STUDY OF SPREAD OF AEROSOLS DURING DIFFERENT BREATHING CYCLES USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

ABSTRACT

With COVID-19 having spread so rapidly across the world, detailed physics of transmission of com- municable diseases must be understood to recommend effective preventive measures. Computational fluid dynamics can provide insights into the physics of transport of droplets. Droplets are not only emitted during sneezing and coughing, but also during normal activities such as breathing, speak- ing, and singing. In this paper, different breathing patterns and their effect on the spread of droplets of 1 micron size are studied. It has been found that long steady exhalations, as well as sinusoidal exhalations can cause the droplets to travel greater distances. Also, some observations of the effects of the inhalation cycle and its small region of influence are included in this work. © 2021 by Begell House, Inc.