Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
A recent study called the air flow patterns inside car can affect transmission corona virus (Covid-19) and other airborne pathogens. The study from Brown University in the United States was conducted using computer simulations.
The study looked at the risk of aerosol particles being split between drivers and passengers when opening and closing car windows.
The study results suggest a higher risk of transmission if all car windows are closed. Transmission decreases every time the car window is opened. The lowest transmission is when all car windows are open.
This study studies the air flow patterns in the passenger cabin of the car. The study used a computer model to simulate airflow in a car with various combinations of open or closed windows.
The simulation shows that the more windows that are open, the better it will be to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Driving with the windows open and the air conditioning or heating on is definitely the worst case scenario, according to our computer simulations,” said one of the study’s lead authors, Asimanshu Das.
Das, who is also a graduate student at Brown University, said the open windows create airflow patterns that dramatically reduce the concentration of particles in the air between passengers and drivers.
“The best case scenario we found was to open all four windows, but opening one or two windows is much better than closing all of them,” said Das.
The computer model used in this study simulates a Toyota Prius, with two people in it.
The two people are the driver and passenger who sit in the back seat on opposite sides of the driver. The researchers chose the seating arrangement because it maximizes physical distance between two people.
The model simulates airflow around and inside a car moving at a speed of 80km per hour. The model also simulates the movement and concentration of aerosols emanating from the driver and passenger.
Aerosols are small particles that can stay in the air for a long time. They are considered to be a way of transmitting Covid-19, especially in closed spaces.
One of the reasons that opening windows is better in terms of aerosol transmission is because it increases the number of air changes per hour (ACH) in the car.
ACH helps reduce the overall aerosol concentration.
Studies also show that different combinations of open windows create different airflow in the car, which can increase or decrease remaining aerosol exposure.
Two streams of wind will occur when all windows are open. Since the passengers in the simulation sit on opposite sides of the cabin, very few particles are eventually moved between the two.
The driver in this scenario is at a slightly higher risk than the passenger because the average airflow in the car flows from the rear to the front, but both passengers experience significantly lower particle displacement compared to the other scenarios.
Meanwhile, the position of the open window also affects aerosol exposure. The study found that the risk of exposure when opening a window opposite a passenger is lower than opening a window next to a passenger.
That wind flow pattern helps reduce cross-contamination between driver and passenger.
“When the window on the opposite side of the passenger is open, you get a flow that enters the car behind the driver, sweeping the cabin behind the passenger and then out of the front passenger side window,” said Kenny Breuer, a professor of engineering at Brown and author of the study.
Reporting from Phys, these findings are limited to the potential for exposure to aerosols that may contain pathogens. Reporting from Science Mags, the study did not model respiratory droplets or droplets.
(jnp / wis)
– .
