Effectiveness of Building Systems Strategies for Mitigation of Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2
Published in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2020
Airborne transmission has been recognized as a major transmission pathway for the infectious disease COVID-19. This study investigated the effectiveness of several indoor air quality (IAQ) control strategies on the mitigation of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The well-known airborne disease infection risk model (Wells-Riley equation) was used to estimate the infection risk of the SARS-CoV-2 in seven (7) different types of spaces including conference center/ballrooms, hotel bistro//cafeteria, hotel lobby, classrooms (lecture), conference room/small classroom, hotel or cruise ship guest rooms and open plan offices. The IAQ control strategies included increased ventilation rate, improved air distribution system and filtration, semi-open space partition, in-room air purification and disinfection, and personal protective equipment. The effectiveness of each individual strategies and selected combined strategies were evaluated using the risk estimation model. Several integrated (layered) mitigation strategies were recommended and classified based on their relative cost and effort of implementation. In addition, the potential of several selected air cleaning/disinfection products was also evaluated.
Recommended citation: Kong, M., Shen, J., Dong, B., Zhang, J., 2020. Effectiveness of Building Systems Strategies for Mitigation of Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 18. https://surface.syr.edu/mae/18