Open your windows during Christmas dinner: the simulation shows fresh air wiping away coronavirus particles in a dining room
- Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence experts in Japan performed the simulation
- See what happens to particles expelled from an infected person’s mouth
- Opening windows and doors to improve ventilation has a significant impact on the number of infectious particles in the room
A shocking new video shows the risks people take when dining for Christmas with someone who lives in a different household.
It shows how coronavirus particles expelled from a person’s mouth circulate and infect other people in a typical UK dining room.
Experts from Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence in Japan created a model to show the risk an asymptomatic person poses to other people at a table.
The engineers hope their simulation can help individuals and families assess the risk of intermingling during the holiday season.
The researchers worked on room dimensions of 16 feet by 12 feet (4.9 mx 3.7 m) and ran two versions of their simulation, with the room without ventilation (left) and another with two windows and an open door for ten minutes each was closed long (left) right)
The researchers worked on room dimensions of 16 feet by 12 feet (4.9 m by 3.7 m) and ran two versions of their simulation, with the room closed with no ventilation and another with two windows and an open door for ten minutes each .
In the videos, the researchers record the particles that are expelled from a person’s mouth when they breathe and speak regularly.
This results in a relatively wide spread of particles by pedestrians compared to coughing or sneezing.
“Hexagon engineers in Japan created the simulation as part of a public education campaign to educate authorities and the general public on how best to protect themselves and each other from COVID-19 transmission,” said Keith Perrin, Industry Director of Hexagon. towards MailOnline.
“As Japanese, they were used to social distancing and wearing PPE when they were sick. So they were fascinated by other attitudes.”
Heat from radiators, food, and people sitting at a dining table pushes particles toward the ceiling, but if there isn’t enough ventilation, they can’t escape and have to come back and swirl around the room.
With sufficient ventilation through the open window, however, the particles are almost immediately sucked off and kept away from other people.
“Good ventilation is key – just make sure that as many windows and doors as possible are open so air can circulate and particles don’t build up,” Perrin said.
In the videos, the researchers record the particles that are expelled from a person’s mouth when they breathe and speak regularly. This results in a relatively wide spread of particles by pedestrians compared to coughing or sneezing
Heat from radiators, food, and people sitting at a dining table pushes particles toward the ceiling, but if there isn’t enough ventilation, they can’t escape and have to come back and swirl around the room
With adequate ventilation through open windows, infectious particles are sucked up by other people almost immediately
“Social distancing is important regardless of ventilation in the room, but it is not fail-safe. The unventilated simulation shows that the number of infected particles builds up and goes beyond the recommended minimum distance of 2 m, so airflow in the room is very important to maximize the effectiveness of social distancing.
“At the end of the segment, however, there are some elements that compare the effect of an open window.”
He reveals that according to their calculations, an infected person would infect another six people in an unventilated room.
However, statistically, in a ventilated average dining room, no one else would be infected.
‘That simple effort results in a significant statistical change.
“To give you an idea, mathematically speaking, 215 fewer people are infected over three iterations of transmission under similar conditions!” he says.
“Our studies show that it is not about the” when “of the transmission, but about the” when “.”
The Hexagon team has used its expertise throughout the pandemic to show people how invisible droplets and aerosols can spread without people knowing.
One of her videos shows how better suppressing a sneeze with one elbow is than not stopping it at all, but can still endanger people nearby.
Another visualization showed what can happen if a person doesn’t wear a mask on the tube or train.
How entering a narrow corridor BEHIND an infected person increases the risk of getting Covid-19
According to one study, coronavirus particles ejected from a person’s uncovered mouth in a confined space like a corridor can linger for several seconds behind them.
The result comes from computer simulations showing how particles behave after they have been coughed up by someone walking forward.
Swirling air and eddies allow the particles to float in the air at waist height up to five meters behind the infected person, creating significant problems for social distancing and increasing the risk of infection for children.
As an example, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing used a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) man walking at 1.5 m / s (3.5 miles per hour).
They modeled what would happen if he coughed without a face mask both in wide open spaces and in a narrow corridor.
Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on the spread of infectious particles in unconstrained locations. This new study examined how the behavior of particles differs when they are physically written.
They found that airborne droplets carrying the deadly virus follow a certain pattern known as “detached mode” when walking in a confined space.
Computer visualizations show that particles are thrown behind a person by the air currents created when walking. A cloud of droplets separates from the body and forms a floating clump of infectious aerosols several feet behind the individual.
