Brown University Dec. 4 announced that a new study of airflow patterns inside a car s passenger cabin offers some suggestions for potentially reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission while sharing rides with others.
The study, by a team of Brown University researchers led by graduate student in Brownâs engineering school Asimanshu Das and University of Massachusetts at Amherst associate professor Varghese Mathai, used computer models to simulate the airflow inside a compact car with various combinations of windows open or closed.
The simulations showed that opening windows â the more windows the better â created airflow patterns that dramatically reduced the concentration of airborne particles exchanged between a driver and a single passenger. Blasting the carâs ventilation system didnât circulate air nearly as well as a few open windows, the researchers found, according to the news release.