Abstract
The transport of virus-laden particles was investigated numerically in an archetypical supermarket configuration of area and ceiling height of . The particles were tracked using a Lagrangian particle tracking code coupled with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model Ansys Fluent. Air transport was assumed to occur due to indoor ventilation. Flow dynamics were simulated using the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approach. The movement and spreading of 5- and particles were studied with 0%, 25%, and 100% attachment efficiencies on surfaces in the supermarket. We found that the indoor airflows can significantly enhance the transport of particles (e.g., for , and for ); therefore, the () social distance recommended by health experts would not be sufficient to prevent the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We found that the attachment on surfaces reduces the transport of particles significantly within the supermarket, and that an attachment efficiency of 25% results in transport similar to that resulting from 100% efficiency. This suggests that the type of surfaces is not crucial in terms of air transport of particles. We support the existing approaches for reducing exposure between people through the adoption of one-way movement within an aisle. However, we also propose placing display shelves within the aisles in a staggered way to form baffles that would both increase the surface area and block the transport of airborne particles. We found that virus-laden particles could be sucked into the ventilation system through return vents, and could pose potential infection risks for the buildings connected to the same ventilation system. Hence, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and pleated filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) greater than 12 are recommended.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (numerical results).
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) RAPID Grant (CBET 2028271). However, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred. This work used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by NSF Grant No. TG-BCS190002. Specifically, we used the Comet computer cluster, which is an NSF-funded system at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (PSC). Input from Dr. Seema Lakdawala of the University of Pittsburgh is appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 4 • April 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2020
Accepted: Dec 15, 2020
Published online: Jan 21, 2021
Published in print: Apr 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jun 21, 2021
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