Effect of an accelerating metro cabin on the diffusion of cough droplets

Autor: Ge Peng, Fang Liu
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64026-3
Popis: Abstract Coronaviruses being capable of spreading through droplet contamination have raised significant concerns regarding high-capacity public rail transport, such as the metro. Within a rapidly moving railcar cabin, the internal airflow lags behind the bulkhead, generating internally induced airflow that accelerates droplet dispersion within a non-inertial reference system. This study investigates the impact of acceleration on the diffusion of cough droplets of varying sizes using computational fluid dynamics. The modified k–ε equation in ANSYS® Fluent was utilized to simulate droplet diffusion under different body orientations by adjusting the inertial force correction source term. Results indicate that droplets in the middle size range (50–175 μm) are primarily influenced by inertial forces, whereas smaller droplets (3.5–20 μm) are predominantly controlled by air drag forces. Regardless of facial orientation, the outlet of high-capacity public rail transport poses the highest risk of infection.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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