JAUE2017-106: Indoor Airflow Analysis for Respiratory Disease Wards of General Hospitals

Abstract

This study focused on secondary aerial infections in hospitals observed during the MERS outbreak in South 
Korea; wind speeds were measured, and problems in hospital rooms, corridor spaces, and rest areas of respiratory 
disease wards were identified. The spatial types of wards of 13 general hospitals were investigated to identify the 
general type. A target building with the representative type (I-type) was selected. Wind-speed measurements
showed that the designed and measured wind speeds did not differ greatly in closed spaces (hospital rooms), but 
differed considerably in open spaces (corridors and rest areas). Numerical calculations using the measured values 
were performed with Star-CCM+. Air flowed from the room to the corridor at the knee level of patients in the 
room for one patient. In the room for five patients, air flowed from the room to the corridor at the breathing 
position of patients. In the rest area, air flowed from the corridor to the rest area at heights above the breathing 
position of a patient. Thus, airflow from the room to the corridor in rooms for one or five patients and mixing of 
the air with the airflow from the corridor in the rest area were confirmed.