Trajectory of Aerosol Droplets from a Sprayed Bacterial Suspension

摘要

Simulated droplet trajectories of a polydispersed microbial aerosol in a laminar air flow regimen were compared with observed dispersal patterns of aerosolized Bacillus subtilis subsp. niger spores in quasilaminar airflow. Simulated dispersal patterns could be explained in terms of initial droplet sizes and whether the droplets evaporated to residual aeroplanktonic size before settling to the ground. For droplets that evaported prior to settling out, a vertical downwind size fractionation is predicted in which the microbial residue of the smallest droplets settles the least, and is found in the airstream at about sprayer height, and progressively larger droplet residues settle to progressively lower heights. Observations of spore particle size distributions downwind from a spray source support the simulation. As predicted by the simulation, the aerosol settled and progressed downwind, with the number of small droplets and particles increasing in proportion to the height and distance downwind.