Numerical simulation of the dual-loop different velocity air curtain system in the operating room

The problem of cross-infection between patients and surgeons in the operating room had been widely concerned by the international community. The purpose of this study had been to explore the potential of a Dual-loop Different Velocity Air Curtain System (DDVACS) being applied in the operating room to reduce cross-infection. In this study, the performance of the system was studied using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation method, with the operating conditions of different air supply velocities inside and outside being set. The RNG k-epsilon model, Discrete Phase Model (DPM), and Species Transport model were used to simulate the air distribution, particle diffusion, and virus diffusion. The main research results showed that, when the DDVACS was operated at an inner air supply velocity of 0.24 m/s and an outer air supply velocity of 0.45 m/s, the virus concentration in the surgical area had decreased by 89 %, the particulate matter concentration in the surgical area had decreased by 78.08 %, but the deposition of particulate matter had increased by 21.62 %. This study concluded that DDVACS had been found to effectively reduce the concentration of cross-infection. Finally, the velocity difference between the inner and outer sides was controlled within 2 times. This setting had been arranged to make the DDVACS work better. This study's contribution was to further verify the application of the DDVACS in operating rooms, providing a new perspective and empirical support for related fields and possessing certain practical application value.