Zohdi T I
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, 6195 Etcheverry Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740 USA.
Comput Mech. 2020;66(4):1025-1034. doi: 10.1007/s00466-020-01875-5. Epub 2020 Jul 10.
The pandemic of 2020 has led to a huge interest of modeling and simulation of infectious diseases. One of the central questions is the potential infection zone produced by a cough. In this paper, mathematical models are developed to simulate the progressive time-evolution of the distribution of locations of particles produced by a cough. Analytical and numerical studies are undertaken. The models ascertain the range, distribution and settling time of the particles under the influence of gravity and drag from the surrounding air. Beyond qualitative trends that illustrate that large particles travel far and settle quickly, while small particles do not travel far and settle slowly, the models provide quantitative results for distances travelled and settling times, which are needed for constructing social distancing policies and workplace protocols.
2020年的疫情引发了人们对传染病建模与模拟的极大兴趣。其中一个核心问题是咳嗽产生的潜在感染区域。本文建立了数学模型来模拟咳嗽产生的颗粒位置分布随时间的演变过程。进行了分析和数值研究。这些模型确定了在重力和周围空气阻力影响下颗粒的范围、分布和沉降时间。除了定性趋势（即大颗粒传播得远且沉降快，而小颗粒传播得不远且沉降慢）外，这些模型还提供了传播距离和沉降时间的定量结果，这对于制定社交距离政策和工作场所规范是必要的。
