Numerical study of passenger thermal effects on the transport characteristics of exhaled droplets in an airliner cabin

Recalling the previous global outbreaks of SARS and H1N1 spread in airliner cabins, the transport characteristics of pathogen-carrying droplets through the cabin air need to be investigated and the crucial impacting factors need to be understood. In this study, CFD computations were conducted using the Eulerian-Lagrangian model and the passenger thermal effects on the droplets transport were studied and compared under isothermal and thermal conditions. Obvious thermal buoyancy flow was observed above the passengers under thermal conditions, whist it was failed to be predicted under isothermal conditions. The outcomes show that the passenger body heat significantly changed the overall airflow pattern and thereby it is crucial to consider the thermal plume effects in airliner cabins. Also, the exhaled droplets have a certain possibility to be locked up in the breathing zone due to the uprising thermal plume against the descending ventilation airflow, which would increase the exposure risk of passengers.