Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations
Abstract Aircraft cabins have high‐performance ventilation systems, yet typically hold many persons in close proximity for long durations. The current study estimated airborne virus exposure and infection reductions when middle seats are vacant compared to full occupancy and when passengers wear sur...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Engineering Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12582 |
| _version_ | 1797854150954844160 |
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| author | James S. Bennett Seif Mahmoud Watts Dietrich Byron Jones Mohammad Hosni |
| author_facet | James S. Bennett Seif Mahmoud Watts Dietrich Byron Jones Mohammad Hosni |
| author_sort | James S. Bennett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Aircraft cabins have high‐performance ventilation systems, yet typically hold many persons in close proximity for long durations. The current study estimated airborne virus exposure and infection reductions when middle seats are vacant compared to full occupancy and when passengers wear surgical masks in aircraft. Tracer particle data reported by U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and CFD simulations reported by Boeing were used along with NIOSH data, to build nonlinear regression models with particle exposure and distance from particle source as variables. These models that estimate exposure at given distances from the viral source were applied to evaluate exposure reductions from vacant middle seats. Reductions averaged 54% for the seat row where an infectious passenger is located and 36% for a 24‐row cabin containing one infectious passenger, with middle seats vacant. Analysis of the TRANSCOM data showed that universal masking (surgical masks) reduced exposures by 62% and showed masking and physical distancing provide further reductions when practiced together. For a notional scenario involving 10 infectious passengers, compared with no intervention, masking, distancing, and both would prevent 6.2, 3.8, and 7.6 secondary infections, respectively, using the Wells–Riley equation. These results suggest distancing alone, masking alone, and these practiced together reduce SARS CoV‐2 exposure risk in increasing order of effectiveness, when an infectious passenger is present. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:02:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a9cb63fa06446e0ad45b29199b0731f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2577-8196 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T20:02:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Engineering Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a9cb63fa06446e0ad45b29199b0731f2023-04-03T04:20:57ZengWileyEngineering Reports2577-81962023-04-0154n/an/a10.1002/eng2.12582Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulationsJames S. Bennett0Seif Mahmoud1Watts Dietrich2Byron Jones3Mohammad Hosni4Division of Field Studies and Engineering National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC Cincinnati Ohio USADivision of Field Studies and Engineering National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC Cincinnati Ohio USADivision of Field Studies and Engineering National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC Cincinnati Ohio USADepartment of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas USADepartment of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas USAAbstract Aircraft cabins have high‐performance ventilation systems, yet typically hold many persons in close proximity for long durations. The current study estimated airborne virus exposure and infection reductions when middle seats are vacant compared to full occupancy and when passengers wear surgical masks in aircraft. Tracer particle data reported by U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and CFD simulations reported by Boeing were used along with NIOSH data, to build nonlinear regression models with particle exposure and distance from particle source as variables. These models that estimate exposure at given distances from the viral source were applied to evaluate exposure reductions from vacant middle seats. Reductions averaged 54% for the seat row where an infectious passenger is located and 36% for a 24‐row cabin containing one infectious passenger, with middle seats vacant. Analysis of the TRANSCOM data showed that universal masking (surgical masks) reduced exposures by 62% and showed masking and physical distancing provide further reductions when practiced together. For a notional scenario involving 10 infectious passengers, compared with no intervention, masking, distancing, and both would prevent 6.2, 3.8, and 7.6 secondary infections, respectively, using the Wells–Riley equation. These results suggest distancing alone, masking alone, and these practiced together reduce SARS CoV‐2 exposure risk in increasing order of effectiveness, when an infectious passenger is present.https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12582aircraft cabinCOVID‐19mask wearingMS2 virustracer particlesvacant middle seat |
| spellingShingle | James S. Bennett Seif Mahmoud Watts Dietrich Byron Jones Mohammad Hosni Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations Engineering Reports aircraft cabin COVID‐19 mask wearing MS2 virus tracer particles vacant middle seat |
| title | Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| title_full | Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| title_short | Evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as Coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| title_sort | evaluating vacant middle seats and masks as coronavirus exposure reduction strategies in aircraft cabins using particle tracer experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations |
| topic | aircraft cabin COVID‐19 mask wearing MS2 virus tracer particles vacant middle seat |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12582 |
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