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Modeling of face mask flow and droplet filtration

Xu, Shijie ; Xu, Leilei ; Szász, Robert-Zoltán LU ; Bai, Xue-Song LU ; Larsson, Sofia ; Gren, Per ; Sjödahl, Mikael ; Wahl, Joel ; Mihaescu, Mihai and Laudato, Marco , et al. (2025) p.283-290
Abstract
This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of liquid droplet/air two-phase flow through face masks. The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the droplet filtration process, generate experimental data for modeling droplet/air two-phase flow across face masks, and develop and validate numerical models to simulate droplet motion through the mask and downstream. Droplet interception and collection in the mask are investigated by detailed lattice Boltzmann simulations. Experiments are conducted in a branching pipe rig to measure filtration efficiency and droplet distribution at the outlet. The numerical models are applied to predict droplet motion within the experimental setup, demonstrating good agreement in terms... (More)
This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of liquid droplet/air two-phase flow through face masks. The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the droplet filtration process, generate experimental data for modeling droplet/air two-phase flow across face masks, and develop and validate numerical models to simulate droplet motion through the mask and downstream. Droplet interception and collection in the mask are investigated by detailed lattice Boltzmann simulations. Experiments are conducted in a branching pipe rig to measure filtration efficiency and droplet distribution at the outlet. The numerical models are applied to predict droplet motion within the experimental setup, demonstrating good agreement in terms of droplet emissions. The model is further employed to simulate airflow and droplet behavior around a human face during coughing. The results reveal a significant reduction in flow velocity across the face mask and more than a 60% decrease in droplet penetration distance. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Proceedings of the Conference on Modelling Fluid Flow : CMFF’25 - CMFF’25
editor
Vad, J.
article number
CMFF25-046
pages
8 pages
publisher
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
ISBN
978-615-112-002-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
06dfceb0-1a8e-4ee6-8783-092639f3be45
date added to LUP
2025-09-16 14:41:23
date last changed
2025-09-30 15:33:42
@inproceedings{06dfceb0-1a8e-4ee6-8783-092639f3be45,
  abstract     = {{This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of liquid droplet/air two-phase flow through face masks. The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the droplet filtration process, generate experimental data for modeling droplet/air two-phase flow across face masks, and develop and validate numerical models to simulate droplet motion through the mask and downstream. Droplet interception and collection in the mask are investigated by detailed lattice Boltzmann simulations. Experiments are conducted in a branching pipe rig to measure filtration efficiency and droplet distribution at the outlet. The numerical models are applied to predict droplet motion within the experimental setup, demonstrating good agreement in terms of droplet emissions. The model is further employed to simulate airflow and droplet behavior around a human face during coughing. The results reveal a significant reduction in flow velocity across the face mask and more than a 60% decrease in droplet penetration distance.}},
  author       = {{Xu, Shijie and Xu, Leilei and Szász, Robert-Zoltán and Bai, Xue-Song and Larsson, Sofia and Gren, Per and Sjödahl, Mikael and Wahl, Joel and Mihaescu, Mihai and Laudato, Marco and Sasic, Srdjan and Lundström, Staffan}},
  booktitle    = {{Proceedings of the Conference on Modelling Fluid Flow : CMFF’25}},
  editor       = {{Vad, J.}},
  isbn         = {{978-615-112-002-6}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{283--290}},
  publisher    = {{Budapest University of Technology and Economics}},
  title        = {{Modeling of face mask flow and droplet filtration}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/228734968/Zu_-S._et-al._2025_Modeling-of-face-mask-flow.pdf}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}