Experimental study of an air curtain to reduce indoor bioaerosol transmission

Abstract

Airborne pathogens are a major concern for the health of passengers using public transport in times of pandemics. One possible ventilation concept against microbial spread via bioaerosols in passenger compartments is the air curtain, a planar turbulent jet that prevents air exchange between two volumes. In this project a standardized microbial community of the public transport is applied in a test chamber to investigate the distribution of bioaerosols through an air curtain by aerosolization, particle concentration measurement, aerosol sampling, and cultivation. The air curtain is placed inside the test chamber to divide the room into two volumes. In front of the air curtain, the bioaerosol is dispersed and exhaled (via an aerosol generator). Media plates in an air sampler behind the air curtain show a high number of colonies, when the air curtain is deactivated and a large reduction in bacterial colony forming units when it is activated. Monitored particle concentrations which are measured behind the air curtain correlate well with the results from the biological analysis.