Particle release and transport from human skin and clothing: A CFD modeling methodology

Particle release from human skin and clothing has been identified as an important contributor to particulate matter burden indoors. However, knowledge about modeling the coarse particle release from skin and clothing is limited. This study developed a new empirically validated CFD modeling methodology for particle release and transport from seated occupants in an office setting. We tested three modeling approaches for particle emissions: Uniform; Uniform + Localized; and Uniform + Localized with Body Motion; applied to four office scenarios involving a single occupant and two occupants facing each other at 1- and 2-m distances. Uniform particle emissions from skin and clothing underpredicted personal inhalation exposure by as much as 55%-80%. Combining uniform with localized emissions from the armpits drastically reduced the error margin to