3D modelling and simulation of thermal effects and dispersion of particles carrying infectious respiratory agents in a railway transport coach

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic now belongs to the long history of infectious diseases that have struck humanity, pathogenic biological agents continue to pose a recurring threat in private places, but also and mainly in places where the public congregates. In our recent research published in this journal in 2022 and 2023, we considered the illustrative example of a commuter train coach in which a symptomatic or asymptomatic passenger, assumed to be infected with a respiratory disease, sits among other travellers. The passenger emits liquid particles containing, for example, COVID-19 virions or any other pathogen. The size spectrum of particles varies depending on whether they are produced during breathing, speaking, coughing or sneezing. More specifically, droplets associated with breathing are in the range of 1-10 µm in aerodynamic diameter, while at the other end of the spectrum, drops associated with coughing can reach 100-1000 µm. In the first part of our research, we used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to model and simulate in 3D the transport and dispersion of particles from 1 µm to 1 mm in the turbulent flow generated by the ventilation of the railway coach. We used both the Eulerian approach and the Lagrangian approach and showed that the results were strictly similar and illustrated the very distinct aerodynamics, on one hand, of the aerosol of droplets suspended in the air and, on the other hand, of the drops falling or behaving like projectiles depending on their initial speed. In the second part of our research, we developed a model of filtration through a typical surgical mask and possible leaks around the mask if it is poorly adjusted. We resumed the twin experiment of the railway coach and compared the distribution of droplets depending on whether the passengers (including the infected one) wear masks or not and whether the masks are perfectly fitted or worn loosely. Our method made it possible to quantify the particles suspended in the air of the railway coach depending on whether the infected passenger wore their mask more or less well. In this third article, we specifically explore how thermal effects due to the presence of passengers influence the spatio-temporal distribution in the railway coach of aerosols produced by the breathing infected person. We demonstrate that the influence of thermal effects on aerodynamics is very significant and can be very favourable for air decontamination if the ventilation system is judiciously configured. Beyond its application to a commuter train, our work confirms the value of validated CFD tools for describing the airflow and dispersion of particles in complex spaces that do not always allow experimentation. The models that we have developed are applicable to any other semi-confined, ventilated public place, such as a classroom, a hospital room or a performance hall, and they enable the objective assessment of whether the occupation of these spaces could be critical with regard to infectious contamination and of how to limit this ubiquitous risk.