Modeling of Virus-contained Particle Removal in a Classroom Using Portable Air Purifiers

BO YANG, Andy Fox, John Zhang, David Buckley, Dong Fu, Qihong Nie, Ali Amadeh, 3M Company

     Abstract Number: 514
     Working Group: Aerosol Science of Infectious Diseases: What We Have Learned and Still Need to Know about Transmission, Prevention, and the One Health Concept

Abstract
Many students have been tested positive since the COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by the Coronavirus, SARS-Cov2, and its variants. Recent studies showed that the virus can be transmitted in the classroom as airborne particles. Air purifiers have been adopted as one of the ways to reduce the exposure of humans to the coronavirus. Experimental measurement with portable air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters has been reported to be able to reduce airborne particle concentrations in classrooms. The goal of this study is to predict the performance of using portable air purifiers in a classroom. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model coupled with aerosol dynamics was built to simulate the flow field, particle evaporation, and particle deposition. The numbers of air purifiers and their locations were investigated. The plexiglass shield's impact on the flow field and particle trajectories were analyzed. Our findings indicate that the air purifier locations are important, and the plexiglass shields could capture large particles (diameter > 100 µm), but they may decrease the air purifier performance.