Khosronejad Ali, Kang Seokkoo, Wermelinger Fabian, Koumoutsakos Petros, Sotiropoulos Fotis
Department of Civil Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea.
Phys Fluids (1994). 2021 Jun;33(6):066605. doi: 10.1063/5.0054204. Epub 2021 Jun 8.
We present high-fidelity numerical simulations of expiratory biosol transport during normal breathing under indoor, stagnant air conditions with and without a facile mask. We investigate mask efficacy to suppress the spread of saliva particles that is underpinnings existing social distancing recommendations. The present simulations incorporate the effect of human anatomy and consider a spectrum of saliva particulate sizes that range from 0.1 to 10 m while also accounting for their evaporation. The simulations elucidate the vorticity dynamics of human breathing and show that without a facile mask, saliva particulates could travel over 2.2 m away from the person. However, a non-medical grade face mask can drastically reduce saliva particulate propagation to 0.72 m away from the person. This study provides new quantitative evidence that facile masks can successfully suppress the spreading of saliva particulates due to normal breathing in indoor environments.
我们展示了在室内空气静止条件下，有或没有简易口罩时正常呼吸过程中呼气生物溶胶传输的高保真数值模拟。我们研究了口罩抑制唾液颗粒传播的效果，这是现有社交距离建议的依据。当前的模拟纳入了人体解剖结构的影响，并考虑了粒径范围从0.1到10微米的一系列唾液颗粒，同时还考虑了它们的蒸发。模拟阐明了人类呼吸的涡度动力学，并表明在没有简易口罩的情况下，唾液颗粒可以传播到距离人2.2米以外的地方。然而，一个非医用级别的口罩可以将唾液颗粒的传播大幅减少到距离人0.72米处。这项研究提供了新的定量证据，表明简易口罩可以成功抑制室内环境中正常呼吸导致的唾液颗粒传播。
