About Aerosols
SARS-CoV-2 has accounted for over 36 million infections and over 1 million deaths worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic. There is increasing evidence that aerosol transmission plays a significant role in the spread of the virus. Aerosols are variably defined by size but are generally accepted to be particles of less than 5um (5000nm). They are distinct from larger droplets which tend to settle on surfaces within seconds to minutes, traveling significant distances suspended in air, near indefinitely and can remain viable for prolonged periods.
COVID-19 Aerosols
Viral particles are generally thought to be around 50-150nm in size. Typical aerosols with viral content are likely to be larger than this but there is little experimental data to make an accurate determination from the literature.
Propylene Glycol Aerosols
During the investigations detailed in this project, 100% Propylene Glycol (PG) was used as our chosen tracer aerosol.
Particle sizes of Propylene Glycol (PG) measure in the range of 145-175nm (Oldham et al., 2018; Son et al., 2020; Sosnowski & Odziomek, 2018) once vapourized; around the same size as a single SARS-Cov-19 virion. PG particles are neutrally buoyant, and will behave in airflows in a fashion typical of most aerosol particles i.e condense/evaporate, take on water thermodyniacls , (much like human derived aerosols).
PG was vaporised using an E-cigarette coil device which is mounted via a T piece into the mannequin trachea. Please refer to the tab regarding e-cigarette for further details