Here we look into the spread of aerosols indoors that may potentially carry viruses. Many viruses, including the novel SARS-CoV-2, are known to spread via airborne and air-dust pathways. From the literature data and our research on the propagation of fine aerosols, we simulate herein the carryover of viral aerosols in indoor air. We demonstrate that a lot of fine droplets released from an infected person’s coughing, sneezing, or talking propagate very fast and for large distances indoors, as well as bend around obstacles, lift up and down over staircases, and so on. This study suggests equations to evaluate the concentration of those droplets, depending on time and distance from the source of infection. Estimates are given for the safe distance to the source of infection, and available methods for neutralizing viral aerosols indoors are considered.

Here we discuss the problem of atomizing submicron aerosols by special design atomizers enabling the cavitation regime. The formation of submicron aerosol was studied using an impulse atomizer model powered by a high-energy material and an atomizer model with a special spray nozzle generating countercurrent flows. For these atomizers, the role played by cavitation in producing submicron liquid aerosols is demonstrated herein. A mathematical model is also suggested to describe the aerosol cloud genesis. The cavitation development critical pressure, outflow velocity, and the resulting droplet sizes were evaluated. The aerosol particle size and concentration were experimentally measured by optical methods. The measured disperse parameters of aerosols during the origination and propagation of the aerosol cloud resulted from the cavitation-assisted atomization of liquids are reported: the intrinsic particle diameter of water aerosol is 10…30 μm depending on the features of the atomizer designs and their operating regimes.

Here we look into the spread of aerosols indoors that may potentially carry viruses. Many viruses, including the novel Covid-19, are known to spread via airborne and air-dust pathways. From the literature data and our own research on the propagation of fine aerosols, we simulate herein the carryover of viral aerosols in indoor air. We demonstrate that a great deal of fine droplets released from an infected person coughing, sneezing or talking propagate very fast and to large distances indoors, as well as bend around obstacles, lift up and down over staircases, and so on. This study suggests equations to evaluate the concentration of those droplets, depending on time and distance from the source of infection. Estimates are given for the safe distance to the source of infection, and available methods for neutralizing viral aerosols indoors are considered.