The Efficiency of Different Mask Types at Reducing Airflow

Abstract

The purpose of enforcing mask-wearing during a global pandemic is to protect others from the wearer by filtering air from the interior to the exterior of the mask. Although surgical masks have been distributed and worn since the beginning of the pandemic, other popular methods of mask wearing have surfaced since, such as wearing fabric masks and stacking surgical masks. However, the efficacy between different mask types is still unclear. By using the distance that a ping pong ball travels from the airflow coming through the different masks, we investigated the efficiency of different mask types at reducing airflow. Human airflow (ex. sneezing, coughing, breathing) was mimicked using a hairdryer since it was difficult to use human subjects during the pandemic. It was hypothesized that if the mask is most effective at reducing airflow from the interior to the exterior of the mask, then it will have the least distance travelled by the ping pong ball. Altogether, it was determined that the surgical masks were least efficient whereas the doubled-up surgical masks were most efficient at reducing airflow, confirmed by non-parametric one-way ANOVA testing (p-value = 3E-14).