Large Eddy Simulation of Air Escape through a Hospital Isolation Room Single Hinged Doorway—Validation by Using Tracer Gases and Simulated Smoke Videos

Saarinen, Pekka E.; Kalliomäki, Petri; Tang, Julian W.; Koskela, Hannu

Part of the differences between experiments and simulation could be explained by inaccuracies in the modelled geometry. These include the gap below the door in the CFD simulation and differences in the real and simulated manikin. In the simulation, the under-door gap was present all the time, whereas in the experiments this gap was sealed until the door started to open. This discrepancy affects the pressure pulse generated when the door starts to push the air in the isolation room. This piston effect is not present in case of a sliding door, which is the next case we are modelling, thus enabling an estimate of it's significance and impact of this effect. The nurse used in the simulation was a commercial CAD model of a female, not an exact model of the manikin used in the experimental measurements. The outfit worn by the CFD-modelled human was much more streamlined than the robe worn by the manikin in the experiments. Moreover, the wheeled cart under the manikin was not modelled.