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Multilayer masks are most effective at preventing aerosol generation, says a new study conducted by a team led by researchers at Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The study was carried out in collaboration with scientists in UC San Diego and University of Toronto Engineering. According to IISc, when a person coughs, large droplets (>200 microns) hit the inner surface of a mask at a high speed, penetrate the mask fabric and break up or atomise into smaller droplets, which have a greater chance of aerosolisation and thereby carrying viruses like SARS-CoV-2 with them.
Using a high-speed camera, the team closely tracked individual cough-like droplets impinging on single, double and multi-layered masks, and noted the size distribution of the daughter droplets generated after penetration through the mask fabric, an IISc statement said on Saturday.