CFD Investigation of Vehicle’s Ventilation Systems and Analysis of ACH in Typical Airplanes, Cars, and Buses

Behrouz Pirouz, Domenico Mazzeo, Stefania Anna Palermo, Seyed Navid Naghib, Michele Turco and Patrizia Piro
Additional contact information
Behrouz Pirouz: Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Domenico Mazzeo: Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Stefania Anna Palermo: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Seyed Navid Naghib: Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Michele Turco: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Patrizia Piro: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-22

Abstract: The simulation of the ventilation and the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of vehicles could be used in the energy demand management of vehicles besides improving the air quality inside their cabins. Moreover, traveling by public transport during a pandemic is a concerning factor, and analysis of the vehicle’s cabin environments could demonstrate how to decrease the risk and create a safer journey for passengers. Therefore, this article presents airflow analysis, air changes per hour (ACH), and respiration aerosols’ trajectory inside three vehicles, including a typical car, bus, and airplane. In this regard, three vehicles’ cabin environment boundary conditions and the HVAC systems of the selected vehicles were determined, and three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling. The analysis of the airflow patterns and aerosol trajectories in the selected vehicles demonstrate the critical impact of inflow, outflow, and passenger’s locations in the cabins. The CFD model results exhibited that the lowest risk could be in the airplane and the highest in the bus because of the location of airflows and outflows. The discrete CFD model analysis determined the ACH for a typical car of about 4.3, a typical bus of about 7.5, and in a typical airplane of about 8.5, which were all less than the standard protocol of infection prevention, 12 ACH. According to the results, opening windows in the cars could decrease the aerosol loads and improve the low ACH by the HVAC systems. However, for the buses, a new design for the outflow location or an increase in the number of outflows appeared necessary. In the case of airplanes, the airflow paths were suitable, and by increasing the airflow speed, the required ACH might be achieved. Finally, in the closed (recirculating) systems, the role of filters in decreasing the risk appeared critical.

Keywords: HVAC; CFD; car; bus; airplane; airflow; ACH; IAQ; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6799/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/12/6799/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:12:p:6799-:d:575942

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().