Field Experiments to Identify and Eliminate Recirculation Zones to Improve Indoor Ventilation: Comparison with CFD

Ventilation of shared indoor spaces is crucial for mitigating air-borne infection spread among its occupants. Replacing the air in a room with fresh air is key to minimize the concentration of potentially infectious aerosol generated in the room. Recirculating air flow present at corners and around obstacles can trap air and infectious aerosol. This can significantly delay their evacuation by the ventilation system. Knowing the location and extent of such recirculation zones is, therefore, important. In this work, we present flow visualization experiments to identify recirculation zones in an enclosed space. It is based on the deflection of the smoke streak generated by an incense stick. We use particle image velocimetry (PIV) post-processing to quantify the deflection of the smoke streak and use it as an indicator of the direction of local air flow. Positive deflection, defined as the deflection towards the exit location, is associated with primary flow present in well-ventilated regions of the room. On the other hand, negative deflection indicates reversed flow in recirculation zones, where the smoke streak is defined away from the exit location. The technique is applied to a public shared washroom, where the toilet seat is found to be in a well-ventilated region, while the washbasin is in a large recirculation zone. We compare the experimental point measurements with flow field solution obtained using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We also explore geometry modifications as a strategy to eliminate the recirculation zone over the washbasin.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41403-022-00335-1.