Numerical simulation of indoor human sneezing

Transient numerical simulations have been carried out to mimic and analyse the transmission of various species resulting from human sneezing. The extent of the spread of sneezed air and associated droplets is also investigated based on various parameters. A 2D geometry of the human face is considered that captures the true topology and the outlet characteristics of the exhaled air mixture. Numerous parameters are required to be considered to capture the out-coming mixture trajectory and to track its concentration evolution as it enters and entrains with the surrounding air. These parameters include the velocity of the exhaled air mixture, the extent of mouth opening, the distribution of the mixture fraction, and its mist content. A multi-species Eulerian flow with discrete phase Lagrangian particles is considered. The results include the spatial and temporal distributions of the species and their velocity contour plots. Specifically, the concentration of the exhaled species is captured both spatially and temporally at several hypothetical stations within the computational domain, and away from the source to substantiate/refute the current recommended social distance parameter.