Computational fluid dynamics modelling of UR-UVGI lamp effectiveness to promote disinfection of airborne microorganisms
by Mohammad Heidarinejad; Jelena Srebric
World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (WRSTSD), Vol. 10, No. 1/2/3, 2013

Abstract: This paper focuses on using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling methods to study the effectiveness of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UR-UVGI) lamps in healthcare facilities. This work develops and uses simplifications for boundary conditions in CFD, while details of UR-UVGI lamps and microorganism characteristics were obtained from existing experimental studies. Three approximation methods were developed to implement the effects of UR-UVGI lamps on microorganism dispersion patterns represented with the Eulerian and the Lagrangian methods in CFD simulations. Then, a non-dimensional parameter, the UR-UVGI effectiveness, was introduced to study the effectiveness of UR-UVGI lamp(s) disinfection process with respect to the combined effect of UR-UVGI lamp(s) and ventilation systems. Although comparisons of results obtained from CFD simulations and experimental data show that local microorganism numbers/concentrations depend on boundary condition modelling methods, global variables such as the fraction of remaining microorganisms remain relatively unchanged and in a good agreement with the measured data.

Online publication date: Fri, 28-Feb-2014

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