Currently, commercial aircraft use mixed ventilation systems to purify the air in the cabin. This system brings air in from the top of the cabin and exhausts it from the side walls at the bottom. Mixed ventilation systems are not efficient in controlling airborne diseases, nor are they effective at removing heat. This means that the mixed ventilation system cannot control contaminant transport if the contaminant source is associated with a heat source. A new ventilation system is proposed, where the fresh and circulated air comes into the cabin from the bottom rather than the top. A new filter system is also proposed to replace the high-efficiency particle filters (HEPA) that is more effective is removing bacteria and viruses. The smart airflow system incorporates the filters so that air is continuously filtered personally for every passenger. Lastly, a component of the filters can be used in lavatories so that they are self-cleaning.
As travel restrictions ease and news about a COVID-19 vaccine emerges, more people will be booking flights to see friends and family again. This poses a challenge for airlines to ensure their aircraft maintain air purity to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. Since it is difficult to continuously keep things cleans in multiple-hour flights, the filter system proposed in the cabin and in the lavatories show promise for self-cleaning environments. To develop this project, I researched current ventilation and filter systems and analyzed their problems, allowing me to formulate a solution based on these problems. I used SimScale, which is a Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation Software, to figure out a new ventilation system by demonstrating the fluid and thermal movement of air. To design a new filter system to replace the HEPA filters, I used emerging research on UV light and its effect on killing viruses. I also used NASA’s Open Data Portal where I found inspiration to make light-weight filtration systems using electrostatics. Specifically, I incorporated membranes and no mechanical components into my filter design, two innovative ideas inspired by the Continuous Electrochemical Gas Separator.
The biggest challenge was understanding the mechanism by which aircrafts currently supply and exhaust air. However, SimScale proved itself as immensely useful in demonstrating the fluid dynamics of air when a passenger in a particular seat sneezes, which assisted in the final creation of the proposed ventilation system.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1X-lBgabvkohobeEgrTGlggl0fOmqAoqE-OsPUlmFcXM/edit?usp=sharing
SimScale
NASA Open Data Portal: Next Generation Life Support (NGLS): Continuous Electrochemical Gas Separator (https://data.nasa.gov/dataset/Next-Generation-Life-Support-NGLS-Continuous-Elect/c66w-b7qu)