Final - Analysis of Airflow Patterns and Flow Path of Airborne Contaminants 7 21 2020

Airflow Patterns and Flow Path
of Airborne Contaminants
www.ansight.com
Kishor Khankari, Ph.D.

Fellow ASHRAE
ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer
© 2020 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission. 1
Copyright
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Questions related to specific materials, methods, and services will be addressed at
the conclusion of this presentation.
Learning Objectives
• Review airflow patterns in an indoor environment.
• Evaluate the impact of airflow patterns on thermal comfort and
probable flow path of airborne contaminants.
• Evaluate the impact HVAC design and locations of supply and return on
probable flow path of airborne contaminants.
• Understand how Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) be employed for
the design and optimization of a resilient indoor environment.
Purpose of Building Ventilation
• Create comfortable, healthy, and productive environment for people.
• Minimize infection and hazard due to airborne pathogens and toxins.
ASHRAE Mission and Value Statement
Talk of the Town
“Good Ventilation”
COVID‐19: Airborne Transmission
“ beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses
are released during exhalation, talking, and
coughing in microdroplets small enough to
remain aloft in air and pose a risk of
exposure at distances beyond 1 to 2 m from
an infected individual”
July 09, 20202
Two different interpretations
Ventilation Strategies
• Containment ‐ Pressurization
• Dilution ‐ Supply of clean air
• Removal ‐ HVAC design
Containment‐ Room Pressurization
+ ‐
Supply > Exhaust Supply < Exhaust Open Door
Containment‐ Room Pressurization – Zonal Transport
• Pressurization is to control zonal transport.
• Does not address transport within the space.
• Mostly employed for “contaminant sensitive” spaces
Healthcare, laboratories, cleanrooms, etc.
• “Directional Transport” – a misleading phrase.
• It is a “containment strategy” – not “directional”
Dilution Philosophy – Steady State
• Dilution Airflow Rate Calculation
Q: dilution airflow rate
G: contaminant generation rate
C: target concentration
K: safety factor
• Assumes well‐mixed conditions – a myth.
Dilution Philosophy ‐ Transient
𝐺
𝐶 1 𝑒 𝐶 𝑒
𝑞
Build‐up Steady State Decay
30
How fast? How much? How fast?
Concentration (ppm)
25
20
15 n: air change rate
10 Assumes well‐mixed conditions – a myth.
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (min)
Dilution – Air Change Rates
30
Concentration (ppm)
25
20
15
• Higher ACH – Higher Dilution
10
5 • Supply flow rate ‐> Dilution
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 • With diminishing returns!
Time (min)
• ACH ‐> Rate of purge
ACH 4 6 8 10
Assumes “well‐mixed” conditions – a myth!
Dilution and Infection
• Dilution of gases is different than dilution of particulates.
• No good value for “threshold” concentration for viruses!
• What is the “dose”?
• No strong evidence yet to prove impact of “dilution”.
• “Infection” is not just about “fluid dynamics”!
Removal of Dirty Air
Clean Air
Dirty Air
Source
Removal of Dirty Air – Airflow Patterns!
• Location, number, and type of air supply diffusers
• Supply airflow rate – discharge velocity
• Location and number of exhausts
• Location and extent of heat sources
• Locations of contaminant generation
• Layout of the facility – obstructions to airflow
Why Airflow Patterns Matter!
Air
primary carrier of
Heat, Moisture,
Airborne Contaminants
Airflow Path
the key
for Efficient Operation
Why Airflow Patterns Matter!
Air movement determines:
• Air speeds – drafty and stuffy zones
• Distribution of heat – hot and cold spots
• Contaminant flow path – concentration levels
• Thermal comfort of occupants
• Effectiveness of ventilation
Airflow Patterns – Can you see?
Yet, we cannot see the air movement!
Arrows on the Drawings – Wishful Thinking!
• Arrows on your drawings !
• Your “intent” of air behavior
• A wishful thinking!
• Air has its own “mind”!
Common Sense Laws of Air Motion
• Air takes “short cuts”!
• Follows path of least resistance
• Hot air goes up !
• Cold air stays near floor – “cold feet” !
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• Simulates the processes that involve:
• Fluid flow – flow of air, water, and other fluids
• Heat transfer – heating, cooling, effect of body heat sources, solar
gain, etc.
• Mass transfer – movement/transport of water vapor, gaseous
contaminants, airborne particles, etc.
• Chemical reactions – fire simulation
How CFD Can Help?
• Visualization of airflow patterns
• Visualization of flow path of airborne contaminants
• Low and high zones of contaminant concentration
• Drafty and stuffy zone, hot and cold spots!
• Risk identification
• Physics based mitigation strategies
• Takes guess work out
• Avoids expensive trial‐and‐error efforts
Particle Dynamics
• Large particles/droplets fall near the
source.
• Small particles/aerosols remain
airborne.
• Aerosols follow the flow path of air.
• Density, size, and shape of particulates
can affect the dynamics.
• Droplets can evaporate and become
aerosol.
• External forces can affect the
trajectory.
CFD Model of a Patient Room
Supply Diffusers Supply Diffuser
Glazing
(South facing) Room Return
Bathroom Exhaust
Door leakage
Airflow Patterns
Airflow Patterns
Temperature Distribution
Flow Path of Aerosols
High Induction – Mixing Diffusers
Low Pressure Zone
High Velocity Air Jet
Induced Air
Mitigation Strategy
Supply Modified Return
Return
Airflow Patterns – Return Over Patient
Airflow Patterns – Return Over Patient
Flow Path of Aerosols – Return Over Patient
Displacement Ventilation
Room Return
Bathroom
Exhaust
Door leakage
Supply Diffuser
Displacement Ventilation
Displacement Ventilation – Return location
Displacement Ventilation – Considerations
• Sensitive to strength and location of heat
sources
• Careful design to locate stratified layer
• System response to varying heat loads 6 ach (1/h)
• Heating and cooling applications
• Detail particle dynamics consideration
• Evaluate Archimedes Number
gL 4 ach (1/h)
Ar 
v 2
Laboratory Ventilation
Exhaust grille 1
Room Supply
4‐way diffusers
Person 3
Exhaust grille 2
Person 1
Source
Person 2
Airflow Patterns
Spread of Contaminant Fog
Contaminant Concentration at 5 feet
Spread of Contaminant ‐ Cloud of 25 PPM
Concentration at Breathing Level
2 3
S
Occupant Exposure (Dose) 1
2 3
S
Impact of Air Change Rates or Ventilation Rates
4 ACH 6 ACH
8 ACH 10 ACH
Two versus Three Exhaust Grilles
Two Exhaust grills Three Exhaust grills
Contaminant Concentration at 5 feet – 720s
Two exhaust grilles Three exhaust grilles
Contaminant Concentration at 5 feet
Contaminant Cloud of 25 PPM – 720s
26.6% 16.4%
Spread of Contaminant ‐ Cloud of 25 PPM
Occupant Exposure (Dose) – Person 1 1
2 3
Three grilles
S
Two grilles
Occupant Exposure (Dose) – Person 2 1
2 3
Three grilles
S
Two grilles
Occupant Exposure (Dose) – Person 3
Three grilles
Two grilles
2 3
S
Airflow Assessment of a Space
• Design and layout of HVAC configuration
• Effectiveness of airflow management devices
• Airflow patterns and flow path of airborne pathogens
• Mitigation strategies
• Implementation
Efficacy of Air Moving and Cleaning Devices
• Capacity
• Locations
• Capture efficiency
• Impact of local airflow patterns
Assessment of Airflow Patterns
• Initial assessment of the layout
• CFD analysis to predict:
• Airflow patterns
• Flow path of airborne pathogens
• Assessment of mitigation strategies
• Assessment of local air moving/cleaning devices
• Optimization for social distancing
How much it costs to perform CFD analysis?
Cost of CFD
≈ $0.1
FINANCIAL CASE FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS

STOK.COM
Control the Source!
Research and Development Needs
• Quantification of contaminant generation rates.
• Role of dilution for particulate contaminants.
• Impact of airflow patterns on particulate transmission.
• Importance of HVAC design – diffusers and returns.
• Development of new air distribution systems to balance
thermal comfort and indoor air quality.
• Revision of Standards and guidelines.
Insights
Airflow patterns determine the flow path of
airborne contaminants
Insights
Locations and number of supply diffusers
and exhaust grilles matter!
Insights
Just increasing the ventilation rate is not
enough. Understand the flow path of
contaminants
Insights
Just increasing the filtration and adding air
cleaning devices are not enough.
Understand the flow path of contaminants
Insights
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an effective

tool to optimize flow path of contaminants.
ASHRAE Publications
• CFD Analysis of Hospital Operating Room Ventilation System Part
1: Analysis of Air Change Rates. ASHRAE Journal May 2018
• CFD Analysis of Hospital Operating Room Ventilation System Part
2: Analyses of HVAC Configurations. ASHRAE Journal June 2018
• Airflow Path Matters: Patient Room HVAC. ASHRAE Journal June
2016
• Dynamics of unidirectional flow. ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 61, no. 6,
June 2019.
• Analysis of Spread Index: A Measure of Laboratory Ventilation
Effectiveness. ASHRAE Conference Paper for ASHRAE Annual
Conference, Houston, TX.
Acknowledgements
• AnSight LLC providing funding for the research
• Ansys for providing software support
Thank You!
Questions?
Kishor Khankari, Ph.D.
kishork@ansight.com
Phone (734) 327 4079
Evaluation and Certificate
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evaluation form at this URL: https://www.ashrae.org/2020july21
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karnold@ashrae.org.
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Airflow Patterns and Flow Path

Kishor Khankari, Ph.D.

10 Assumes well‐mixed conditions – a myth.

Assumes “well‐mixed” conditions – a myth!

FINANCIAL CASE FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an effective

• AnSight LLC providing funding for the research

• Ansys for providing software support

 If you have any questions about ASHRAE courses, please contact

 Embedded metadata uniquely linked to you

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