Constant vs. cyclic flow when testing face masks and respirators as source control devices for simulated respiratory aerosols.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 spreads by infectious aerosols and droplets from the respiratory tract. Masks and respirators can reduce the transmission of infectious respiratory diseases by collecting these aerosols at the source. The ability of source control devices to block aerosols can be tested by expelling an aerosol through a headform using constant airflows, which are simpler, or cyclic airflows, which are more realistic but require more complex methods. Experiments with respirators found that using cyclic vs. constant flows affected the amount of aerosol inhaled, but similar comparisons have not been made for source control devices with exhaled aerosols. We measured the collection efficiencies for exhaled aerosols for two cloth masks, two medical masks with and without an elastic mask brace, a neck

SUBMITTER: Lindsley WG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10194085 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature