Propagation and Diffusion of Fluorescent Substances with Footprints in Indoor Environments

Manman Ma, Fei Li, Hao Han, Ziwang Zhao, Yuxiao Sun, Yuanqi Jing and Lei Wang
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Manman Ma: State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 100191, China
Fei Li: College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Hao Han: State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 100191, China
Ziwang Zhao: State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 100191, China
Yuxiao Sun: College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Yuanqi Jing: College of Urban Construction, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
Lei Wang: State Key Laboratory of NBC Protection for Civilian, Beijing 100191, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Some studies have shown that contaminants can be transferred between floors and the soles, and there are few studies on pollutant propagation caused by human walking in real-life situations. This study explored the propagation and diffusion law of ground pollutants from rubber soles to poly vinyl chloride (PVC) floor during indoor walking through employing a fluorescent solution as a simulant. The footprint decay ( D ) and transfer efficiency ( τ ) of the fluorescent solution transferred from the sole to the indoor floor during walking were analyzed based on the fluorescent footprint imaging. The effects of namely body weight (50–75 kg), walking frequency (80–120 steps/min), and solution viscosity (oil and water) were also investigated. It was found that the total fluorescence gray value on the ground decreased exponentially as the number of walking steps ( i ) increased. The relationship between the normalized gray value of the fluorescent solution ( D ) on each floor panel i was D i = a e b i , 2.1 ≤ a ≤ 3.8 , – 1.4 ≤ b ≤ – 0.7 , and τ was distributed in the range of 0.51–0.72. All influencing factors had a significant effect on a , and a greater body weight resulted in a smaller a value, while only the body weight had a significant effect on b and τ , and a greater body weight led to larger b and lower τ values.

Keywords: fluorescent substances; pathogens; ground pollutant diffusion; footprint (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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