Abstract
A fast-computational 3D model comprising fluid dynamics with heat transfer, mass transfer and diffusion of diluted species has been adapted and employed to evaluate dispersion of aerosol particles in various environments. Effects of convection flow, atmospheric diffusivity and humidity on evolution and travel distances of exhaled aerosol clouds by an infected person are modelled. The modelling clearly demonstrates how aerosol particle dispersion is influenced by weather and geometry of the environment. The results obtained demonstrate that aerosol particles of sizes from 10 µm to 100 µm that potentially can carry SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viruses travel over 30 m in some atmospheric conditions. Modelling of the evolution of aerosol clouds generated by coughing and sneezing enables us to evaluate the deposition dose of aerosol particles in healthy individuals. In realistic weather scenarios viruses can be deposited in the respiratory tract of a healthy individual at up to 200 virus copies in several minutes. A metric based on aerosol particle (volume) size distribution and the ICRP lung deposition model is suggested.
Highlights
OPEN ACCESSReceived: July 30, 2020 Revised: November 26, 2020 Accepted: December 5, 2020Publisher: Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research ISSN: 1680-8584 print ISSN: 2071-1409 onlineCopyright: The Author(s)
The main aim of this work is to: a) reduce uncertainties associated with aerosol transmission of COVID-19 in public places and evaluate the travel distances of larger particles under typical conditions for different geometries; b) quantify effects of heat transfer on aerosol dispersion; c) investigate exposure-dose relationships for aerosol particles of relevant sizes and d) consider possible metrics for quantification of the risk mitigation associated with exposure to virus laden aerosols
It was found that aerosol particles were carried out with the convection flow and spread from the source along the Z-coordinate, Fig. 1
Summary
Publisher: Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research ISSN: 1680-8584 print ISSN: 2071-1409 online. Four different 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software were employed to investigate the effect of air ventilation on aerosol evolution in indoor environment (Vuorinen et al, 2020) They show that the exposure time to inhale > 100 aerosol particles could range from seconds to hours depending on the situation. The main aim of this work is to: a) reduce uncertainties associated with aerosol transmission of COVID-19 in public places and evaluate the travel distances of larger particles (inertial size range) under typical conditions for different geometries; b) quantify effects of heat transfer on aerosol dispersion; c) investigate exposure-dose relationships for aerosol particles of relevant sizes and d) consider possible metrics for quantification of the risk mitigation associated with exposure to virus laden aerosols
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