CFD simulations guided prevention and mitigation of Airborne Disease Transmission
Project/Area Number |
22K10596
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Section | 一般 |
Review Section |
Basic Section 58030:Hygiene and public health-related: excluding laboratory approach
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Research Institution | Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
Principal Investigator |
BALE RAHUL 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 計算科学研究センター, 研究員 (20728737)
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Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2022)
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Budget Amount *help |
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
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Keywords | Droplet modeling / Indoor ventilation / Airborne Disease / Droplet Dispersion / Epidemiology |
Outline of Research at the Start |
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the devastation that airborne diseases can cause. Globally, COVID-19 has claimed over 4.5M lives (16000 in Japan). The impact on the Japanese economy has been equally severe. To control and prevent such future pandemics, understanding the detailed mechanism of airborne disease transmission (ADT) is critical. Recent and past research studies involving real-world conditions are very few and limited in scope. The reason for this is the limitation in the CFD tool’s capability. In this work, we propose to develop CFD methods capable of overcoming past limitations.
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Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The research has successfully incorporated the modeling of indoor spaces, irrespective of size, including critical factors such as ventilation and air-conditioning systems.This has been achieved by extending the IBM framework to impose arbitrary boundary conditions within the domain, overcoming the inherent limitations of the IBM in this respect.
Lastly, the research has developed a robust model for droplet-surface interaction, a key factor influencing droplet dispersion and inhalation, vital for studying the effectiveness of preventive measures such as masks and face shields. This model encapsulates the interaction at various mesh sizes and accounts for factors such as droplet size dependency on wall-interaction and molecular forces for aerosols.
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Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The project is proceeding as planned. During the first year of the project, the indented research plan has been executed as planned. Therefore, the project will proceed according to the original plan for the next fiscal year.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
As a next step of the project, detailed sputum modeling and multi scale modeling will be carried out during this fiscal year. The research plan aims to refine the sputum droplet evaporation model and address the multiscale nature of Aerosol Dispersion Transmission (ADT). Firstly, the model for sputum droplet evaporation will be improved based on existing literature. Secondly, a hybrid implicit time-stepping scheme will be developed to handle the different time scales involved in ADT, particularly the evaporation of 10μm droplets and dispersion. This will be achieved by extending a previously developed semi-implicit scheme to a fully implicit one for better time-scale accuracy.
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Report
(1 results)
Research Products
(1 results)