Activity Report of Open Application Course vol.2
Vietnamese students study technology for creating a safe and comfortable indoor environment
Department of Advanced Environmental Science and Engineering,
Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences (IGSES) at Kyushu University
Report from Kazuhide Ito
Vietnam is undergoing urbanization in conjunction with rapid economic growth. This has given rise to various issues regarding air quality and the quality of indoor environments in buildings. In particular, after a building has been constructed, there are limited measures to address the issue of indoor air pollution and impact on residents' health caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Accordingly, appropriate consideration is required during the design and construction phases.
As a joint program between the Ito Research Group of the Department of Advanced Environmental Science and Engineering in the IGSES at Kyushu Univ. and the Faculty of Environmental and Natural Resources at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment (HCMUNRE), the SAKURA Exchange Program in Science invited five students and three faculty members from HCMUNRE (Prof. Ha, Dean of the Faculty, participated on a separate schedule and was therefore invited on a separate project budget from the SAKURA Science). The program was held for the ten-day period from November 22 to December 1, 2017.
Currently, Dr. Nguyen Lu Phuong, an instructor at HCMUNRE, is currently stationed at the Ito Research Group of Kyushu Univ. as a member of the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan. In particular, Dr. Lu Phuong has spent more than five years conducting joint research related to the development of indoor environment simulations using computer simulated persons (CSP). In the recent program, Dr. Lu Phuong participated in an intensive schedule and joint research on application from the foundation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), acquisition of indoor environment simulations based on numerical fluid dynamics and application of those simulations to environmental design, and predication and control of exposure concentration in conjunction with indoor air pollution.
Vietnamese students arrived in Fukuoka early in the morning on November 22, 2017. Due to the early arrival time, they immediately traveled to the Chikushi Campus of Kyushu Univ. and began their studies without any rest.
Fifteen faculty members and students from the Ito Research Group of Kyushu Univ. and eight Vietnamese students from HCMUNRE gathered in a slightly cramped classroom. They used PPT presentations and whiteboards to introduce their research. They also confirmed their understanding for the basics of CFD and analysis programs, as well as for the acquisition of usage methods. Students from HCMUNRE were in their fourth year at the Faculty of Environmental and Natural Resources. The students had a very high level of motivation towards their studies. Extremely high-level discussions were held until late in the evening, well past the scheduled time.
On November 25 (Sat), Dr. Lu Phuong of the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan led students on a tour of Hakozaki Campus and Ito Campus at Kyushu Univ. Students visited advanced research facilities and other campus facilities. Almost all buildings on the Hakozaki Campus had been demolished and the campus appeared to be in ruins, while Ito Campus is in the final phase of the relocation. Upon arriving at the state-of-the-art facilities on Ito Campus, HCUMUNRE students were shocked by the huge difference. Although HCMUNRE has a relatively extensive amount of research facilities, there are few experimental facilities. As such, Vietnamese students showed great interest in the large-scale experimental facilities on Ito Campus.
On November 26 (Sun), students visited Dazaifu Tenmangu.
Weekdays of the busy plan were almost completely filled with intensive study and joint research. The plan was carried out according to schedule and students appeared to be exhausted. However, during lunchtime, students made dishes such as Vietnamese cuisine and sushi rolls, and everyone enjoyed deepening their friendships while eating.
Although only conducting research in Japan for ten short days, N.D. Khoa, a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Environmental and Natural Resources at HCMUNRE, showed a particularly impressive talent for the acquisition and implementation of numerical simulations. Khoa summarized his research in a long-awaited paper entitled "Comparative numerical simulation of airflow and inhaled particles transportation in upper airway for inter-subjects of human." He submitted his paper as an international conference paper at RoomVent 2018, a leading international conference on indoor environmental engineering.
A presentation of results was held on the next-to-last day of the program. At the end of the presentation, students were presented with a certification of completion for SAKURA Science.
Prof. Ha, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Natural Resources at HCMUNRE, also participated in the program. This made it possible to consummate an MOU with the IGSES at Kyushu Univ., and to hold meaningful discussions on topics such as the form of future student exchange and mechanisms for faculty exchange. Several of the students from HCMUNRE were highly interested in studying in Japan. We look forward to future developments.
