WORKSPACE
Two interacting zones
The inner pipe and surrounding annulus create distinct flow paths with workers positioned at different elevations and radii.
4 + 4 workers
ENGINEERING CASE STUDY / INDUSTRIAL CFD
Airflow and contaminants around a welding workstation.
A three-scenario CFD investigation of airflow, heat and CO₂ transport around eight welders working inside a below-ground pipe installation — with the original simulation results available to explore.
ORIGINAL CFD FIELDVelocity distributionWaist-level section • Simulation 1
ENGINEERING SUMMARY
Project scope and interpretation
- Engineering question
- How does ventilation configuration affect airflow and modeled contaminant transport around a welding workspace?
- System / operating scope
- Below-ground welding installation with eight represented worker positions and three original operating scenarios.
- Work performed
- Modelled three configurations and compared airflow, thermal context, CO₂, humidity and geometrical influences including the platform layout.
- Analysis / input basis
- CFD simulation of a ventilation workspace with original geometry, operating conditions and result images.
- Finding or displayed evidence
- The viewer shows spatial patterns of modeled air velocity and transported quantities under the three specified conditions.
- Limits / validation status
- Calculated fields; no claim of measured exposure, toxic-fume compliance, or confirmed occupational safety levels.
- Decision supported
- Assess ventilation alternatives and the influence of workspace arrangement.
08Welders / working locations
03CFD operating scenarios
04Transport & thermal fields
60Original field visualizations
01 / PROBLEM DEFINITION
Ventilation conditions and workspace layout
Four welders operate inside the pipe and four in the annular space between the pipe and excavated earth. Ventilation, high-temperature welding sources and the underground geometry combine to produce a complex transport problem.
FORCED VENTILATION
Specified air supply
The original boundary conditions prescribe upward pipe flow and a split fan supply to the working zones.
2.5 m³/s fan flow
SCENARIO TESTING
Different thermal & layout inputs
Three cases examine the imposed air temperature and the presence or removal of wooden platforms.
27–30 °C inlet
02 / GEOMETRY & MESH
CFD model and geometry
The simulation geometry captures the supply ducts, worker locations and perforated structures. Local mesh refinement resolves the narrow passages around perforated platforms.
Source report · page 4ORIGINAL PROJECT IMAGES
Installation geometry
Eight worker locations are represented alongside the distribution ductwork, ring platforms and the central pipe. Earth wall and exterior pipe surfaces are suppressed in this source view for clarity.
03 / INTERACTIVE SIMULATION EXPLORER
Flow-field results
These are the original STAR-CCM+ simulation contours, extracted directly from the report. Change the scenario, physical variable and section plane, or compare matching results side by side.
SOURCE DATA / 60 VIEWS
PHYSICAL FIELD
SECTION PLANE
SCENARIO
TIP: + to zoom, then drag to pan. Use ← / → while focused on the image to change section planes. Scientific legends are preserved from the source.
CASE 02SOURCE / P. 34
30°C inlet. Platforms included in the model.
CASE 03SOURCE / P. 54
30°C inlet. Wooden platforms removed.
Comparison integrity: Figures are shown at their original independent viewing extents, not falsely registered as a pixel-level overlay. Always compare values using each panel's original colour bar; some original velocity images use different legend maxima.
04 / WHAT THE CFD SHOWS
Velocity, CO₂ and humidity
A curated selection from the full set of results. Every image links directly into the same interactive explorer, where the rest of the report's sections are available.
01 / VELOCITY FIELD
How supplied air passes through the workspace
The section shows the velocity structure around the central pipe and the annular region, including high-speed zones and regions with weaker flow.
02 / SPECIES TRANSPORT
Where local CO₂ concentration becomes elevated
Localized peaks around the release points are visible at head height. The figure offers a spatial screening view, not a workplace compliance determination.
03 / THERMAL CONDITIONS
Why humidity changes the thermal picture
Wet-bulb temperature maps combine thermal and moisture effects in a working environment specified at 70% inlet relative humidity.
05 / SIMULATION MATRIX
Comparison of three operating cases
The report documents the same four physical fields across three specified scenarios. The first two vary supply temperature; the third retains 30°C inlet air while removing wooden platforms.
SIMULATION 01 / REFERENCE
27 °C
Reference inlet
Initial airflow and thermal configuration with the platform geometry represented.
SIMULATION 02 / TEMPERATURE
30 °C
Warmer inlet
The prescribed air temperature increases from 27°C to 30°C with the platform configuration retained.
SIMULATION 03 / GEOMETRY
30 °C
Platforms removed
Wooden planks are omitted from the geometry to explore how a changed arrangement affects the predicted fields.
06 / COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH
Model inputs and calculated fields
The study used steady-state, multicomponent CFD to examine ventilation and thermal conditions at multiple working-height planes, supported by localized mesh refinement.
Numerical model
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ was used for a steady-state, multicomponent flow simulation with the k–ω SST turbulence model. The mesh was refined in the vicinity of perforated structures, and results were sampled at waist, head, vertical, offset-vertical and upper cross-sections.
- CFD environmentSimcenter STAR-CCM+
- Flow treatmentSteady-state multicomponent
- Turbulence closurek–ω SST
- Primary flow boundary1.7 m/s upward pipe flow
- Fan supply2.5 m³/s total · 1.25 m³/s / side
- Environmental boundaryWet earth wall · 26°C
What can be concluded responsibly
These visualizations identify predicted spatial patterns. The source document does not establish measured validation against on-site sensor data, exposure-duration statistics, or regulatory workplace safety certification. Therefore, this case study makes no numerical compliance or worker-safety claims.
Source fidelity. All sixty simulation views are extracted from the supplied PDF without redrawing contours, interpolating the solution or inventing transient behavior. The three hero thumbnails are crops of those same figures; the explorer retains the original legends and visual scale ranges.
The source report references a separate client-supplied boundary-condition document; any additional unreported assumptions or quantitative findings are intentionally omitted from this public-facing narrative.