COVID-19 completely changed the appearance of the trip, as we know it, and the number of people fleeing and taking public transport became much less – but our cars remained a mystery. How safe are we in our vehicles? What are our risks?
A study published by Science Advances in early January has begun to answer some of our most pressing questions about COVID-19 transmission in our vehicles. Four scientists from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Brown University use calculations floud dynamics to evaluate the risks posed by the virus in the cabin of the vehicle, and also suggested ways to reduce the risk.
If you are familiar with the design process of a race car or airplane, then you have probably encountered the calculation of fluid dynamics in the computer before. In essence, these computer simulations model how gases and liquids move across and through different surfaces. In this particular case, our scientists used CFDs to model the way air moves inside a car.
The simulated vehicle used in the study was loosely based on a Toyota Prius traveling at 50 km / h with two passengers: a driver in the front left of the car and a passenger in the back right. Interestingly, the airflow outside the moving car creates a pressure gradient within the car that allows air to circulate from the back of the car to the front. After that, they started modeling the indoor airflow with different combinations of the windows that were open or closed. It is important to note here that, regardless of the combination, the air conditioning was on.
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The results are not likely to be surprising. When all four windows were closed, the car was in its worst ventilated way, and eight to ten percent of the aerosols – on which COVID-19 drives – were exhaled by one person in the car after another. When everyone the windows were open, the car was ventilated at best, with only 0.2 to two percent aerosols varying between passengers.
Of course, wide open windows are not always practical when driving. In the north you freeze in the winter. In the south, someone with a fine composition will melt in the summer. A heavy rain will make things twice as miserable. It is therefore better to let the driver as well as the passenger roll through their windows than to keep everything tight. That oblique can inflate the air and then right again. It may not be comfortable, but it can save lives.
A later study that has not yet been published found that cracking windows halfway was also a good idea, but it was only a quarter of the way off to be significantly more dangerous. New York Times reported. For larger vehicles such as minibuses or for vehicles transporting more people is the recommendation to keep everything open.
Windows have been opened since the onset of the virus. The increased ventilation allows virus particles to be thrown away, rather than recycling them. And we also know that the smaller the space we share, the larger the aerosol particles are. This study basically just used science to give us the ideal strategy for, for example, stocks or a short ride outside of your bubble.
Of course, there are still dangers, even if you open your windows. In fact, you drive with your windows open increases air pollution in the car by 80 percent, which increases your chances of dying from air pollution.
The best option, of course, is to stay home, unless absolutely necessary, and to travel it during peak hours as you travel.