The SARS-CoV-2 virus is primarily transmitted through virus-laden fluid particles ejected from the mouth of infected people. Face covers can mitigate the risk of virus transmission but their outward effectiveness is not fully ascertained. Objective: by using a background oriented schlieren technique, we aim to investigate the air flow ejected by a person while quietly and heavily breathing, while coughing, and with different face covers. Results: we found that all face covers without an outlet valve reduce the front flow through by at least 63% and perhaps as high as 86% if the unfiltered cough jet distance was resolved to the anticipated maximum distance of 2-3 m. However, surgical and handmade masks, and face shields, generate significant leakage jets that may present major hazards. Conclusions: the effectiveness of the masks should mostly be considered based on the generation of secondary jets rather than on the ability to mitigate the front throughflow.

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of spherical droplets in the presence of a source–sink pair flow field. The dynamics of the droplets is governed by the Maxey–Riley equation with the Basset–Boussinesq history term neglected. We find that, in the absence of gravity, there are two distinct behaviors for the droplets: small droplets cannot go further than a specific distance, which we determine analytically, from the source before getting pulled into the sink. Larger droplets can travel further from the source before getting pulled into the sink by virtue of their larger inertia, and their maximum traveled distance is determined analytically. We investigate the effects of gravity, and we find that there are three distinct droplet behaviors categorized by their relative sizes: small, intermediate-sized, and large. Counterintuitively, we find that the droplets with a minimum horizontal range are neither small nor large, but of intermediate size. Furthermore, we show that in conditions of regular human respiration, these intermediate-sized droplets range in size from a few μm to a few hundred μm. The result that such droplets have a very short range could have important implications for the interpretation of existing data on droplet dispersion.

Predictive control methods can substantially improve the performance of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), particularly in shallow water environments or near the free surface where wave induced disturbance are of magnitude comparable to the vehicle characteristic inertia. To facilitate the adoption of these methods, a fast estimation of the time evolution of hydrodynamic forces acting on a vehicle is required. To this end, we perform experiments in a wave tank with an ROV to validate the use of Linear Wave Theory (LWT) to capture the time history of surge, heave and pitch wave induced forces and moments. Validation is performed for various sea states, reconstructed with a mean correlation of 0.9138 in comparison to experimental measurements, displaying a maximum normalised mean error deviation between simulation and experimental data of 0.16 and 0.27 respectively for surge and heave forces, and 0.34 for pitch moment. The effectiveness of employing real-time wave disturbance forecasting for the purpose of anticipatory control is then assessed by incorporating the predicted loads within a Model Predictive Controller. Results display a mean RMS positional error reduction of 47.32% in comparison to a standard PD controller. This presents evidence that accurate, near real-time predictions of the wave-generated forces and moments on an ROV can be produced, laying the foundation for developing model-based predictive control strategies that better suit operation in harsh environments.

Given the current challenges in flood risk management and vulnerability assessment of buildings exposed to flood hazards, this study presents three-dimensional numerical modelling of torrential floods and its interaction with buildings. By means of a case study application, the FLOW-3D software is applied to the lower reach of the Rio Vallarsa torrent in the village of Laives (Italy). A single-family house on the flood plain is therefore considered in detail. It is exposed to a 300-year flood hydrograph. Different building representation scenarios, including an entire impervious building envelope and the assumption of fully permeable doors, light shafts and windows, are analysed. The modelling results give insight into the flooding process of the building's interior, the impacting hydrodynamic forces on the exterior and interior walls, and further, they quantify the impact of the flooding of a building on the flow field on the surrounding flood plain. The presented study contributes to the development of a comprehensive physics-based vulnerability assessment framework. For pure water floods, this study presents the possibilities and limits of advanced numerical modelling techniques within flood risk management and, thereby, the planning of local structural protection measures.