Design and simulation of isolation room for a hospital

Abstract

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) of hospitals is a highly specialized field and critical care units like isolation rooms and operation theatres deserve special attention, as infected patients must be isolated from ambient environment in order to prevent the infection from spreading and to save the life of the patient. This manuscript aims to optimize the ventilation strategy towards contaminant suppression in the isolation room. 3D Navier-Stokes and energy equation using finite volume method (FVM) with a domain of isolation room is solved for appropriate boundary conditions. The patient’s body is approximated as a semi-cylindrical shape resting on a bed and is treated as a constant heat source. Velocity and temperature profile inside the isolation room for various configurations are simulated. Our results suggest that immune-suppressed patients should be kept near the air supply and infectious patients near the exhaust.