An analysis of the application potential of protected zone ventilation in hospitals based on experiments and simulations

• The performance of the POV system across various function rooms of hospital has been investigated. • A comparison between the POV and TVAD systems was conducted to underscore the advantages of the POV system. • Key factors affecting the POV system efficiency have been identified. • POV system effectively segregates polluted and protected zones in hospitals. • Provided guidance and experience for the operation of different functional rooms of hospital. This study explored hospital indoor air environments using experiments and simulations, with a specific focus on assessing the performance of the protected occupied zone ventilation (POV) system across various function rooms. Optimize the parameters of the POV system by simulating the supply air velocity, temperature, and angle. Field measurements of POV system protection efficiency were conducted in the chamber. The results indicated that the efficiency of the POV system was influenced by supply air temperature, velocity, manikins’ thermal plume. Surprisingly, manikin position was not the primary factor affecting efficiency; instead, exhaust location significantly impacted air quality in the protected manikin's breathing zone and placing the exhaust in the polluted zone was found to enhance the effectiveness of the POV system in maintaining air quality. When the supply air velocity was 2 m/s, the protection efficiency exceeded 50 % in all cases. When all the exhausts were open and the patient manikin was close to the exhaust in the polluted zone, the protection efficiency exceeded 60 %. Moreover, even under high supply air velocity, the draught did not exceed the standard. Compared to total volume air distribution (TVAD) systems, the POV system effectively segregates polluted and protected zones, achieving isolation, while demonstrating a relatively low air exchange rate, highlighting its energy-saving potential. Finally, we observed that the indoor layout could impact the isolation effect. Therefore, we carefully noted variations in the setting of air supply parameters across different rooms to ensure the effective and customized application of POV systems in hospitals.