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Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus

To function as source control, a fabric mask must be able to filter micro-droplets (≥5 µm) in expiratory secretions and still allow the wearer to breathe normally. This study investigated the effects of fabric structural properties on the filtration efficiency (FE) and air permeability (AP) of a ran...

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Autores principales: Gericke, Adine, Venkataraman, Mohanapriya, Militky, Jiri, Steyn, Hester, Vermaas, Jana
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8705731/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34947347
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma14247756
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author Gericke, Adine
Venkataraman, Mohanapriya
Militky, Jiri
Steyn, Hester
Vermaas, Jana
author_facet Gericke, Adine
Venkataraman, Mohanapriya
Militky, Jiri
Steyn, Hester
Vermaas, Jana
author_sort Gericke, Adine
collection PubMed
description To function as source control, a fabric mask must be able to filter micro-droplets (≥5 µm) in expiratory secretions and still allow the wearer to breathe normally. This study investigated the effects of fabric structural properties on the filtration efficiency (FE) and air permeability (AP) of a range of textile fabrics, using a new method to measure the filtration of particles in the described conditions. The FE improved significantly when the number of layers increased. The FE of the woven fabrics was generally higher, but double-layer weft knitted fabrics, especially when combined with a third (filter) layer, provided a comparable FE without compromising on breathability. This also confirmed the potential of nonwoven fabrics as filter layers in masks. None of the physical fabric properties studied affected FE significantly more than the others. The variance in results achieved within the sample groups show that the overall performance properties of each textile fabric are a product of its combined physical or structural properties, and assumptions that fabrics which appear to be similar will exhibit the same performance properties cannot be made. The combination of layers of fabric in the design of a mask further contributes to the product performance.
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spelling pubmed-87057312021-12-25 Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus Gericke, Adine Venkataraman, Mohanapriya Militky, Jiri Steyn, Hester Vermaas, Jana Materials (Basel) Article To function as source control, a fabric mask must be able to filter micro-droplets (≥5 µm) in expiratory secretions and still allow the wearer to breathe normally. This study investigated the effects of fabric structural properties on the filtration efficiency (FE) and air permeability (AP) of a range of textile fabrics, using a new method to measure the filtration of particles in the described conditions. The FE improved significantly when the number of layers increased. The FE of the woven fabrics was generally higher, but double-layer weft knitted fabrics, especially when combined with a third (filter) layer, provided a comparable FE without compromising on breathability. This also confirmed the potential of nonwoven fabrics as filter layers in masks. None of the physical fabric properties studied affected FE significantly more than the others. The variance in results achieved within the sample groups show that the overall performance properties of each textile fabric are a product of its combined physical or structural properties, and assumptions that fabrics which appear to be similar will exhibit the same performance properties cannot be made. The combination of layers of fabric in the design of a mask further contributes to the product performance. MDPI 2021-12-15 /pmc/articles/PMC8705731/ /pubmed/34947347 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma14247756 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Gericke, Adine
Venkataraman, Mohanapriya
Militky, Jiri
Steyn, Hester
Vermaas, Jana
Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title_full Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title_fullStr Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title_full_unstemmed Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title_short Unmasking the Mask: Investigating the Role of Physical Properties in the Efficacy of Fabric Masks to Prevent the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus
title_sort unmasking the mask: investigating the role of physical properties in the efficacy of fabric masks to prevent the spread of the covid-19 virus
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8705731/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34947347
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ma14247756
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