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Numerical study on the application of low-turbulence air curtain surrounding laminar airflow distribution in operating rooms

  • Research Article
  • Indoor/Outdoor Airflow and Air Quality
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  • Published: 16 January 2025
  • Volume 18, pages 601–617, (2025)
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Numerical study on the application of low-turbulence air curtain surrounding laminar airflow distribution in operating rooms
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  • Yang Bi1,2,
  • Nan Hu3,
  • Parastoo Sadeghian4,
  • Sasan Sadrizadeh3,
  • Marina Asuero Von Munthe Af Morgenstierne5,
  • Hans Martin Mathisen1,
  • Elyas Larkermani1,
  • Laurent Georges1 &
  • …
  • Guangyu Cao1 

  • 277 Accesses

  • Explore all metrics

Abstract

Laminar airflow (LAF) is essential for maintaining a sterile environment in operating rooms, but its rapid unidirectional flow decay leads to low airflow efficiency and increases energy consumption. The objective of this study is to investigate the energy-saving and air quality benefits of using a low-turbulence air curtain around laminar airflow, which is referred to as protective laminar airflow (PLAF). Numerical simulations were used to model airflow and particle transport, and a series of experiments were conducted in a real operating room at St. Olavs Hospital, Norway, to validate the simulation results. The findings indicate that when the unidirectional airflow supply velocity is maintained at 0.25 m/s, combined with an air curtain that has the width of 2 cm and the velocity of 1.5 m/s, the PLAF system outperforms the conventional LAF system operating at a unidirectional airflow supply velocity of 0.30 m/s. This configuration results in a 17.3% energy saving, showing the potential of this airflow distribution strategy to enhance both cleanliness and energy efficiency.

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Abbreviations

c :

volume concentration of bacteria-carrying particles (CFU/m3)

C 1, C 2, C 1ε, C 3ε :

model coefficients

d :

diameter of particulate matter(m)

\(\overline{d}\) :

average diameter of particulate matter(m)

F :

body force per unit mass (m/s2)

F D :

drag factor or inverse of relaxation time (s−1)

g :

gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

G AHU :

mass flow of air from AHU (kg/h)

G k, G b :

turbulent kinematic energy production terms (J/(m3·s))

G out :

mass flow of fresh air (kg/h)

G return1 :

mass flow of air that return to AHU (kg/h)

G return2 :

mass flow of air that mixed with air from AHU (kg/h)

Gsupply :

mass flow of supply air (kg/h)

h AHU :

specific enthalpy of air from AHU (kJ/kg)

h out :

specific enthalpy of fresh air (kJ/kg)

h i :

enthalpy of state point i (kJ/kg)

h mix1 :

specific enthalpy of the mixed air, which consist of the fresh air and the returned air (kJ/kg)

h mix2 :

specific enthalpy of the mixed air, which consist of the returned and the air from AHU (kJ/kg)

h return1 :

specific enthalpy of the air returned to mixed with fresh air (kJ/kg)

h return2 :

specific enthalpy of the air returned to mixed with air from AHU (kJ/kg)

h supply :

specific enthalpy of the supply air (kJ/kg)

k :

turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s2)

P :

mean static pressure (Pa)

P f :

total pressure of the fan (Pa)

Q :

airflow rate (m3/s)

Q fan :

airflow rate of the fan (m3/s)

q s :

source term

S k, S ε :

source term (kg/(m·s3), kg/(m·s4))

t :

time (s)

u i :

mean velocity in the ith direction (m/s)

u ip :

particle velocity (m/s)

W terminal :

energy consumed by terminal devices (kWh)

W AHU :

energy consumed by air handling unit (kWh)

W fan :

energy consumed by fan (kWh)

W hp :

energy consumed by heat pump (kWh)

W total :

total energy consumed by the ventilation system (kWh)

x i :

spatial coordinate in the ith direction (m)

y + :

non-dimensional wall distance

Y :

probability that the particle size is larger than d

δ ij :

Kronecker delta

ε :

turbulence dissipation rate (m2/s3)

η :

fan efficiency

μ :

dynamic viscosity (kg/(m·s))

μ t :

turbulent viscosity ratio (kg/(m·s))

ν :

kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

ρ :

fluid density (kg/m3)

ρ p :

particle density (kg/m3)

σ ε, σ k :

model coefficients

ϕ :

transported quantity

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate the collaboration with the Operating Room of the Future at St. Olavs Hospital, Norway. The authors are grateful to the China Scholarship Council for the financial support to Yang Bi (CSC student ID: 202009210006).

Funding

Funding note: Open Access funding enabled and organized by NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology (incl St. Olavs Hospital - Trondheim University Hospital).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Yang Bi, Hans Martin Mathisen, Elyas Larkermani, Laurent Georges & Guangyu Cao

  2. Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Yang Bi

  3. Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nan Hu & Sasan Sadrizadeh

  4. Blueair AB, Stockholm, Sweden

    Parastoo Sadeghian

  5. Multiconsult AS, Trondheim, Norway

    Marina Asuero Von Munthe Af Morgenstierne

Authors
  1. Yang Bi
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  2. Nan Hu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Yang Bi and Marina Asuero Von Munthe Af Morgenstierne. Nan Hu and Parastoo Sadeghian contributed to the study’s validation of the simulation model. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Yang Bi, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Bi.

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Bi, Y., Hu, N., Sadeghian, P. et al. Numerical study on the application of low-turbulence air curtain surrounding laminar airflow distribution in operating rooms. Build. Simul. 18, 601–617 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-024-1229-7

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  • Received: 10 September 2024

  • Revised: 27 November 2024

  • Accepted: 11 December 2024

  • Published: 16 January 2025

  • Issue Date: March 2025

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-024-1229-7

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Keywords

  • operating room
  • laminar airflow
  • surgical site infection
  • ventilation
  • colony forming unit (CFU)
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