Numerical investigations of exhaling respiratory aerosol from inside of the human respiratory tract

Numerical investigations of exhaling respiratory aerosol from inside of the human respiratory tract | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Numerical investigations of exhaling respiratory aerosol from inside of the human respiratory tract YaNing Feng, JinTao Wang, XinGuang Cui This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3916355/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Abstract: The characteristics of exhaled aerosol outside the human respiratory airway are of significant importance in understanding virus transmission, yet they remain poorly understood. In order to effectively prevent and control the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, this study numerically investigates the exhaling characteristics of respiratory aerosol exhaled from the bronchus or larynx of a human upper airway model. This is achieved using the Euler-Lagrange method and considering various aerosol diameters ( dp =0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1-20 μm) as well as five expiratory flow intensities ( Q =15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 L/min). The important findings of this study are as follows: (1) Expiratory airflow exhibits complex flow phenomena, including jet-flow, flow separations, and vortex structures, with their characteristics being influenced by the expiratory flow intensities. (2) The exhaling characteristics of aerosol vary depending on the combined effects of expiratory flow intensities, aerosol diameters, and initial exhaled locations from either the bronchus or larynx. (3) A critical diameter ( d c ) is identified to represent the size at which aerosol can effectively exit the respiratory airway and potentially pose a transmission risk. This critical diameter is identical for aerosol exhaled from both the bronchus and larynx under the same expiratory flow intensity, but it decreases as the expiratory flow intensity increases. In conclusion, expiratory flow intensity is the most critical factor in determining whether aerosol droplets can be expelled from the respiratory airway, as well as influencing the critical diameter ( d c ) for aerosol droplets initially located in/after the larynx. critical exhaled aerosol diameter exhaled aerosol fraction human respiratory airway Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Minor revisions 14 Apr, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Mar, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Feb, 2024 Editor invited by journal 08 Feb, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 06 Feb, 2024 First submitted to journal 30 Jan, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3916355","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":275541260,"identity":"4214a821-5a96-4e91-a519-678c16fb13f8","order_by":0,"name":"YaNing Feng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Huazhong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"YaNing","middleName":"","lastName":"Feng","suffix":""},{"id":275541261,"identity":"20d3ef50-12b5-423f-9d2d-79932056dcee","order_by":1,"name":"JinTao Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Huazhong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"JinTao","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":275541262,"identity":"f9b06472-f8b4-4c60-93f4-4d957d468ad3","order_by":2,"name":"XinGuang Cui","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Huazhong University of Science and Technology - Main Campus: Huazhong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"XinGuang","middleName":"","lastName":"Cui","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-01 06:59:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3916355/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3916355/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":51939722,"identity":"c9de3ee2-3f3d-40a3-9c41-c6fdb81c8c72","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-04 08:45:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1842521,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3916355/v1_covered_688d5384-e1c1-4a7d-9480-7f4a25eea6ab.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Numerical investigations of exhaling respiratory aerosol from inside of the human respiratory tract","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"aerosol-science-and-engineering","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"asen","sideBox":"Learn more about [Aerosol Science and Engineering](https://link.springer.com/journal/41810)","snPcode":"41810","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/asen/default2.aspx","title":"Aerosol Science and Engineering","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"critical exhaled aerosol diameter, exhaled aerosol fraction, human respiratory airway","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3916355/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3916355/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAbstract: The characteristics of exhaled aerosol outside the human respiratory airway are of significant importance in understanding virus transmission, yet they remain poorly understood. In order to effectively prevent and control the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, this study numerically investigates the exhaling characteristics of respiratory aerosol exhaled from the bronchus or larynx of a human upper airway model. This is achieved using the Euler-Lagrange method and considering various aerosol diameters (\u003cem\u003edp\u003c/em\u003e=0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1-20 μm) as well as five expiratory flow intensities (\u003cem\u003eQ\u003c/em\u003e=15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 L/min). The important findings of this study are as follows: (1) Expiratory airflow exhibits complex flow phenomena, including jet-flow, flow separations, and vortex structures, with their characteristics being influenced by the expiratory flow intensities. (2) The exhaling characteristics of aerosol vary depending on the combined effects of expiratory flow intensities, aerosol diameters, and initial exhaled locations from either the bronchus or larynx. 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