CFD SIMULATION OF INTERFLAT AIR FLOW FOR THE STUDY OF THESPREAD OF AEROSOL TRANSMITTED INFECTIOUS DISEASES

摘要

In the world-wide scale outbreak of SARS in 2003,rncluster of cases occurred in large building blocks,rnespecially in Hong Kong. In this paper, we willrnexamine one of the most likely virus-spreadrnmechanisms, which is related to the inter-flat orrninter-zonal air flow through open windows caused byrnbuoyancy effects. Both tracer gas technique andrnCFD(computational fluid dynamics) techniques arernemployed to quantify the amount of the exhaust airrncoming out of the upper part of the window of a floorrnthat re-enters the lower part of the open window atrnthe immediate upper floor. The results can wellrnexplain the finding that DNA strings of SARSrnCorono-Virus(CoV) were detected within thernsampled deposits on the window sills of the upperrnfloors of the two index patients' flats. Thernpreliminary and yet alarming conclusion may be thatrnhigh-rise buildings with flush windows on the samernvertical fa?ade can be a major route for the verticalrnspread of pathogen-containing aerosols.