Ventilation through a single port

This is a fundamental study of the periodic in & out flow through a single orifice into an enclosure. The purpose of the 'breathing' flow is to refresh the enclosure air. The injected air differs from the original enclosure air with respect to concentration of undesirable components or temperature. Two scenarios are considered. (i) Single puff of fresh air injected during an interval t(1), followed by a pause t(0), and extraction of mixed enclosure air during a second time interval t(1). It is shown that the time-averaged rate of enclosure air replacement is maximum when the rhythm is such that t(0) similar to t(1). (ii) Fresh air injected as a turbulent jet of duration t(1), and withdrawal of mixed air during another interval, t(2). It is found that the spent power averaged during the cycle is minimum when t(1)/t(2) similar to 1. The concentration of fresh air in the enclosure increases in S-curve fashion, slow-fast-slow. The time scale of the fast (viral) portion of the S curve increases with the length scale of the enclosure and decreases with the Reynolds number based on port diameter and flow velocity. Numerical simulations of the flow confirm several features of the regimes documented theoretically.

Automated summary

This fundamental study investigates the periodic in and out flow through a single orifice into an enclosure, focusing on the "breathing" flow to refresh the enclosure air. The study considers two scenarios and finds that maximizing air replacement rate requires a matching rhythm in the injection and extraction intervals, while minimizing average power consumption in the cycle is achieved when the injection and withdrawal durations are approximately equal. The concentration of fresh air in the enclosure increases in an S-curve fashion, with a time scale of the fast viral portion depending on the enclosure length scale and Reynolds number.