SIMULIA - Improving Indoor Air Quality For COVID-19 World
Using SIMULATION
Rapidly innovating designs for improved indoor air quality has become a reality with the
help of CFD solutions such as SIMULIA’s PowerFLOW and XFLOW. Airflow model
simulations have become prevalent now due to the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest
challenge with the coronavirus is the ease at which it can spread because it is
transmissible by even the smallest breath. Within the breaths of an infected individual,
there are droplets/aerosols which are considered to contain the key transmission vector
for COVID-19. If you factor in people coughing, sneezing, and talking in a closed
environment, it increases the odds of the virus spreading due to more infected droplets
being released into the surrounding air. Understanding the droplet transportation and
containing the virus to a limited space without spreading to a larger area is one of the
key challenges in ensuring a safe environment.
SIMULIA’s CFD solutions can help designers, engineers, and architects to investigate
and improve the HVAC system design by limiting the virus contamination and improving
the indoor air quality. Here are a few applications:
● Schools and Offices
With schools and offices being a critical component of our daily lives, SIMULIA’s
CFD/Fluid solutions and simulations are vital in building a safe environment in which
people can return to their education and work. Building information modeling (BIM) files
can be imported from CATIA or any other CAD type into SIMULIA in order to convert into
models that assess the layouts of office spaces or classrooms. With the parameters of
the windows and vents and HVAC systems as well as people inside, it allows for a more
accurate prediction of the trajectory of droplets and how to avoid contamination.
● Hospitals
Hospitals have been vital as they have been helping with the treatment of patients with
COVID-19 since the pandemic started. To ensure the safety of the staff and so that they
can continue to help people, airflow simulation models would be crucial in providing a
safer environment for doctors and nurses to work in. With sneezing and coughing
simulation models, it allows for better PPE equipment to be created as well as tracking
droplets through ventilation systems would be an advantage that hospitals didn’t have
before.
● Transportation: Aircrafts, Buses, and Trains
Transportation all but shut down due to the coronavirus and now with people’s need to
travel increasing, determining the safest way to travel has become a priority. With
aircraft, SIMULIA’s airflow models would better help with testing how viable new
concepts the aviation industry has come up with. These concepts include new seating
and cabin layouts, installing HEPA filters, and more. When looking at buses and trains,
these simulation models allow for predicting the effectiveness of shields between
passengers as well as helping with the design of better HVAC systems in those
transportation vehicles.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the goal is to minimize risk and contamination as much as
possible due to the threat of COVID-19. By assessing the contamination risks using
SIMULIA’s CFD/Fluid solutions allows an accurate and safe prediction of how people
can return to daily lives. With the help of technologies such as PowerFLOW & XFLOW,
designing more effective and helpful safety measures to deal with the pandemic has
never been easier.
To know more about XFlow and PowerFLOW capabilities or for consulting needs to
analyze and improve the air quality in constrained spaces, please drop a message to
mlakshmiraju@vias3D.com.
To learn more in detail about how we can help you in your area of work, get in touch with
us at info@viascorp.com or visit www.vias3d.com