RII Track-4: Event Based Approach to Model Indoor Airflow Patterns

室内空气质量(IAQ)是一个主要的环境健康问题，因为我们90%的时间是在室内度过的。室内空气质量的实验评估并不总是可行的，而且非常昂贵。因此，工程师和建筑科学家使用计算机模拟来模拟室内空气和污染物的运动。然而，这些模拟受到其计算强度的严重限制。这项研究将使PI能够开发一种新的近似方法来模拟室内空气模式。这种方法称为基于事件的建模(EBM)。PI将与加州大学伯克利分校(UC Berkeley)的同事合作，在加州大学伯克利分校的建筑科学实验室开发和验证EBM方法，该实验室是世界上最大的大学实验室之一。EBM的成功开发将导致在改善空气质量的同时优化建筑能耗的方法。在医院提供清洁的空气至关重要，因为病原体可以通过空气传播，导致医疗保健相关感染(HAI)。在美国，HAI每年造成350亿至450亿美元的损失，并夺走9万人的生命。循证医学将成为设计安全高效的医院的新工具。这项研究将支持这一新知识在课堂上的传播，这是培养未来一代设计师的地方。技术描述本项目的目标是开发一种新的创新方法，称为基于事件的建模(EBM)方法，以模拟真实的人与环境交互的气流模式。循证医学可以提供一种途径来模拟复杂的、随机的人与环境的相互作用，而这些相互作用在目前的方法下是不可能解决的。PI将调查EBM的有效性，描述其适用范围，并确定EBM的实际局限性。该奖学金将在加州大学伯克利分校的建筑环境中心(CBE)与国际公认的建筑科学家合作举行。该奖学金将为PI提供一个在环境舱中进行实验的机会，该环境舱允许控制温度、湿度和通风的水平。该项目将通过：(1)开发一种新的室内环境中空气运动的近似方法(即EBM)；(2)测试该方法的准确性和有效性；以及(3)描述该方法可以在哪些情况下使用，从而促进室内空气模拟知识的发展。这项工作有可能改变未来对室内瞬时气流模式的研究。对室内空气质量的准确评估提高了我们的生活质量。EBM将改变目前的建筑通风设计方法，使足够的空气能够被调节并分配到需要的地方，从而节省能源。这项拟议工作的一个很有前途的应用是在控制空气传播疾病至关重要的医院。使用基于事件的建模方法，智能空气控制系统可以设计为改善医疗保健结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical DescriptionIndoor air quality (IAQ) is a major environmental health issue, as we spend up to 90% of our time indoors. Experimental assessment of IAQ is not always feasible and is very expensive. As a result, engineers and building scientists employ computer simulations to model the movement of indoor air and contaminants. These simulations, however, are severely limited by their computational intensity. This fellowship will enable the PI to develop a new approximation methodology for modeling indoor air patterns. This approach is called Event Based Modeling (EBM). The PI will collaborate with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) to develop and validate the EBM approach in the Building Science Lab at UC Berkeley, which is among the largest university laboratories in the world. A successful development of EBM will result in method to optimize building energy consumption while improving air quality. Providing clean air in hospitals is crucial as pathogens can be transported through air, leading to healthcare associated infection (HAI). In the United States, HAIs cost between $35- $45 billion and claim 90,000 lives each year. EBM will be a new tool for designing hospitals that are safe and efficient. This research will support dissemination of this new knowledge in the classroom, where the future generation of designers is educated.Technical DescriptionThe goal of this project is to develop a new and innovative methodology called the event-based modeling (EBM) approach to simulate airflow patterns for realistic human-environment interactions. EBM can provide a path to simulate complex, random human-environment interactions that are pragmatically impossible to solve using current approaches. The PI will investigate the validity, characterize a range of applicability, and determine the practical limitations of EBM. The fellowship will take place in the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at the University of California, Berkeley in collaboration with internationally recognized building scientists. The fellowship will provide an opportunity for the PI to conduct experiments in an environmental chamber that allows control over the levels of temperature, humidity, and ventilation. This project will advance the knowledge of indoor air modeling by: (1) developing a new approximation approach (i.e., EBM) to air movement in the indoor environment; (2) testing the accuracy and validity of the approach; and (3) characterizing circumstances under which this approach may be utilized. This work has the potential to transform the future of research on transient indoor airflow patterns. An accurate assessment of indoor air quality improves our quality of life. EBM will transform the current approach to building ventilation design by enabling just enough air to be conditioned and distributed to where it is needed, thus saving energy. A promising application of the proposed work is in hospitals where controlling airborne disease transmission is critical. Using the event-based modeling approach, smart air control systems could be designed to improve healthcare outcomes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.