Impact of ventilation method on residential indoor PM dispersion during dust storm events in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Dust storms are a major environmental hazard in arid regions such as the Middle East and other parts of Asia including China and Mongolia. The prevalence of dust storms has been widely linked with high atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations. The atmospheric PM concentration is considered as being positively correlated with the PM concentration of the indoor environment. High indoor concentrations of PM compromise the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) leading to adverse impacts on building occupants’ health with increased occurrences of asthma attacks, spread of disease-causing fungus, skin allergies and other ailments. There is, therefore, an increased risk of compromised IAQ in places that experience dust storms. This risk may be exacerbated by the incorporation of mechanical ventilation systems in attempts to condition the indoor ambient air. Instead of minimizing the problem of PM contamination, these systems may potentially nurture it. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics analyzes in ANSYS Fluent, this study seeks to investigate the impact of ventilation method on outdoor-originating indoor PM dispersion within the occupied indoor environment during dust storm events in Saudi Arabia. Four ventilation methods are studied and the one that yields the least amount of particle trajectories terminating within the breathing zone is recommended for use.

KEYWORDS:

• Dust storm
• particulate matter
• computational fluid dynamics
• indoor air quality
• Saudi Arabia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.