Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period

Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are critical across the globe. A tour bus can carry passengers; however, the small, closed space becomes congested owing to their presence for long periods. Therefore, there is an increased risk of infection on tour buses. The air outlet of the air conditio...

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Main Authors: Yoshiki MAKIHIRA, Yukihiko OKUMURA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers 2024-02-01
Series:Mechanical Engineering Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/11/1/11_23-00523/_pdf/-char/en
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author Yoshiki MAKIHIRA
Yukihiko OKUMURA
author_facet Yoshiki MAKIHIRA
Yukihiko OKUMURA
author_sort Yoshiki MAKIHIRA
collection DOAJ
description Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are critical across the globe. A tour bus can carry passengers; however, the small, closed space becomes congested owing to their presence for long periods. Therefore, there is an increased risk of infection on tour buses. The air outlet of the air conditioner in a tour bus was designed to prioritize heating and cooling over ventilation. This study aims to improve the ventilation performance of tour buses. Therefore, a large-scale ventilation simulation was performed using a supercomputer. The results are as follows: (1) when the overall air flow rate of the ventilation is fixed, new outlets must be installed in the upper rear part of the tour bus for rapid ventilation; and (2) the ventilation efficiency was higher when a few high-output outlets were installed instead of several low-output outlets. The reason for the more effective ventilation was to create a large airflow in the tour bus. We proposed the design of a highly efficient ventilation system in an existing bus space and elucidated the appropriate layout of ventilation outlets and the optimal protocol for opening windows.
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spelling doaj.art-b1fc0cb8ee3d4b54b2382d36d70e70e52024-02-20T05:27:52ZengThe Japan Society of Mechanical EngineersMechanical Engineering Journal2187-97452024-02-0111123-0052323-0052310.1299/mej.23-00523mejVentilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 periodYoshiki MAKIHIRA0Yukihiko OKUMURA1Faculty of Engineering and Design, Kagawa UniversityFaculty of Engineering and Design, Kagawa UniversityMeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are critical across the globe. A tour bus can carry passengers; however, the small, closed space becomes congested owing to their presence for long periods. Therefore, there is an increased risk of infection on tour buses. The air outlet of the air conditioner in a tour bus was designed to prioritize heating and cooling over ventilation. This study aims to improve the ventilation performance of tour buses. Therefore, a large-scale ventilation simulation was performed using a supercomputer. The results are as follows: (1) when the overall air flow rate of the ventilation is fixed, new outlets must be installed in the upper rear part of the tour bus for rapid ventilation; and (2) the ventilation efficiency was higher when a few high-output outlets were installed instead of several low-output outlets. The reason for the more effective ventilation was to create a large airflow in the tour bus. We proposed the design of a highly efficient ventilation system in an existing bus space and elucidated the appropriate layout of ventilation outlets and the optimal protocol for opening windows.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/11/1/11_23-00523/_pdf/-char/enairborne transmissionventilationdesigninfectionpost covid-19fluid simulation
spellingShingle Yoshiki MAKIHIRA
Yukihiko OKUMURA
Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
Mechanical Engineering Journal
airborne transmission
ventilation
design
infection
post covid-19
fluid simulation
title Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
title_full Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
title_fullStr Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
title_full_unstemmed Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
title_short Ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post COVID-19 period
title_sort ventilation design of tour buses for suppressing airborne transmission and highly efficient virus elimination in post covid 19 period
topic airborne transmission
ventilation
design
infection
post covid-19
fluid simulation
url https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mej/11/1/11_23-00523/_pdf/-char/en
work_keys_str_mv AT yoshikimakihira ventilationdesignoftourbusesforsuppressingairbornetransmissionandhighlyefficientviruseliminationinpostcovid19period
AT yukihikookumura ventilationdesignoftourbusesforsuppressingairbornetransmissionandhighlyefficientviruseliminationinpostcovid19period