Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages
The environment inside subway carriages is relatively enclosed, putting passengers at risk of respiratory infections during viral pandemics such as COVID-19 and SARS. This paper uses the Euler–Lagrange method to simulate the distribution of droplet nuclei produced by coughing under six different ope...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Applied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/4919 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850155792894787584 |
|---|---|
| author | Xinkai Wu Rui Ling Xingyu Wan Haihua Ren Xuerun Jing Guozeng Feng |
| author_facet | Xinkai Wu Rui Ling Xingyu Wan Haihua Ren Xuerun Jing Guozeng Feng |
| author_sort | Xinkai Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The environment inside subway carriages is relatively enclosed, putting passengers at risk of respiratory infections during viral pandemics such as COVID-19 and SARS. This paper uses the Euler–Lagrange method to simulate the distribution of droplet nuclei produced by coughing under six different operating conditions in a subway carriage. The study investigates the impact of different air supply characteristics and ventilation methods, including mixed ventilation (MV), floor-supply, and ceiling-return ventilation (SFRC), on the distribution of droplets. These results indicate that under MV mode, the dispersion range of droplets during a patient’s cough is the largest, with an average droplet suspension rate (SR) of up to 77% at the initial moment. The SFRC system markedly diminishes droplet dispersion, decreasing the SR by 35%. Upon increasing the air supply velocity to 0.8 m/s, the SR diminishes to 6%, the probability of particles attaining a 2 m social distance (PRP) declines by roughly 70%, and the weighted average contamination range (CR) of coughing particles reaching a safe social distance reduces by 33.5%. These results may act as a guide for the subsequent design and optimization of airflow patterns in carriages to reduce the risk of cross-infection. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac0e55d9645e4fe9b1ad0801178ff1d9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac0e55d9645e4fe9b1ad0801178ff1d92025-08-20T02:24:47ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01159491910.3390/app15094919Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway CarriagesXinkai Wu0Rui Ling1Xingyu Wan2Haihua Ren3Xuerun Jing4Guozeng Feng5School of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212000, ChinaThe environment inside subway carriages is relatively enclosed, putting passengers at risk of respiratory infections during viral pandemics such as COVID-19 and SARS. This paper uses the Euler–Lagrange method to simulate the distribution of droplet nuclei produced by coughing under six different operating conditions in a subway carriage. The study investigates the impact of different air supply characteristics and ventilation methods, including mixed ventilation (MV), floor-supply, and ceiling-return ventilation (SFRC), on the distribution of droplets. These results indicate that under MV mode, the dispersion range of droplets during a patient’s cough is the largest, with an average droplet suspension rate (SR) of up to 77% at the initial moment. The SFRC system markedly diminishes droplet dispersion, decreasing the SR by 35%. Upon increasing the air supply velocity to 0.8 m/s, the SR diminishes to 6%, the probability of particles attaining a 2 m social distance (PRP) declines by roughly 70%, and the weighted average contamination range (CR) of coughing particles reaching a safe social distance reduces by 33.5%. These results may act as a guide for the subsequent design and optimization of airflow patterns in carriages to reduce the risk of cross-infection.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/4919human coughing droplet nucleiairborne spreadsubway carriageventilationinfection risk |
| spellingShingle | Xinkai Wu Rui Ling Xingyu Wan Haihua Ren Xuerun Jing Guozeng Feng Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages Applied Sciences human coughing droplet nuclei airborne spread subway carriage ventilation infection risk |
| title | Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages |
| title_full | Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages |
| title_fullStr | Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages |
| title_short | Study on the Impact of Ventilation Methods on Droplet Nuclei Transmission in Subway Carriages |
| title_sort | study on the impact of ventilation methods on droplet nuclei transmission in subway carriages |
| topic | human coughing droplet nuclei airborne spread subway carriage ventilation infection risk |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/4919 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xinkaiwu studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages AT ruiling studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages AT xingyuwan studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages AT haihuaren studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages AT xuerunjing studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages AT guozengfeng studyontheimpactofventilationmethodsondropletnucleitransmissioninsubwaycarriages |