NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AIR CURTAINS IN MITIGATING PARTICLE INFILTRATIONS TO A SUBWAY CABIN

This study evaluates the effectiveness of air curtains in alleviating contaminant infiltration to subway cabins when doors are opened. We perform numerical simulations of contaminant transports in the subway station under various conditions(passenger ingress, air curtain operation, seasonal effect, and pressurized cabin). The performance of the air curtain is assessed based on mass transfer rate and separation efficiency. Air curtain-induced air flows promote particle infiltrations into the cabin by lowering the cabin pressure. However, the temperature and pressure differences between in and out of the cabin do not significantly affect the separation efficiency, except for no air curtain operation.