Computational fluid dynamics modeling of cough transport in an aircraft cabin

• Published in: Scientific reports 2021-12, Vol.11 (1), p.23329-10, Article 23329
• Main Authors: Zee, Malia, Davis, Angela C., Clark, Andrew D., Wu, Tateh, Jones, Stephen P., Waite, Lindsay L., Cummins, Joshua J., Olson, Nels A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/443/1784; 639/766/189; 692/699/1785; Air Movements; Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Air transportation; Aircraft; Aircraft - instrumentation; Computer applications; Computer Simulation; Cough; Cough - pathology; Fluid dynamics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hydrodynamics; Lung - physiopathology; multidisciplinary; Respiratory diseases; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02663-8

To characterize the transport of respiratory pathogens during commercial air travel, Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were performed to track particles expelled by coughing by a passenger assigned to different seats on a Boeing 737 aircraft. Simulation data were post-processed to calculate the amounts of particles inhaled by nearby passengers. Different airflow rates were used, as well as different initial conditions to account for random fluctuations of the flow field. Overall, 80% of the particles were removed from the cabin in 1.3–2.6 min, depending on conditions, and 95% of the particles were removed in 2.4–4.6 min. Reducing airflow increased particle dispersion throughout the cabin but did not increase the highest exposure of nearby passengers. The highest exposure was 0.3% of the nonvolatile mass expelled by the cough, and the median exposure for seats within 3 feet of the cough discharge was 0.1%, which was in line with recent experimental testing.