Airflows inside passenger cars and implications for airborne disease transmission

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Mathai, Varghese, Das, Asimanshu, Bailey, Jeffrey A., Breuer, Kenneth
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2020
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author Mathai, Varghese
Das, Asimanshu
Bailey, Jeffrey A.
Breuer, Kenneth
author_facet Mathai, Varghese
Das, Asimanshu
Bailey, Jeffrey A.
Breuer, Kenneth
contents Transmission of highly infectious respiratory diseases, including SARS-CoV-2 are facilitated by the transport of tiny droplets and aerosols (harboring viruses, bacteria, etc.) that are breathed out by individuals and can remain suspended in air for extended periods of time in confined environments. A passenger car cabin represents one such situation in which there exists an elevated risk of pathogen transmission. Here we present results from numerical simulations of the potential routes of airborne transmission within a model car geometry, for a variety of ventilation configurations representing different combinations of open and closed windows. We estimate relative concentrations and residence times of a non-interacting, passive scalar -- a proxy for infectious pathogenic particles -- that are advected and diffused by the turbulent airflows inside the cabin. Our findings reveal that creating an airflow pattern that travels across the cabin, entering and existing farthest from the occupants can potentially reduce the transmission.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2007_03612
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Airflows inside passenger cars and implications for airborne disease transmission
Mathai, Varghese
Das, Asimanshu
Bailey, Jeffrey A.
Breuer, Kenneth
Physics and Society
Biological Physics
Fluid Dynamics
Popular Physics
Transmission of highly infectious respiratory diseases, including SARS-CoV-2 are facilitated by the transport of tiny droplets and aerosols (harboring viruses, bacteria, etc.) that are breathed out by individuals and can remain suspended in air for extended periods of time in confined environments. A passenger car cabin represents one such situation in which there exists an elevated risk of pathogen transmission. Here we present results from numerical simulations of the potential routes of airborne transmission within a model car geometry, for a variety of ventilation configurations representing different combinations of open and closed windows. We estimate relative concentrations and residence times of a non-interacting, passive scalar -- a proxy for infectious pathogenic particles -- that are advected and diffused by the turbulent airflows inside the cabin. Our findings reveal that creating an airflow pattern that travels across the cabin, entering and existing farthest from the occupants can potentially reduce the transmission.
title Airflows inside passenger cars and implications for airborne disease transmission
topic Physics and Society
Biological Physics
Fluid Dynamics
Popular Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.03612