Quantifying the effectiveness of desk dividers in reducing droplet and airborne virus transmission

Abstract

The utilization of physical dividers has been recommended as a practical approach to reducing the droplet and aerosol transmissions of the COVID‐19 virus (SARS‐CoV‐2). This study conducted a series of experiments using video recording with a high‐speed camera, particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, and concentration measurements. The effectiveness of Perspex desk dividers impeding the transient transmission during coughing in five representative layouts was investigated. The results showed that the divider effectively protected the exposed person from an infector's cough seated in a face‐to‐face arrangement at a distance of 1.5 m. The aerosol concentration at the breathing zone was reduced by 99% compared to the layout without dividers. However, the reflection of aerosols from the dividers increased the exposure risk to the person seated beside the infector. Such risk was substantially reduced if the dividers were placed parallel between the infector and exposed person seated side‐by‐side. When the exposed person was staggered (face‐to‐face but displaced sideways laterally) to the infector with a 0.55‐m lateral distance, the dividers reduced the potential exposure at the breathing zone by 60%. Considering the effectiveness in exposure reduction, the staggered configuration of desk dividers between the infector and exposed persons offers the best reduction to exposure.

Seating Behaviour of Students before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from Occupancy Monitoring with PIR Sensors at the UCL Bartlett Library

“…during the pandemic. However, it is interesting that their seating choices, whether intentional or unintentional, correspond to the findings of a study investigating the effectiveness of various types of desk dividers on COVID-19 virus transmission [ 43 ].…”

Mechanisms controlling the transport and evaporation of human exhaled respiratory droplets containing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus: a review

“…Cough machines also use pressurized air or mechanical systems to produce a spray modeled as cough, sneeze or speech droplets. Several studies have employed them to investigate the lifetime and dispersion of expectorated viral droplets into the air (Bartels et al 2022 ; Doremalen et al 2020 ; Li et al 2022b ; Lordly et al 2022 ). Aerosol-generating techniques provide the flexibility of producing desired droplet size ranges and controlling the injection velocity and other parameters.…”

Optimization of Cabin Virus Transmission Suppression Technology Based on Hanging Curtain Physical Isolation

“…Setting up screens, partitions, and other physical isolation devices to divide the space into different areas to reduce direct respiratory contact between personnel changes the transmission path of pollutants, thus achieving a reduction in infections. For example, Li et al [16] used particle image velocimetry to monitor particle concentrations and a high-speed camera to record the effects of droplet transmission under different desktop partition placement measures and showed that using staggered configurations of desk partitions between infected and susceptible individuals can minimize droplet exposure. Mirzaie et al [17] derived an average droplet concentration of up to 3.80 × 10 −8 kg/m 3 nearest to the infected person at a wind speed of 7 m/s using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, verifying that installing barriers in front of personal seats can prevent infection to some extent.…”