Background and Purpose: More than 90% of people’s lives are spent indoors
and indoor air pollution is the cause of more than 2.2 million deaths annually
worldwide. Contrary to popular belief, the dangers of pollutants in enclosed
spaces are greater than in open environments. In this study, the ability of
the computer models to simulate flow behavior in the interior space of an
industrial workshop was investigated to may check the satisfaction of the
environmental standards
Materials and Methods: The flow pattern and flow mixing and dilution were
investigated by developing a specific solver in Open FOAM and comparing the
results with the experimental data.
Results: Due to the initial buoyancy, the plume enters from the lower opening
with high concentration and after diluting in indoor space, goes out from
the roof opening. It is then observed that while there are no openings, the
concentration of Carbon Monoxide in the breathing height of workers will
reach the dangerous limit of (100 ppm <) in different models.
Conclusion: In this study, the concentration of Carbon Monoxide in the
building’s interior space was estimated far higher than the maximum allowable
centration mentioned in the standards. Therefore, the high level of pollution
concentration in indoor spaces indicates the inadequacy of natural ventilation
and the need for mechanical ventilation to could decrease pollution down to
the breathing standard of ocupants.