The Role that Gaiters, Masks and Face Shields Can Play in Limiting the Transmission of Respiratory Droplets

TL;DR

This study uses computational fluid dynamics to compare how effectively gaiters, masks, and face shields block respiratory droplets, finding gaiters and masks are similarly effective and outperform face shields.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation framework combining a Lattice Spring Model and Lattice Boltzmann method to evaluate face covering efficacy.

Findings

Gaiters are as effective as cloth masks in blocking droplets.

Cloth masks outperform face shields in preventing droplet transmission.

Simulation results align with recent experimental findings.

Abstract

The efficacy of face masks, neck gaiters and face shields are predicted and contrasted. In particular, a Lattice Spring Model of a neck gaiter serves as the input to a Lattice Boltzmann simulation. The Lattice Boltzmann method is used to capture the fluid dynamics both through and around various face coverings. The evaporation and transport of respiratory droplets is simulated in this flow field, and the efficacy of the different face coverings at stopping the spread of respiratory droplets are elucidated and contrasted. In agreement with recent experimental studies, we predict that neck gaiters are at least as effective as cloth masks, and both are far superior to a face shield.