Source terms for benchmarking models of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via aerosols and droplets

Marc E J Stettler; Robert T Nishida; Pedro M de Oliveira; Léo C C Mesquita; Tyler J Johnson; Edwin R Galea; Angus Grandison; John Ewer; David Carruthers; David Sykes; Prashant Kumar; Eldad Avital; Asiri I B Obeysekara; Denis Doorly; Yannis Hardalupas; David C Green; Simon Coldrick; Simon Parker; Adam M Boies

doi:10.1098/rsos.212022

Source terms for benchmarking models of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via aerosols and droplets

R Soc Open Sci. 2022 May 4;9(5):212022. doi: 10.1098/rsos.212022. eCollection 2022 May.

Authors

Marc E J Stettler¹, Robert T Nishida², Pedro M de Oliveira³, Léo C C Mesquita³, Tyler J Johnson³, Edwin R Galea⁴, Angus Grandison⁴, John Ewer⁴, David Carruthers⁵, David Sykes⁶, Prashant Kumar⁷, Eldad Avital⁸, Asiri I B Obeysekara⁹, Denis Doorly¹⁰, Yannis Hardalupas¹¹, David C Green^{12

13}, Simon Coldrick¹⁴, Simon Parker¹⁵, Adam M Boies³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G8.
³ Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK.
⁴ Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, London SE10 9LS, UK.
⁵ Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants Ltd, 3 Kings Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SJ, UK.
⁶ AEROS Consultancy, Glasgow G3 8SE, UK.
⁷ Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
⁸ School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
⁹ Applied Modelling and Computation Group, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
¹¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
¹² MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London, Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub, London, W12 OBZ, UK.
¹³ NIHR HPRU in Environmental Exposures and Health, Imperial College London, Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub, London, W12 OBZ, UK.
¹⁴ Health and Safety Executive, Harpur Hill, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 9JN UK.
¹⁵ Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JQ, UK.

Abstract

There is ongoing and rapid advancement in approaches to modelling the fate of exhaled particles in different environments relevant to disease transmission. It is important that models are verified by comparison with each other using a common set of input parameters to ensure that model differences can be interpreted in terms of model physics rather than unspecified differences in model input parameters. In this paper, we define parameters necessary for such benchmarking of models of airborne particles exhaled by humans and transported in the environment during breathing and speaking.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; disease transmission; exhaled aerosols; model benchmarking; source terms.

Publication types

Review

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5958950

Grants and funding

MR/S019669/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom