ABSTRACT
This study aims to evaluate the environmental and health hazards caused by the urban sewage networks, which are a potential source of virus-causing pollution. A method incorporating CFD 3D numerical simulation, VOF, and DPM models is used to analyze virus aerosol under different sewage flow rates. The simulation analysis of the generation rules and the characteristics of the impact on virus transmission finally generated a model of virus aerosol's generation and diffusion mechanism in the sewage pipe network. The results show that the changes in water flow velocity and turbulence kinetic energy affect the production and diffusion characteristics of viral aerosols. With the increase of the water flow velocity, a higher mass concentration of the viral aerosol particles was produced and released in the sewage pipeline, and the diffusion range of the aerosol particles was greater. Affected by the gas exchange inside and outside the pipeline, the turbulent kinetic energy in the converging area of the inspection wells increased significantly, and the virus aerosol particles spread out of the outside atmosphere in the area. This suggests that sewage inspection wells could be a route for viral aerosols to spread out of the atmosphere, which may pose a risk of virus exposure to the inspection well workers. Thus, this article provides a theoretical basis for the study of the risk of viral infection in sewage networks.
