Inward and outward effectiveness of cloth masks, a surgical mask, and a face shield

Abstract

We evaluated the effectiveness of 11 face coverings for material filtration efficiency, inward protection efficiency on a manikin, and outward protection efficiency on a manikin. At the most penetrating particle size, the vacuum bag, microfiber cloth, and single-layer surgical-type mask had material filtration efficiencies >50%, while the other materials had much lower filtration efficiencies. However, these efficiencies increased rapidly with particle size, and many materials had efficiencies >50% at 2 μm and >75% at 5 μm. The vacuum bag performed best, with efficiencies of 54–96% for all three metrics, depending on particle size. The thin acrylic and face shield performed worst. Inward protection efficiency and outward protection efficiency, defined for close-range, face-to-face interactions, were similar for many masks; the two efficiencies diverged for stiffer materials and those worn more loosely (e.g., bandana) or more tightly (e.g., wrapped around the head) compared to an earloop mask. Discrepancies between material filtration efficiency and inward/outward protection efficiency indicated that the fit of the mask was important. We calculated that the particle size most likely to deposit in the respiratory tract when wearing a mask is ∼2 μm. Based on these findings, we recommend a three-layer mask consisting of outer layers of a flexible, tightly woven fabric and an inner layer consisting of a material designed to filter out particles. This combination should produce an overall efficiency of >70% at the most penetrating particle size and >90% for particles 1 μm and larger if the mask fits well.

Copyright © 2021 American Association for Aerosol Research

EDITOR:

• Yannis Drossinos

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Acknowledgments

Jin Pan was supported by an Edna B. Sussman Foundation fellowship. Virginia Tech’s Fralin Life Sciences Institute and Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science provided additional support for this work. Elizabeth Cantando acquired SEM images. TSI Inc. generously loaned the Flow Focusing Monodisperse Aerosol Generator 1520 to the Marr lab. This work used shared facilities at the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth), a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), supported by NSF (ECCS 1542100 and ECCS 2025151).

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Funding

This work was funded by National Science Foundation.