Seat-integrated Personalized Ventilation Diffuser for Improving Air Quality Aboard Commercial Aircraft

Current commercial aircraft ventilation design focuses on space optimization and pressure-related safety parameters. It inadequately takes into account the impact of the mixing ventilation system on pathogen dispersion in an enclosed space with low humidity. Current international guidelines relating to pathogen transfer reduction, suggest a combined approach using both traditional mixing ventilation systems and personalized ventilation. The present paper studies the impact of seat-integrated personalized ventilation diffusers on the air quality in the passenger breathing zone. The study employs an experimental setup backed by numerical simulations to evaluate the system’s potential to disperse pollutants near the breathing zone. Human thermal manikins were used to simulate the passengers in a full-scale mock-up of the airplane cabin. The velocity fields of the personalized ventilation diffusers and the thermal plume have been measured using PIV techniques. The experimental results were used to validate the CFD scenarios. The numerical part of the study used exhaled CO2 accumulation in the breathing zone to assess the effectiveness of the PV diffusers. Results indicate that the presence of the PV diffusers directs the exhaled CO2 upwards and can act as a barrier preventing pathogens from entering the breathing zone.