Airflows inside passenger cars and implications for airborne disease transmission.
Sci Adv
; 7(1)2021 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1066785
ABSTRACT
Transmission of highly infectious respiratory diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, is facilitated by the transport of exhaled droplets and aerosols that can remain suspended in air for extended periods of time. A passenger car cabin represents one such situation with an elevated risk of pathogen transmission. Here, we present results from numerical simulations to assess how the in-cabin microclimate of a car can potentially spread pathogenic species between occupants for a variety of open and closed window configurations. We estimate relative concentrations and residence times of a noninteracting, passive scalar-a proxy for infectious particles-being advected and diffused by turbulent airflows inside the cabin. An airflow pattern that travels across the cabin, farthest from the occupants, can potentially reduce the transmission risk. Our findings reveal the complex fluid dynamics during everyday commutes and nonintuitive ways in which open windows can either increase or suppress airborne transmission.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Automobiles
/
Communicable Diseases
/
Air Pollution, Indoor
/
Air Microbiology
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Sciadv.abe0166
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS