Sharma, S and Pinto, R and Saha, A and Chaudhuri, S and Basu, S (2021) On secondary atomization and blockage of surrogate cough droplets in single- And multilayer face masks. In: Science Advances, 7 (10).
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Abstract
Face masks prevent transmission of infectious respiratory diseases by blocking large droplets and aerosols during exhalation or inhalation. While three-layer masks are generally advised, many commonly available or makeshift masks contain single or double layers. Using carefully designed experiments involving high-speed imaging along with physics-based analysis, we show that high-momentum, large-sized (>250 micrometer) surrogate cough droplets can penetrate single- or double-layer mask material to a significant extent. The penetrated droplets can atomize into numerous much smaller (<100 micrometer) droplets, which could remain airborne for a significant time. The possibility of secondary atomization of high-momentum cough droplets by hydrodynamic focusing and extrusion through the microscale pores in the fibrous network of the single/double-layer mask material needs to be considered in determining mask efficacy. Three-layer masks can effectively block these droplets and thus could be ubiquitously used as a key tool against COVID-19 or similar respiratory diseases. Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved;
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Science Advances |
| Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Additional Information: | The copyright for this article belongs to Authors |
| Keywords: | Atomization; Micrometers; Pulmonary diseases, Designed experiments; Double layers; Fibrous networks; High speed imaging; Hydrodynamic focusing; Mask materials; Physics-based analysis; Secondary atomization, Drops |
| Department/Centre: | Division of Mechanical Sciences > Mechanical Engineering |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Apr 2021 06:56 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Apr 2021 06:56 |
| URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/68510 |
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