Coronavirus Patients Breathing in an Airplane Simulation

Coronavirus Patients Breathing in an Airplane CFD Simulation, ANSYS Fluent Tutorial

In this project, based on the CFD method and using ANSYS Fluent software, an attempt has been made to simulate the respiration of viral air from the mouths of several patients carrying coronavirus in the aircraft.

This model includes a computational domain in the form of an airplane and the seats inside it, each of which a passenger is modeled. For each of these passengers, a surface is defined as the mouth as the source of respiration and transmission of the coronavirus.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is currently recognized as the greatest human challenge in the world; Because this disease, in addition to being dangerous to human health, has a high transmission power between sick people and healthy people.

Breathing of a patent person without a mask into an enclosed space can transmit the disease to nearby people. One of the important recommendations of doctors regarding preventing disease transmission between people is to maintain social distancing in different places, including public transportation.

For example, the short distance between the passenger seats of an airplane can increase the likelihood of transmitting coronavirus from a carrier to other nearby people.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the transmission of the coronavirus between passengers caused by breathing at short distances.

According to the selection of this model, the wet particles of the virus with a density of 1000 kg.m-3 and a specific heat capacity of 1680 j/kg.K and a viscosity of 0.000172 kg/m.s and a droplet surface tension of 0.03 n/m is secreted from the patient’s mouth while breathing.

The air conditioning and air circulation system inside the aircraft is such that fresh air flows as a continuous fluid from the part installed on the airplane’s ceiling with a speed of 2.36 m/s and a temperature of 292.65 K.

Also, two parts installed on both sides of the aircraft have a speed of 0.3 m/s and a temperature of 292.65 K and enter from the installed sections under the seat of each passenger of the aircraft with a speed of 0.59 m/s and a temperature of 292.65 K; While the old airflow inside the airplane exits the two outlets on the lower two sides of the aircraft to the outside environment with a pressure equivalent to atmospheric pressure.

The present model is designed in three dimensions using Design Modeler software. The model meshing has been done using ANSYS Meshing software, and the mesh type is unstructured. The element number is 1316384.

Methodology

For the present simulation, the discrete phase model (DPM) is used; Because this model allows us to study a mass of particles discretely in a continuous fluid flow.

In this model, the virus particles are defined as INERT particles, and the injection type is SURFACE and through the inner surface of the mouth of each passenger (inlet-mouth).

According to this definition of injection, virus particles have a diameter of 0.000001 m, a temperature of 308 K, a velocity of 0.05 m/s, and a flow rate of 0.0000221 kg/s.

Coronavirus Patients Breathing in an Airplane Conclusion

At the end of the solution process, coronavirus particle tracking is obtained based on residence time, as well as three-dimensional contours of temperature and air velocity inside the airplane.

As is clear from the contours, the purpose of this project is well met. The particles come out of the human mouth and affect the mainstream of the fluid.