Experimental Evidence for the Optimal Design of a High-Performing Cloth Mask
| Autor: | Con J. Doolan, Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, David J Heslop, Shovon Bhattacharjee, Chandini Raina MacIntyre, Prateek Bahl, Charitha de Silva |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Optimal design
Adult Materials science Middle layer 0206 medical engineering Biomedical Engineering 02 engineering and technology Blocking (statistics) Diagnostic system Article Biomaterials face masks parasitic diseases Humans Composite material Thread count Pandemics cloth mask Water resistance SARS-CoV-2 Textiles Masks COVID-19 water resistance fabrics 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 020601 biomedical engineering Surgical mask respiratory protection PPE droplet blocking 0210 nano-technology Layer (electronics) sneeze |
| Zdroj: | ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering |
| ISSN: | 2373-9878 |
| Popis: | Cloth masks can be an alternative to medical masks during pandemics. Recent studies have examined the performance of fabrics under various conditions; however, the performance against violent respiratory events such as human sneezes is yet to be explored. Accordingly, we present a comprehensive experimental study using sneezes by a healthy adult and a tailored image-based flow measurement diagnostic system evaluating all dimensions of protection of commonly available fabrics and their layered combinations: the respiratory droplet blocking efficiency, water resistance, and breathing resistance. Our results reveal that a well-designed cloth mask can outperform a three-layered surgical mask for such violent respiratory events. Specifically, increasing the number of layers significantly increases the droplet blocking efficiency, on average by ∼20 times per additional fabric layer. A minimum of three layers is necessary to resemble the droplet blocking performance of surgical masks, and a combination of cotton/linen (hydrophilic inner layer)-blends (middle layer)-polyester/nylon (hydrophobic outer layer) exhibited the best performance among overall indicators tested. In an optimum three-layered design, the average thread count should be greater than 200, and the porosity should be less than 2%. Furthermore, machine washing at 60 °C did not significantly impact the performance of cloth masks. These findings inform the design of high-performing homemade cloth masks. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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