Experimental evaluation of thermal comfort, ventilation performance indices and exposure to airborne contaminant in an airborne infection isolation room equipped with a displacement air distribution system

This study is focused on determining the convenience of the use of displacement ventilation strategy in airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIRs). Thermal comfort of the occupants of the chamber, ventilation and contaminant performance indices and the exposure of the health worker (HW) to the contaminants exhaled by the confined patient (P) are considered in a typical AIIR set up with two thermal breathing manikins and a radiant wall simulating an external wall. Three air renewal rates are tested to determine their influence in the studied variables. Results show that ventilation performance, contaminants and general comfort indices for both manikins perform well in the cases studied. Lockup phenomenon associated with displacement ventilation occurs above P but it has a low influence on contaminant exposure of HW because of the influence of the convective boundary layer of HW. The influence of the radiant wall could lock the air path near the exhaust grille.