Numerical Simulation of the Dispersion of Human Sneeze Droplets In The Surrounding

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The important feature of viral respiratory diseases is the rapid transmission and spread of these viruses through respiratory processes. In this study, computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer have been used for the airflow inside the human Airway and the surrounding environment, as well as the penetration and spread of droplets from sneezing for a 65-year-old non-smoking man. In the current study, about one million drops from sneezing with an initial temperature of 35 degrees Celsius were injected inside the mouth, and the majority of these drops are small drops with a diameter of 4 to 16 microns. In this study, the k-ω SST turbulence model was used to investigate the flow, and the Euler-Lagrange approach with a one-way view was used to investigate the forces acting on the droplets and also the phase change of the droplets. For a human sneeze with a maximum flow rate of 553 liters per minute through the respiratory system with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 95% in an environment with an air pressure of one atmosphere, a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 65%, it was determined that the maximum amount of penetration belongs to large drops equal to 3 meters. While the highest amount of spread belongs to small drops equal to 1 meter and the results of droplet evaporation indicated that more than 95% of the droplets injected during sneezing evaporated at the end of 5 seconds.

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References

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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 55, Issue 1
April 2023
Pages 85-104

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