Numerical Analysis of Airflow and Temperature Distribution in Surgical Operating Rooms

This study provides a comprehensive three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis of airflow distribution in a surgical operating room under realistic occupancy and equipment conditions. Using integrated modelling in SolidWorks and a subsequent analysis in ANSYS Fluent, a full-scale Operating Room geometry was simulated to assess the effectiveness of a laminar airflow system. The model includes surgical staff mannequins, thermal loads from surgical lights, and medical equipment that commonly disrupt unidirectional flow patterns. A polyhedral mesh with over 2.8 million nodes was employed, and a grid independence study confirmed solution reliability. The realisable k–ε turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment was used to simulate steady-state airflow, thermal stratification, and pressure variation due to door opening. Results highlight significant flow disturbances and recirculation zones caused by the shear zone created by supply air, overhead lights and heat plumes, particularly outside the core laminar air flow zone. The most important area, 10 cm above the surgical site, shows a maximum velocity gradient of 0.09 s−1 while the temperature gradient shows 6.7 K.m−1 and the pressure gradient, 0.0167 Pa.m−1. Streamline analysis reveals potential re-entrainment of contaminated air into the sterile field.