Investigation of Thermal Plume around a Simulated Standing Operator in an Operating Room

Occupants are important sources of contamination in the operating room. Particles generated from occupants can be transported to the surgical region by the airflow interaction at the vicinity of the staff body. Meanwhile, the thermal plume developed from the body will interact with the incoming flow and thus affects the air distribution. Hence, the study on the microenvironment around the surgical occupants is necessary. This investigation focused on characteristics of the thermal plume generated from a standing operator in a quiescent environment in an operating room. Simplified heated manikins, wearing surgical garments, of different shapes were used to resemble the body of an operating doctor. Various equipments were applied for measurement and analysis. Results show that working intensity of the medical stuff has an impact on the development of the thermal plume and the shape of the simulated manikins plays an important role in forming of the thermal plume.