Numerical study on the onset of global-scale flow from individual buoyant plumes: Implications for indoor disease transmission

Abstract

Transport of exhaled droplets and aerosol suspension is a main route for the transmission of highly infectious respiratory diseases. A poorly ventilated room, where human body heat drives the flow and the pathogen motion, is one such paradigmatic situation with an elevated risk of viral transmission. Here, we report a numerical study on human body heat-driven buoyancy convection in a slender rectangular geometry with the geometric size of 12 × 1 × 3 m3. Using large-scale three-dimensional simulations, we reveal how different spacings between human body heat sources can potentially spread pathogenic species between occupants in a room. Morphological transition in airflow takes place as the distance between human heat sources is varied, which shapes distinct patterns of disease transmission: For sufficiently large distance, individual buoyant plume creates a natural barrier, forming buoyant jets that block suspension spread between occupants. Thermal plumes exhibit significant individual effects. However, for small distances, a collective effect emerges and thermal plumes condense into superstructure, facilitating long-distance suspension transport via crossing between convection rolls. In addition, we quantify the impact of morphological transition on the transport of viral particles by introducing tracer particles. The quantitative analysis shows that under certain critical distances, the infection risk becomes significantly elevated due to this transition and collective behavior. Our findings highlight the importance of reasonable social distancing to reduce indoor cross-transmission of viral particles between people and provide new insights into the hidden transitional behavior of pathogen transmission in indoor environments.