The Build-Up of Aerosols Carrying the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus, in Poorly Ventilated, Confined Spaces
A model of the distribution of respiratory droplets and aerosols by Lagrangian turbulent air-flow is developed and used to show how the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus can be dispersed by the breathing of an infected person. It is shown that the concentration of viruses in the exhaled cloud can increase to infectious levels with time (grow linearly), in a confined space where the air re-circulates. The model is used to analyze the air-flow and SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus build-up in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China 23, 21. It is concluded that the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the restaurant in January 2020, is due to the build-up of the airborne droplets and aerosols carrying the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and would not have been pre- vented by standard ventilation. A comparison with standard models for aerosol concentration shows that, in the absence of ventilation, the decay of the aerosol concentration is also con- trolled by the decay time of the virions in aerosols. This decay time is very long and a steady state is not achieved in the time-frame of the contagion. Instead the concentration exhibits a polynomial increase and reaches infectious levels in a relatively short time, explaining the outbreak in the restaurant in Guangzhou.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 11
Figure 11
Figure 11
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the latest manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Posted 02 Dec, 2020
The Build-Up of Aerosols Carrying the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus, in Poorly Ventilated, Confined Spaces
Posted 02 Dec, 2020
A model of the distribution of respiratory droplets and aerosols by Lagrangian turbulent air-flow is developed and used to show how the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus can be dispersed by the breathing of an infected person. It is shown that the concentration of viruses in the exhaled cloud can increase to infectious levels with time (grow linearly), in a confined space where the air re-circulates. The model is used to analyze the air-flow and SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus build-up in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China 23, 21. It is concluded that the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the restaurant in January 2020, is due to the build-up of the airborne droplets and aerosols carrying the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and would not have been pre- vented by standard ventilation. A comparison with standard models for aerosol concentration shows that, in the absence of ventilation, the decay of the aerosol concentration is also con- trolled by the decay time of the virions in aerosols. This decay time is very long and a steady state is not achieved in the time-frame of the contagion. Instead the concentration exhibits a polynomial increase and reaches infectious levels in a relatively short time, explaining the outbreak in the restaurant in Guangzhou.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 11
Figure 11
Figure 11
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the latest manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.