The impact of natural ventilation on airborne biocontaminants: a study on COVID-19 dispersion in an open office

Abstract

PurposeBiocontaminants represent higher risks to occupants' health in shared spaces. Natural ventilation is an effective strategy against indoor air biocontamination. However, the relationship between natural ventilation and indoor air contamination requires an in-depth investigation of the behavior of airborne infectious diseases, particularly concerning the contaminant's viral and aerodynamic characteristics. This research investigates the effectiveness of natural ventilation in preventing infection risks for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) through indoor air contamination of a free-running, naturally-ventilated room (where no space conditioning is used) that contains a person having COVID-19 through building-related parameters.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopts a case study strategy involving a simulation-based approach. A simulation pipeline is implemented through a number of design scenarios for an open office. The simulation pipeline performs integrated contamination analysis, coupling a parametric 3D design environment, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and energy simulations. The results of the implemented pipeline for COVID-19 are evaluated for building and environment-related parameters. Study metrics are identified as indoor air contamination levels, discharge period and the time of infection.FindingsAccording to the simulation results, higher indoor air temperatures help to reduce the infection risk. Free-running spring and fall seasons can pose higher infection risk as compared to summer. Higher opening-to-wall ratios have higher potential to reduce infection risk. Adjacent window configuration has an advantage over opposite window configuration. As a design strategy, increasing opening-to-wall ratio has a higher impact on reducing the infection risk as compared to changing the opening configuration from opposite to adjacent. However, each building setup is a unique case that requires a systematic investigation to reliably understand the complex airflow and contaminant dispersion behavior. Metrics, strategies and actions to minimize indoor contamination risks should be addressed in future building standards. The simulation pipeline developed in this study has the potential to support decision-making during the adaptation of existing buildings to pandemic conditions and the design of new buildings.Originality/valueThe addressed need of investigation is especially crucial for the COVID-19 that is contagious and hazardous in shared indoors due to its aerodynamic behavior, faster transmission rates and high viral replicability. This research contributes to the current literature by presenting the simulation-based results for COVID-19 as investigated through building-related and environment-related parameters against contaminant concentration levels, the discharge period and the time of infection. Accordingly, this research presents results to provide a basis for a broader understanding of the correlation between the built environment and the aerodynamic behavior of COVID-19.

Energy efficient ventilation and indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19 - A systematic review

“…By definition, office buildings run on centralized, enclosed temperature control and VS with high occupancy [ 1 ]. Airborne contamination has become a severe issue due to the increasing use of MV and the high occupancy patterns in offices [ 75 ]. Considering the introduction of technologies like WELL and Fitwel, targeting enhancing the inhabitants' well-being, airborne transmission has become more significant [ 108 ].…”

Towards an integrative analysis of underground environment and human health: a survey and field measurement approach

“…While the impacts of these IEQ factors on humans have been investigated in previous studies targeting aboveground development users (e.g. impacts of visual and acoustic comfort on occupant productivity (Guo et al, 2022) and influences of window-related ventilation and temperature on health risks (Abbas and Gursel Dino, 2022)), there have not been any studies investigating these indicators comprehensively in an underground environment; there has been fragmented research that studied some of these aspects independently or partially.…”

Air Quality Improvement in COVID-19 Pandemic: Numerical Study of ventilation system in a classroom

“…Therefore, much research has been carried out regarding the size, number, and dispersion of air particles exhaled by a person in indoor space [12]- [14]. Characteristics of different respiratory processes such as breathing, sneezing, and coughing have also been studied [15]- [17], as well as the dispersion of exhaled particles and the ventilation systems [18], [19]. Other factors such as the relative position between the source and the receiver also have been experimentally studied to analyse the risk of transmission and the distribution of airborne particle viruses.…”