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Published in

American Institute of Physics, Physics of Fluids, 12(35), 2023

DOI: 10.1063/5.0177717

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Quantification of face seal leakage using parallel resistance model

Journal article published in 2023 by Buddhi Pushpawela ORCID, Peter Chea ORCID, Ryan Ward ORCID, Richard C. Flagan ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

Full text: Unavailable

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Preprint: archiving allowed
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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Mask-wearing emerged as the key safety measure to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. In this study, we hypothesized a model to quantify the leakage flow rate through the face mask based on a parallel resistance model. The tests were performed in two ways: (I) mask material test, in which all masks were sealed to a flange to measure transmission through a full mask and prevent leakage around the edges, and (II) mannequin mask test, in which masks were fitted to a mannequin head tightly. For all masks, the pressure drop was measured at eight different flow rates between 5 and 85 LPM, and it was increased linearly with the flow rate (r2 > 0.98). The results of the study showed that the leakage flow rate was 10% of the total flow rate, even for the best-fitted N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and KN95 masks. They showed higher resistance to the leaks. The procedure masks and cloth masks showed a leakage flow rate of 25% of the value of the total flow rate, quite a large proportion of the flow. They had lower resistance to leaks.