Paul Brasser, Florian Käding
Year:
2023
Languages: English | Pages: 7 pp
Bibliographic info:
43rd AIVC - 11th TightVent - 9th venticool Conference - Copenhagen, Denmark - 4-5 October 2023

Monitoring and regulating the air quality inside critical infrastructure is essential for protecting occupants from external and internal airborne threats, such as pollutants, toxic chemicals, and pathogens. The outdoor air can be contaminated with agents such as diesel and car exhaust or with more toxic agents like Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs). In case of a pandemic, there is a threat of viruses and bacteria which can spread in the building. These airborne agents can penetrate and disperse inside the building via windows and doors or via the ventilation system. This gives insights into the transportation of these agents through the building. A smart software suite was built (HAVAC) for calculating the air flow through the building, combined with agent mass balances per room. Furthermore, once combined with a range of sensor systems, the tool can use the output of these systems to fine-tune the prediction on the way the agent will disperse into the building. Future predictions of concentrations per room can be generated. In case of a calamity or incident, this system can indicate which areas in the building are or will be “hot zones” in terms of agent concentration. Furthermore, a companioning expert system (MORTAL AI) can use these future prediction calculations to determine expected toxicological effects on occupants and provide decision support on possible further actions, such as evacuation of people or the decontamination of specific rooms. When designing a building, it can also - based on a large number of iterations - help design evacuation routes based on a range of different scenarios and provide recommendations on the best locations in the building to deploy IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) sensors and air purification filters.