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Cited by 474Infection Control and VentilationDental Research and COVID-19COVID-19 epidemiological studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 115 of the 117 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Modelling aerosol transport and virus exposure with numerical simulations in relation to SARS-CoV-2 transmission by inhalation indoors

Open access
Vuorinen, Ville, Aarnio, Mia, Alava, Mikko, Alopaeus, Ville, Atanasova, Nina, Auvinen, Mikko, Balasubramanian, Nallannan, Bordbar, Hadi, Erästö, Panu, Grande, Rafael, Hayward, Nick, Hellsten, Antti, Hostikka, Simo, Hokkanen, Jyrki, Kaario, Ossi, Karvinen, Aku, Kivistö, Ilkka, Korhonen, Marko, Kosonen, Risto, Kuusela, Janne, Lestinen, Sami, Laurila, Erkki, Nieminen, Heikki J., Peltonen, Petteri, Pokki, Juho, Puisto, Antti, Råback, Peter, Salmenjoki, Henri, Sironen, Tarja, Österberg, Monika·2020·Safety Science
DOI 10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104866PMC PMC7428778
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Abstract

We provide research findings on the physics of aerosol and droplet dispersion relevant to the hypothesized aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the current pandemic. We utilize physics-based modeling at different levels of complexity, along with previous literature on coronaviruses, to investigate the possibility of airborne transmission. The previous literature, our 0D-3D simulations by various physics-based models, and theoretical calculations, indicate that the typical size range of speech and cough originated droplets (d⩽20μm) allows lingering in the air for O(1h) so that they could be inhaled. Consistent with the previous literature, numerical evidence on the rapid drying process of even large droplets, up to sizes O(100μm), into droplet nuclei/aerosols is provided. Based on the literature and the public media sources, we provide evidence that the individuals, who have been tested positive on COVID-19, could have been exposed to aerosols/droplet nuclei by inhaling them in significant numbers e.g. O(100). By 3D scale-resolving computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, we give various examples on the transport and dilution of aerosols (d⩽20μm) over distances O(10m) in generic environments. We study susceptible and infected individuals in generic public places by Monte-Carlo modelling. The developed model takes into account the locally varying aerosol concentration levels which the susceptible accumulate via inhalation. The introduced concept, ’exposure time’ to virus containing aerosols is proposed to complement the traditional ’safety distance’ thinking. We show that the exposure time to inhale O(100) aerosols could range from O(1s) to O(1min) or even to O(1h) depending on the situation. The Monte-Carlo simulations, along with the theory, provide clear quantitative insight to the exposure time in different public indoor environments.

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Show all 117 references

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Macher, J., 1999. Bioaerosols: Assessment and Control. ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).
  2. Seymour, M.J., Alani, A., Manning, A., Jiang, J., 2000. Airflow modelling to investigate the effectiveness of control methods intended to prevent the transmission of airborne organisms. In: Awbi, H.B. (Ed.), Air Distribution in Rooms, (ROOMVENT 2000), pp. 77–82.

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Metadata

Authors
Vuorinen, V., Aarnio, M., Alava, M., Alopaeus, V., Atanasova, N., Auvinen, M., Balasubramanian, N., Bordbar, H., Erästö, P., Grande, R., Hayward, N., Hellsten, A., Hostikka, S., Hokkanen, J., Kaario, O., Karvinen, A., Kivistö, I., Korhonen, M., Kosonen, R., Kuusela, J., Lestinen, S., Laurila, E., Nieminen, H. J., Peltonen, P., Pokki, J., Puisto, A., Råback, P., Salmenjoki, H., Sironen, T., & Österberg, M.
Affiliations
  • Aalto University (FI)
  • Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI)
  • CSC - IT Center for Science (Finland) (FI)
  • VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (FI)
  • Mikkelin keskussairaala (FI)
  • University of Helsinki (FI)
Corresponding author
Vuorinen, Ville
ORCID
Venue
Safety Science
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-10
Volume
130
Pages
104866
ISSN
0925-7535 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104866
PMC
PMC7428778
OpenAlex
W3029277938
Cited by
472
References
117
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 72 · 2022: 100 · 2021: 152 · 2020: 36
FWCI
50.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Safety Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • Aaltodoc (Aalto University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (cc-by)
Funders
  • Academy of Finland (314487, 309570)
  • Scientific Advisory Board for Defense (VN/627/2020-PLM-9)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Infection Control and Ventilation
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › General Dentistry › Dental Research and COVID-19
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2, airborne transmission, aerosol transport, droplet dispersion, droplet nuclei, droplet drying, indoor transmission, exposure time, aerosol dilution, computational fluid dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation, COVID-19 pandemic, safety distance

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