Study of SARS transmission via liquid droplets in air

Abstract

Microscale liquid droplets could act as the SARS carriers in air when released from an infected person through breathing, coughing, or sneezing. In this study, a dynamic model has been built to quantitatively investigate the effect of the relative humidity on the transport of liquid droplets in air using coupled mass transfer and momentum equations. Under higher relative humidity, the exhaled liquid droplets evaporate slowly. Larger droplets fall faster, which could reduce the probability of the droplets inhalation. This may be one of the most important factors that influence the SARS transmission in air. Copyright © 2005 by ASME.