In 2019, Rolls-Royce Plc commissioned the project "Simulation and Design Optimisation of a Cleanroom Ventilation" to address a defined challenge in the building and construction sector. The assignment combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and multiphysics analysis with a decision-focused engineering study. Its purpose was to explain the governing physical behaviour, identify the variables controlling performance, and convert the findings into practical recommendations for design, operation and future development.

The main aim of this project was to investigate the impact of making significant changes to the locations of various components in the ceiling of a large cleanroom. Two different scenarios were carefully modelled, designed and simulated by our team and the efficiency of the ventilation system for both scenarios was assessed. In order to determine the ventilation performance in a cleanroom, details of all filters and all inlets/outlets had to be modelled in detail and the assessment on the performance was carried out using a range of innovative metrics including statistical analysis of individual units within the cleanroom, air freshness in different sections and particle tracking. The changes proposed by our team were subsequently implemented in the cleanroom by the client.

The methodology centred on a detailed cleanroom CFD model with airflow, heat loads and particle tracking. The representation retained individual filters, ceiling services, supply and extract terminals, equipment and the occupied production zones affected by the proposed ceiling changes. Boundary and operating conditions covered the alternative component layouts, normal operating conditions and representative contamination or occupancy cases, with material, fluid and equipment properties assigned from the available design information. Resolution was concentrated in regions where steep velocity, thermal, concentration or phase gradients were expected, while the overall model remained efficient enough to compare several credible configurations. This balance allowed system-level performance to be linked to the local mechanisms responsible for it.

The assessment compared ceiling component, filter and extract locations together with practical balancing changes. Performance was judged using air freshness, flow uniformity, particle paths and removal, recirculation, local velocities and statistical performance across individual cleanroom units. Results were reviewed through quantitative summaries and engineering visualisations, such as contours, vectors, streamlines, sections and time histories, selected to suit the physics. Important assumptions and operating uncertainties were considered so that the recommendations relied on repeatable comparative trends rather than a single nominal case.

For Rolls-Royce Plc, the principal value was an implementable ventilation arrangement that maintained contamination control after major layout changes. The final evidence linked each recommendation to the relevant model or process output, making it suitable for internal design reviews, supplier or contractor discussions and, where applicable, planning, safety or regulatory dialogue. The work also created a reusable baseline that can be updated as geometry, operating data or test results become available, reducing the cost and risk of later design iterations.

A disciplined quality-control workflow supported the analysis. Geometry, units, mass and energy balances, boundary-condition consistency and solver convergence were checked before options were ranked. Mesh or parameter sensitivities were used where they were most likely to affect the engineering conclusion, and limitations were documented explicitly. This ensured that the study remained traceable and reproducible rather than relying on isolated simulation images.