Deng Xiaorui, Gong Guangcai, Chen Shanquan, He Xizhi, Ou Yongshen, Wang Yadi
Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan, China.
Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Aug;28(29):39322-39332. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-13443-2. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
The objective of this study is to understand the effect of indoor air stability on personal exposure to infectious contaminant in the breathing zone. Numerical simulations are carried out in a test chamber with a source of infectious contaminant and a manikin (Manikin A). To give a good visual illustration of the breathing zone, the contaminant source is visualized by the mouth of another manikin. Manikin A is regarded as a vulnerable individual to infectious contaminant. Exposure index and exposure intensity are used as indicators of the exposure level in the breathing zone. The results show that in the stable condition, the infectious contaminant proceeds straightly towards the breathing zone of the vulnerable individual, leading to a relatively high exposure level. In the unstable condition, the indoor air experiences a strong mixing due to the heat exchange between the hot bottom air and the cool top air, so the infectious contaminant disperses effectively from the breathing zone. The unstable air can greatly reduce personal exposure to the infectious contaminant in the breathing zone. This study demonstrates the importance of indoor air stability on personal exposure in the indoor environment and provides a new direction for future study of personal exposure reduction in the indoor environment.
本研究的目的是了解室内空气稳定性对呼吸区内个人接触传染性污染物的影响。在一个带有传染性污染物源和人体模型（人体模型A）的测试舱内进行了数值模拟。为了很好地直观展示呼吸区，污染物源通过另一个人体模型的嘴进行可视化。人体模型A被视为易受传染性污染物影响的个体。暴露指数和暴露强度被用作呼吸区内暴露水平的指标。结果表明，在稳定条件下，传染性污染物直接朝着易感染个体的呼吸区移动，导致相对较高的暴露水平。在不稳定条件下，由于底部热空气和顶部冷空气之间的热交换，室内空气经历强烈混合，因此传染性污染物从呼吸区有效扩散。不稳定的空气可以大大减少个人在呼吸区接触传染性污染物的机会。本研究证明了室内空气稳定性对室内环境中个人暴露的重要性，并为未来室内环境中减少个人暴露的研究提供了新方向。
