Reducing Particle Exposure and SARS-CoV-2 Risk in Built Environments through Accurate Virtual Twins and Computational Fluid Dynamics

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper propose a Lattice Boltzmann-based method (LBM) for simulating aerosol dispersion and deposition in a realistic room with and without air filtering devices in transient manner. The simulation results were validated by a experimental measurement as well. Different scenarios were simulated, such as an infectious person continuously emitting virus-laden particles in a room, two coughing occupants seated across the room. Based on the simulation results, the position of air filters was optimized to mitigate infection risks. The implementation of LBM employs very large eddy simulation (VLES) was suitable to simulate particle transport rather than uRANS or RANS approaches. This paper is rich in content and well written. However, the boundaries of the simulation were not clearly elaborated, such as the inlet and outlet size of the air cleaner, the inlet velocity and temperature from the cleaner, the internal heat sources, how to model the particle deposition onto walls, etc. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your review of our manuscript.

We have amended the manuscript based on your feedback, leading to changes in:

• The choice of citations, with a few additional references added where appropriate
• Additional details provided regarding the definition of simulation boundary conditions. These cover a brief description of the particle splashing model on solid walls, as well as further details on the heat release rates of the equipment present in the room. We have also included a description of the glazing materials modelled in the room. Further detail was also provided to describe the velocity distribution around the air cleaner (both inlets and outlets).  
• The manuscript was also fully reviewed for language, leading to a few minor editorial changes.

We hope that you will find these changes acceptable, and we thank you once again for taking the time to review this submission.

Reviewer 2 Report

Please see the attached report for comments.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear reviewer, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on our submission. We have added further details regarding boundary conditions of the simulation domain, as well as a few citations. The document was also fully reviewed for language.

We hope you will find these changes acceptable.