ArticlePhysics of fluids (Woodbury, N.Y. : 1994)2021
Double masking protection vs. comfort-A quantitative assessment.
Article in Physics of fluids (Woodbury, N.Y. : 1994), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of fit improvement strategies for respirators: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of the inward leakage rate between N95 filtering facepiece respirators and modified surgical masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2024Article
- Development and evaluation of a fluidic facemask for airborne transmission mitigation.Experimental thermal and fluid science · 2023Review
- A critical review on the role of leakages in the facemask protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection with consideration of vaccination and virus variants.Indoor air · 2022Review
- Assessing face masks in the environment by means of the DPSIR framework.The Science of the total environment · 2022Review
- A Simple Method to Quantify Outward Leakage of Medical Face Masks and Barrier Face Coverings: Implication for the Overall Filtration Efficiency.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Infrared-based visualization of exhalation flows while wearing protective face masks.Physics of fluids (Woodbury, N.Y. : 1994) · 2022Article
- Evaluating a transparent coating on a face shield for repelling airborne respiratory droplets.Physics of fluids (Woodbury, N.Y. : 1994) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
COVID-19 has forced humankind to adopt face masks as an integral part of everyday life. This preventive measure is an effective source control technique to curb the spread of COVID-19 and other similar diseases. The virus responsible for causing COVID-19 has undergone several mutations in the recent past, including B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, and N501Y, B.1.617, with a higher infectious rate. These viruses' variants are mainly responsible for the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and associated steep rise in mortality rate worldwide. Under these circumstances, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and health experts recommend double masking, which mainly includes a surgical mask and a cotton mask for the general public. This combination provides an additional layer of protection and masks fitment to minimize the leakage of droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing, talking, and breathing. This leakage may cause airborne transmission of the virus. In the present study, we report a systematic quantitative unsteady pressure measurement supplement with flow visualization to quantify the effectiveness of a single and double mask. We have also evaluated double masking consisting of a surgical mask and an N-95 mask used by medical professionals. A simple knot improves the surgical mask fitment significantly, and hence, the leakage of droplets is minimized. The leakage of the droplets was reduced to a large extent by using a double mask combination of a two-layer cotton mask over the surgical mask with a knot. The double mask combination of surgical + N-95 and two-layer cotton + N-95 masks showed the most promising results, and no leakage of the droplets is observed in the forward direction. A double mask combination of surgical and N-95 mask offers 8.6% and 5.6% lower mean and peak pressures compared to surgical, and cotton mask. The best results are observed with cotton and N-95 masks with 54.6% and 23% lower mean and peak pressures than surgical and cotton masks; hence, this combination will offer more comfort to the wearer.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.