Analysis of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a hospital isolation room using CFD and Lagrangian Coherent Structures

Energy conservation of HVAC systems in isolation rooms using heat pipe heat exchangers

“…Bhattacharyya et al [ 15 ] investigated the effectiveness of conditioned fresh air released by HVAC systems in isolation rooms and analyzed airflow modelling with aerosol purifiers, indicating higher energy requirements. Similarly, Amahjour et al [ 16 ] focused on the air circulation efficiency in AC ventilation and exhaust air conditions for hospital isolation rooms. Whereas they effectively evaluated the HVAC system efficiency, they did not investigate energy conservation in-depth.…”

On the efficacy of facial masks to suppress the spreading of pathogen-carrying saliva particles during human respiratory events: Insights gained via high-fidelity numerical modeling

“…Generally, gravity is the dominant force for bigger respiratory droplets, whereas aerodynamic forces such as lift and drag are the dominant forces for smaller droplets 27 . Whereas bigger droplets are capable of containing higher quantities of virus, smaller droplets can be more potent for virus transmission due to their much longer suspension time in the air 12 , 16 , 32 . With an Eulerian-Lagrangian (EL) framework and detached eddy simulation (DES), Fontes et al 12 observed vorticity and recirculation of saliva particles in a sneeze, which affected suspension time and travel distance.…”

“…Over the course of the pandemic, CFD simulations became more comprehensive and representative of realistic scenarios for respiratory particle transport: a bus, a Boeing 737 plane, a conference room, an office, a classroom, a restaurant, an escalator, a doorway, and a generic indoor setting 33 – 44 . Particular studies have focused on potential scenarios of virus transmission in medical settings such as a hospital isolation room 32 , 45 or an operating room 46 . Most of these studies 33 , 35 , 37 , 40 – 42 employed an EL approach for tracking of discrete particles instead of an Eulerian-Eulerian (EE) approach for the flow field; though, Islam et al 47 detected no difference in influence from either EL or EE on particles’ deposition patterns.…”

“…Oaks et al 60 innovated by applying LCS to describe the biological flow in normal human breathing, and Seyedzadeh et al 61 elaborated the initial study by identifying other intricate three-dimensional (3D) structures such as jet in crossflow (JICF) 62 and counter-rotating vortex pairs (CRVP). Exploration of LCSs has guided similarly innovative studies in medicinal settings 32 , 46 , 63 . Amahjour et al 32 applied Lagrangian descriptors to classify particle transport evolution in a hospital isolation room with varied air conditioning and sanitizing device placement.…”

“…Exploration of LCSs has guided similarly innovative studies in medicinal settings 32 , 46 , 63 . Amahjour et al 32 applied Lagrangian descriptors to classify particle transport evolution in a hospital isolation room with varied air conditioning and sanitizing device placement. With a finite-time Lyapunov exponent field, Kumar et al 46 exposed regions of vortex formation and accumulation to guide the optimization of removing surgical smoke during laparoscopy.…”