MOSCOW, May 23. A mathematical model that will allow predicting the spread of most viruses to reduce the risk of infection in open spaces and premises has been developed by DSTU scientists. The results of the study are published in Mathematics.
Scientists from the Don State Technical University (DSTU) said that one of the main sources of infection for many viral diseases is an infected person. The routes of transmission can be different, but the most contagious (that is, infectious) is the airborne route. In this case, virus particles are shed when breathing, talking and coughing with the aerosol dust of an infected person. Such diseases can spread quickly enough to cause epidemics.
A striking example of a recent mass viral disease is the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection COVID-19. According to WHO, at the moment it has affected about 765 million people around the planet.
As university specialists said, a number of studies were carried out during the fight against the pandemic. The scientists studied the processes of spreading virus particles in the air, in ventilation and air conditioning systems and vehicles, filtering through masks, the impact of partitions, face shields.
DSTU researchers developed a mathematical model for the spread of virus particles in the air and conducted a series of numerical experiments on the example cabins of technological transport.
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According to one of the authors of the study, rector of DSTU Besarion Meskhi, the model is built on the basis of fundamental equations of hydrodynamics using modern numerical methods and computing power.
Scientists noted that this approach is universal and can be used to simulate the behavior of viruses of any type and other pathogens in open spaces, indoors and vehicles.
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“Unlike solid particles like dust, the virus travels in liquid respiratory droplets. This method allows us to obtain the trajectories and characteristics of each particle at any time. And also take into account the evaporation of particles and the interaction between themselves when colliding, evaluate the effect of the speed and humidity of the surrounding air,” said Ivan Panfilov, head of the work, associate professor of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the DSTU.
According to him, this allows get the opportunity to predict and effectively manage this process to reduce the risk of infection.
In the future, the research team plans to apply this experience in the development of more efficient transport climate systems, including those for special purposes.
DSTU is a participant of the Priority-2030 state support program for Russian universities.