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Analysis of Minimum Airflow Differences between Supply and Exhaust Air according to Airtightness of Rapidly Converted Temporary Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms

  • JOURNAL OF THE KOREA INSTITUTE OF HEALTHCARE ARCHITECTURE
  • Abbr : KIHA
  • 2023, 29(4), pp.69-77
  • DOI : 10.15682/jkiha.2023.29.4.69
  • Publisher : Korea Institute Of Healthcare Architecture
  • Research Area : Engineering > Architectural Engineering
  • Received : November 16, 2023
  • Accepted : November 27, 2023
  • Published : December 15, 2023

Shin, Hee Won 1 Kim, Dong Wook 1 Kim, Ji Min 1 Jung, Hyo Beom 1 Kang Dong Hwa 1

1서울시립대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many cases of converting regular hospital wards into temporary negative pressure isolation wards. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the minimum airflow differences that satisfies the pressure difference criteria(-2.5 Pa) according to airtightness of switching type wards, in preparation for utilization of aging regular wards as negative pressure isolation wards. Methods: Visual inspection and field measurements were conducted using blower door to evaluate airtightness of 5 hospital wards. CONTAM simulation was used to assess the airflow differences when pressure difference between the corridor and wards met the criteria at various levels of airtightness. Results: The ACH50 of evaluated wards ranged from 19.3 to 50.1 h-1 with an average of 37.0 h-1, indicating more than four times leakier than other building types. The minimum airflow differences increased as the airtightness of the wards decreased and the size of the wards increased. Implications: When operating rapidly converted negative pressure isolation wards, understanding airtightness is crucial for determining the minimum airflow differences to maintain the pressure differences. The analysis of this study suggests that improving the airtightness of aging rooms is essential and the minimum airflow differences should be suggested considering both the airtightness and size of rooms.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.