An experimental approach to analyze aerosol and splatter formations due to a dental procedure.

Throughout 2020 and beyond, the entire world has observed a continuous increase in the infectious spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) otherwise known as COVID-19. The high transmission of this airborne virus has raised countless concerns regarding safety measures employed in the working conditions for medical professionals. Specifically, those who perform treatment procedures on patients which intrinsically create mists of fine airborne droplets, i.e., perfect vectors for this and other viruses to spread. The present study focuses on understanding the splatter produced due to a common dentistry technique to remove plaque buildup on teeth. This technique uses a high-speed dentistry instrument, e.g., a Cavitron ultrasonic scaler, to scrape along the surface of a patient's teeth. This detailed understanding of the velocity and the trajectory of the droplets generated by the splatter will aid in the development of hygiene mechanisms to guarantee the safety of those performing these procedures and people in clinics or hospitals. Optical flow tracking velocimetry (OFTV) method was employed to obtain droplet velocity and trajectory in a two-dimensional plane. Multiple data collection planes were taken in different orientations around a model of adult mandibular teeth. This technique provided pseudo-three-dimensional velocity information for the droplets within the splatter developed from this high-speed dental instrument. These results indicated that within the three-dimensional splatter produced there were high velocities (1-2 m/s) observed directly below the intersection point between the front teeth and the scaler. The splatter formed a cone-shape structure that propagated 10-15 mm away from the location of the scaler tip. From the droplet trajectories, it was observed that high velocity isolated droplets propagate away from the bulk of the splatter. It is these droplets which are concerning for health safety to those performing the medical procedures. Using a shadowgraphy technique, we further characterize the individual droplets' size and their individual velocity. We then compare these results to previously published distributions. The obtained data can be used as a first step to further examine flow and transport of droplets in clinics/dental offices.

Effect of H2O2 Antiseptic on Dispersal of Cavitation-Induced Microdroplets.

The persisting outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has posed an enormous threat to global health. The sustained human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via respiratory droplets makes the medical procedures around the perioral area vulnerable to the spread of the disease. Such procedures include the ultrasonic dental cleaning method, which occurs within the oral cavity and involves cavitation-induced sprays, thus increasing the risk of pathogen transmission via advection. To understand the associated health and safety risks for patients and clinicians, it is critical to understand the flow pattern of the spray cloud around the operating region, the size and velocity distribution of the emitted droplets, and the extent of fluid dispersion until ultimate deposit on surfaces or escape through air vents. In this work, the droplet size and velocity distributions of the spray emerging from the tip of a free-standing common ultrasonic dental cleaning device were characterized via high-speed imaging. Deionized water and 1.5% and 3% aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solutions were used as working fluids, with the H2O2-an established oxidizing agent-intended to curb the survival of virus released in aerosols generated from dental procedures. The measurements reveal that the presence of H2O2 in the working fluid increases the mean droplet size and ejection velocity. Detailed computational fluid dynamic simulations with multiphase flow models reveal benefits of adding small amounts of H2O2 in the feed stream of the ultrasonic cleaner; this practice causes larger droplets with shorter residence times inside the clinic before settling down or escaping through air vents. The results suggest optimal benefits (in terms of fluid spread) of adding 1.5% H2O2 in the feed stream during dental procedures involving ultrasonic tools. The present findings are not specific to the COVID-19 pandemic but should also apply to future outbreaks caused by airborne droplet transmission.

Evidence of Faradaic Reactions in Electrostatic Atomizers.

Any rational theory of electrostatic atomizers (EAs) would require a detailed understanding of the nature of the polarized layer near the electrode, since this is the source of the electric charge carried by the jets issued from the EAs. The polarized layer either is driven out as the electrically-driven Smoluchowski flow and/or entrained by the viscous shear imposed by the bulk flow. The standard Gouy-Chapman theory of polarized diffuse layers implies zero electric current passing across the layer, which is impossible to reconcile with the fact that there are leak currents in the EAs. Here, we show that the electric current through the EA is controlled by faradaic reactions at the electrodes. The experiments were conducted with stainless steel or brass pin-like cathodes and three different anode (the conical nozzle) materials, which were copper, stainless steel, and brass. The different electrode materials resulted in different spray, leakage, and total currents in all the cases. Accordingly, it is shown that the total electric current generated by EAs can be controlled by the cathode and anode materials, i.e., by faradaic reactions on them. This lays the foundation for a more detailed understanding and description of the operation of EAs.

Numerical modeling of dust particle configurations in a cylindrical radio-frequency plasma reactor.

In the present work, first, plasma phase variables in a cylindrical radio-frequency (rf) plasma reactor are numerically solved using the local field approximation model. Then, equilibrium configurations of a few interacting (sub-)micron-sized dust particles are obtained by integrating the particles equations for their motion and charge, accounting for the various forces acting on each particle in a three-dimensional Lagrangian framework. Direct comparison of the results with experiment demonstrates excellent qualitative agreement. Based on the ion focus phenomenon, a physical model is formulated and proven successful in simulating the vertically aligned structures.

Turbulent thermal diffusion and barodiffusion of passive scalar and dispersed phase of particles in turbulent flows.

It is shown that direct interaction approximation closure solutions for passive scalar and dispersed inertial particles in compressible turbulent flows result in the phenomena, proposed by Elperin et al. [Phys. Rev. E 58, 3113 (1998)], of turbulent thermal diffusion and turbulent barodiffusion. A more rigorous analysis of Lagrangian history direct interaction approximation for the dispersed phase in the kinetic approach framework is used to accurately quantify the phenomena.

Probability density function model equation for particle charging in a homogeneous dusty plasma.

In this paper, we use the direct interaction approximation (DIA) to obtain an approximate integrodifferential equation for the probability density function (PDF) of charge (q) on dust particles in homogeneous dusty plasma. The DIA is used to solve the closure problem which appears in the PDF equation due to the interactions between the phase space density of plasma particles and the phase space density of dust particles. The equation simplifies to a differential form under the condition when the fluctuations in phase space density for plasma particles change very rapidly in time and is correlated for very short times. The result is a Fokker-Planck type equation with extra terms having third and fourth order differentials in q, which account for the discrete nature of distribution of plasma particles and the interaction between fluctuations. Approximate macroscopic equations for the time evolution of the average charge and the higher order moments of the fluctuations in charge on the dust particles are obtained from the differential PDF equation. These equations are computed, in the case of a Maxwellian plasma, to show the effect of density fluctuations of plasma particles on the statistics of dust charge.