Numerical Study of Virus Droplet Transport in Civil Aircraft Cabin

Ji Shengcheng,Cai Shanggui,Hu Zhongmin,Xu Jinglei

doi:10.35840/2631-5009/7515

Abstract

This paper presents the numerical investigations of droplet transport in a civil aircraft cabin generated by an index patient. The transport of the expiratory droplets exhaled from the index patient was investigated using the multiphase fluid dynamic methods. The numerical model was validated with the experimental results. It was found that the droplet concentration could spread faster in transverse direction than in longitudinal direction due to convection effect of airflow and the passenger sitting several rows away from infected patient could be infected by SARS virus. The simulated results show that the turbulence structures have great impacts on the phase of expiratory droplet transport in the aircraft cabin.

Highlights

During a flight, the aircraft cabin is an enclosed and ventilated environment which exposes passengers to hypobaric hypoxia, dry humidity, and close proximity to the index patients [1]
Air quality in cabin has been the focus of many investigations, especially for those virus by which the airborne transmission dominates their transports inside aircraft cabin such as influenza, SARS and avian flu
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the Environmental Control System (ECS) influences on the virus concentration spread in longitudinal and transverse directions

Summary

Introduction

The aircraft cabin is an enclosed and ventilated environment which exposes passengers to hypobaric hypoxia, dry humidity, and close proximity to the index patients [1]. Air quality in cabin has been the focus of many investigations, especially for those virus by which the airborne transmission dominates their transports inside aircraft cabin such as influenza, SARS and avian flu. Airborne transmission happens by aerosolization of these pathogens through droplet nuclei [2]. These residual droplets exhaled from the index passengers become aerosolized, suspend in the air and disperse widely in aircraft cabin depending on environmental conditions [3,4]. The risk of pathogen transmission within the aircraft cabin could be affected by cabin ventilation systems [5,6]. Evidence suggests that the airborne transmission route resulted in SARS spread during the Amoy Gardens outbreak in Hong Kong [7]

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion