Dynamics of evaporating respiratory droplets in the vicinity of vortex dipoles

A new mathematical analysis of exhaled respiratory droplet dynamics and settling distances in the vicinity of vortical environments is presented. Recent experimental and theoretical studies suggest that vortical flow structures may enhance the settling distances of exhaled respiratory droplets beyond the two-meter distancing rule recommended by health authorities lately. We propose a mathematical framework to study the underlying physical mechanism responsible for the entrapment and subsequently delayed settling times of evaporating droplets and solid particles. A dipolar vortex is considered self-propelling through a cloud of micron-sized evaporating droplets. This configuration might be utilized to approximate an indoor environment in which similar unsteady vortical flow structures interact with exhaled respiratory droplets. We demonstrate the vortex dipole effect on droplet and solid particles settling distances, depending on the evaporation rate, the vorticity of the dipole, and the droplet’s initial diameter and location relative to the vortex core. Our theoretical analysis reveals non-intuitive interactions between the vortex dipole, droplet relaxation time, gravity, and mass transfer. The existence of optimal conditions for maximum displacement is suggested, where the droplet entrainment reaches up to an order of magnitude larger than the vortex core length scale. We present a basic model that may be applied for evaluating the spread of exhaled respiratory droplets in vortical environments. Our theoretical study suggests that exhaled respiratory droplets initially at rest can translate to significant distances, hence implying that vortical flow might enhance the transmission of airborne pathogens.