Optimization of a Wetted Wall Cyclone for Pathogen Collection

SOOHWAN KIM, Natacha Ramioulle, Ardalan Javadi, Mike Farrell, Alexander Alexeev, David Hu, Georgia Tech

     Abstract Number: 600
     Working Group: Bioaerosols

Abstract
One of the lessons COVID-19 left was the need for real-time monitoring of indoor air systems. Amongst different types of bioaerosol collectors, the Wetted Wall Cyclone (WWC) has a high flow rate and continuous particle collection in a hydrosol, which can be extracted and analyzed in real-time. In this computational and experimental study, we employed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach to optimize fluid recovery and collection efficiency using changes in geometry and flow rates of hydrosol and air. OpenFOAM and COMSOL Multiphyiscs were used to simulate the multiphase flow of air and water and the collection of aerosols. Experimental results were compared with the numerical results to confirm improved performance.