The study was published in the journal- Physics of Fluids
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT- Bombay) has developed a computer simulator which will prevent the spread of virus inside enclosed premises. The researchers from IIT Bombay developed the simulator after studying airflow inside enclosed premises.
According to the researchers, the public washrooms can act as dead zones where aerosols carrying virus like Covid-19 can linger ten times more than normal restrooms. Professor Krishnendu Sinha from aerospace engineering department said, "Ideally, air in a room should be continuously replaced with fresh air for proper ventilation, but it gets trapped in areas behind the door, in cornetrs, around furniture or behind some obstacle. While windows, fans, air conditioners and exhaust fans keep most parts of a room properly ventilated, in these dead zones, the air gets trapped and keeps going in a circular motion. Technically, these are called recirculation zones. These zones were identified using computer simulation from study.", as per report.
Explaining about the computer simulator, the professor said, "The ventilation systems are often designed keeping in mind the air changes per hour (ACH) value. This is assuminh every corner is getting fresh air, but our simulations have shown us that some corners do not get fresh air as quickly as other open parts. If infected people are using it, then it is important to pump in fresh air swiftly in these zones."
The team of IIT-Bombay scientist comprised of Krishnendu Sinha, Mani Shankar Yadav, Utkarsh Verma and Janani S Murallidharan and Vivek Kumar (from a Pune-based firm). The study titled ‘Effects of Recirculation Zones on the Ventilation of a Public Washroom' was published in the journal- Physics of Fluids.