CO2-dispersion studies in an operation theatre under transient conditions

Maintaining air quality and thermal comfort inside an operation theatre equipped with horizontal jet flow type air-conditioning units, has been a challenge to engineers. The objective of this study is to analyze the airflow pattern in such operation theatres and the influence of location of the air-conditioners. The outcome of this study is expected to reduce the post-operation problems faced due to excess concentration of contaminants. Experimental studies were conducted in 10 different hospital operation theatres. Parameters such as air temperature and carbondioxide concentration were measured at discrete points chosen in the theatre. A 3D time-dependent numerical model was developed to simulate the airflow in terms of parameters such as velocity, temperature and CO₂ distributions in an operation theatre under transient conditions. The Eulerian approach using the volume fraction of the mixture of air and CO₂ was used to solve the numerical model. Finite volume approach was attempted in this work with PISO (pressure implicit with split operators) algorithm for the pressure correction equations. The simulated results were compared with the experimental results for validity. The locations of the air-conditioners were changed in the numerical model to analyze the airflow patterns and the contaminant distribution.