32
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Numerical investigation of aerosol transport in a classroom with relevance to COVID-19

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          The present study investigates aerosol transport and surface deposition in a realistic classroom environment using computational fluid-particle dynamics simulations. Effects of particle size, aerosol source location, glass barriers, and windows are explored. While aerosol transport in air exhibits some stochasticity, it is found that a significant fraction (24%–50%) of particles smaller than 15 µm exit the system within 15 min through the air conditioning system. Particles larger than 20 µm almost entirely deposit on the ground, desks, and nearby surfaces in the room. Source location strongly influences the trajectory and deposition distribution of the exhaled aerosol particles and affects the effectiveness of mitigation measures such as glass barriers. Glass barriers are found to reduce the aerosol transmission of 1 µm particles from the source individual to others separated by at least 2.4 m by ∼92%. By opening windows, the particle exit fraction can be increased by ∼38% compared to the case with closed windows and reduces aerosol deposition on people in the room. On average, ∼69% of 1 µm particles exit the system when the windows are open.

          Related collections

          Most cited references31

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence models for engineering applications

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            The numerical computation of turbulent flows

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?

              During the rapid rise in COVID-19 illnesses and deaths globally, and notwithstanding recommended precautions, questions are voiced about routes of transmission for this pandemic disease. Inhaling small airborne droplets is probable as a third route of infection, in addition to more widely recognized transmission via larger respiratory droplets and direct contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. While uncertainties remain regarding the relative contributions of the different transmission pathways, we argue that existing evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant engineering controls targeting airborne transmission as part of an overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors. Appropriate building engineering controls include sufficient and effective ventilation, possibly enhanced by particle filtration and air disinfection, avoiding air recirculation and avoiding overcrowding. Often, such measures can be easily implemented and without much cost, but if only they are recognised as significant in contributing to infection control goals. We believe that the use of engineering controls in public buildings, including hospitals, shops, offices, schools, kindergartens, libraries, restaurants, cruise ships, elevators, conference rooms or public transport, in parallel with effective application of other controls (including isolation and quarantine, social distancing and hand hygiene), would be an additional important measure globally to reduce the likelihood of transmission and thereby protect healthcare workers, patients and the general public.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Phys Fluids (1994)
                Phys Fluids (1994)
                PHFLE6
                Physics of Fluids
                AIP Publishing LLC
                1070-6631
                1089-7666
                01 October 2020
                20 October 2020
                : 32
                : 10
                : 103311
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Mechanical Engineering Department, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106, USA
                [2 ]Nuclear Engineering Department, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106, USA
                Author notes
                [a) ]Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: ktalaat@ 123456unm.edu
                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1797-6603
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8102-4359
                Article
                5.0029118 POF20-AR-FATV2020-02967
                10.1063/5.0029118
                7583363
                33100808
                732fb2c0-0e99-4516-a735-21e60bc6833e
                © 2020 Author(s).

                1070-6631/2020/32(10)/103311/13/ $30.00

                All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).

                History
                : 10 September 2020
                : 16 September 2020
                Page count
                Pages: 13
                Categories
                ARTICLES
                Particulate, Multiphase, and Granular Flows
                Custom metadata

                Comments

                Comment on this article