Minimizing the respiratory pathogen transmission: Numerical study and multi-objective optimization of ventilation systems in a classroom

ABSTR A C T Schools are recognized as high-risk spaces in airborne infectious disease transmission due to occupant density and activity level. Therefore, it is critical to conduct studies and provide proper solutions regarding the spread of airborne transmission diseases to the lowest possible in schools. In this study, the performance of five various ventilation systems regarding control the spread of airborne particles in a classroom were studied by Compu-tational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and then, the best case was selected with regard to the least probability of infection spread. These cases with various locations of inlet and outlet vents are considered, and the spread of particles is studied. A multi-objective optimization process is then performed to understand the effects of design variables, including air inlet width, air change per hour (ACH), and inlet air temperature on the thermal comfort conditions according to suggested standard values and relations for calculating each of these parameters based on the design variables are proposed. Desirability functions are used to determine the range of variables that result in thermally comfortable conditions and maximum desirability of 0.952 with a width of 0.130 m, tem-perature of 296.60 K, and value of ACH between 9.689 and 9.858 results is obtained.