Air circulation study inside and outside of urban buses induced by the opening of windows

Abstract

In this work, the external and internal airflow analysis in an urban bus is carried out through computational fluid dynamics. The research addresses the study of the internal flow to estimate the air change rate caused by the opening of windows. Two cases are considered: fully opening and partially opening the windows, and three bus speeds of 20, 40, and 60 km/h are assessed. The quantification of the air flow rate through the windows clearly displays that air enters through the rear windows and exits the bus through the front windows. This effect is explained by the pressure distribution in the outer of the bus, which causes the suction of the indoor air. At low bus speeds, the incoming air flow rate increases linearly with the speed, but the improvement is lower for high speeds. The theoretical air change time at 20 km/h is around 25.7 s, which is 9 times lower than expected by using HVAC systems. On the other hand, the estimation of the real air renewal time by solving a concentration shows that 40 s are needed to exchange 85% of the internal air of the bus. The research also assesses the effect of different levels of occupation inside the bus. Results are conclusive to recommend the circulation with full or partial window opening configurations in order to reduce the risk of airborne disease transmission.