Interaction of physiological expiratory flow with gasper jets in an airliner cabin

Airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been identified as the dominant route for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Transmission of airborne diseases is of particular concern in densely populated and highly confined indoor environments such as aircraft cabins. However, a detailed experimental characterization of flow within airliner cabins remains unavailable. We developed a respiratory flow phantom using a piston-cylinder apparatus and validated the setup against physiological expiratory flow rates of human coughing, sneezing and talking. This flow phantom was connected to a human dummy that was seated inside an MD-80 airliner cabin. Time-resolved 2D-2C PIV measurements were conducted in both flight and ground configurations. The interaction of airflow from the above expiratory activities with overhead gasper jets will be presented.