Leishenshan Hospital Simulates Virus Contamination

Engineering resources are being tapped to help address a variety of challenges related to the spread of COVID-19 around the globe, from creating face shields for healthcare workers and addressing a critical shortage of ventilators, to leveraging powerful compute resources in the search for treatment. Simulation is also playing a role in modeling how the virus can be spread in a variety of scenarios. 

Dassault Systèmes, for example, is working with China’s Central-South Architectural Design Institute (CSADI) to support the simulation and evaluation of virus dispersal in the confined environment of Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China. The largest hospital for infectious diseases and COVID-19 patients, the modular Leishenshan Hospital was built in just 14 days in response to the overwhelming need to treat thousands of new patients per day. CSADI and Dassault Systèmes are using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s simulation capabilities to simulate virus contamination and diffusion within the hospital’s ventilation system and to counteract the negative effects from unplanned ventilation risks.

CSADI designed Leishenshan Hospital. Avoiding contamination of nearby environments is a key consideration for CSADI, especially the minimization of cross-infection in the hospital and any impacts on external communities, crowds and surroundings. Dassault donated its SIMULIA XFlow software to CSADI to simulate indoor and outdoor fluids, virus dispersal in ventilation systems, as well as other projects within Leishenshan Hospital.

“Dassault Systèmes technology focuses on life and the future. CSADI showed ‘China Speed’ during the Leishenshan Hospital Project and will use Dassault Systèmes’ advanced SIMULIA XFlow software to simulate indoor air distribution schema and optimize suggestions on better contamination discharge in negative pressure wards to protect medical personnel,” said Zhang Shen, Director of Engineering Digital Technology Center, CSADI. “SIMULIA XFlow will also simulate outdoor exhaust emission impacts on nearby surroundings to help the design and site selection of the modular hospital.”

“Dassault Systèmes is committed to helping Chinese enterprises combat COVID-19 with the aid of technology, focusing on restoration and development of enterprises after the pandemic,” said Ying Zhang, Managing Director, Greater China, Dassault Systèmes. “As a company, we have extended our focus from things to life. It is our concern about human life that drives us to make positive contributions to the environment during the pandemic and in future hospitals with CSADI. Every day the power of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to collaborate and exploit the value of a 3D virtual twin experience is shown. Applied systematically to design, engineering and manufacturing, it provides seamless remote collaboration at any time, anywhere, and enables all users to understand, experience and communicate. In the midst of today’s crisis, our 3D cloud-based collaborative platform approach replaces an older, slower document-based approach.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.