diseases. Due to the recent SARS-Cov2 pandemic, indoor transmission in classrooms and other environments is an interesting topic investigated by the scientific community. In this work, the thermofluid dynamic conditions and the droplet transport was analysed in a large University Classroom (UC), as a function of the inlet airflow and the occupancy rate. These parameters assume a relevant role in the design stage. However, their effects on droplet transport were not deeply investigated in the literature. Therefore, different conditions were analysed, such as: full occupancy, which represents the design condition where no social distancing is enforced; half occupancy, which is representative of social distancing; and empty UC, to be considered as a term of comparison. The main novelty of this work is related to the analysis of the combined effect of thermal plume and airflow in a large UC. The numerical model for the thermofluid dynamics simulation was validated in a previous work and the droplet emission model was retrieved from the literature. High volumetric airflow is not always beneficial for the reduction of the airborne transmission risk. An important aspect is related to the combined effect of the inlet airflow and the thermal plume, which cannot be ignored if the occupancy rate assumes a significant value. Moreover, the evacuation rate and the age of the droplets are relevant indicators to assess the cleaning time.