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Numerical Modeling of Face Shield Protection against a Sneeze

Author

Listed:
  • Ainara Ugarte-Anero

    (Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 Araba, Spain)

  • Unai Fernandez-Gamiz

    (Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 Araba, Spain)

  • Iñigo Aramendia

    (Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 Araba, Spain)

  • Ekaitz Zulueta

    (System Engineering and Automation Control Department, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 Araba, Spain)

  • Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede

    (System Engineering and Automation Control Department, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 Araba, Spain)

Abstract

The protection provided by wearing masks has been a guideline worldwide to prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection. The current work presents an investigation that analyzes the effectiveness of face shields as personal protective equipment. To that end, a multiphase computational fluid dynamic study based on Eulerian–Lagrangian techniques was defined to simulate the spread of the droplets produced by a sneeze. Different scenarios were evaluated where the relative humidity, ambient temperature, evaporation, mass transfer, break up, and turbulent dispersion were taken into account. The saliva that the human body generates was modeled as a saline solution of 8.8 g per 100 mL. In addition, the influence of the wind speed was studied with a soft breeze of 7 km/h and a moderate wind of 14 km/h. The results indicate that the face shield does not provide accurate protection, because only the person who is sneezed on is protected. Moreover, with a wind of 14 km/h, none of the droplets exhaled into the environment hit the face shield, instead, they were deposited onto the neck and face of the wearer. In the presence of an airflow, the droplets exhaled into the environment exceeded the safe distance marked by the WHO. Relative humidity and ambient temperature play an important role in the lifetime of the droplets.

Suggested Citation

  • Ainara Ugarte-Anero & Unai Fernandez-Gamiz & Iñigo Aramendia & Ekaitz Zulueta & Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede, 2021. "Numerical Modeling of Face Shield Protection against a Sneeze," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(13), pages 1-15, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:9:y:2021:i:13:p:1582-:d:589052
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael R. Booty, 2023. "Preface to the Special Issue on “Computational Mechanics in Engineering Mathematics”," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-3, February.

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