Publication Date
2021
Journal or Book Title
SCIENCE ADVANCES
Abstract
Transmission of highly infectious respiratory diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, is facilitated by the transport of exhaled droplets and aerosols that can remain suspended in air for extended periods of time. A passenger car cabin represents one such situation with an elevated risk of pathogen transmission. Here, we present results from numerical simulations to assess how the in-cabin microclimate of a car can potentially spread pathogenic species between occupants for a variety of open and closed window configurations. We estimate relative concentrations and residence times of a noninteracting, passive scalar-a proxy for infectious particles-being advected and diffused by turbulent airflows inside the cabin. An airflow pattern that travels across the cabin, farthest from the occupants, can potentially reduce the transmission risk. Our findings reveal the complex fluid dynamics during everyday commutes and nonintuitive ways in which open windows can either increase or suppress airborne transmission.
ISSN
2375-2548
ORCID
Breuer, Kenneth/0000-0002-5122-2231; Das, Asimanshu/0000-0002-0667-2823
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe0166
Volume
7
Issue
1
License
UMass Amherst Open Access Policy
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Funder
University of Massachusetts Amherst start-up funds; U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center; Brown University institutional funds
Recommended Citation
Mathai, Varghese; Das, Asimanshu; Bailey, Jeffery A.; and Breuer, Kenneth, "Airflows Inside Passenger Cars and Implications for Airborne Disease Transmission" (2021). SCIENCE ADVANCES. 1292.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe0166