Covid 19: An Aircraft Cabin Air Disinfection System for Covid-19

新冠肺炎疫情严重影响了全球航空航天业，加拿大也不例外。飞机是我们长途旅行的必需品，但由于机舱环境拥挤，容易感染病毒。为了对抗新冠肺炎，一种新的飞行方式将在整个飞行过程中持续进行飞机上的卫生处理。虽然机上清洁工、定期消毒服务、座位距离等简单的解决方案可以在一定程度上缓解这一问题，但它们对机舱空气消毒效果不佳，相关费用也大幅增加了机票价格。气溶胶被认为是飞机客舱等人口稠密地区病毒传播的主要来源。虽然现代飞机配备了先进的通风系统来供应干净的客舱空气，但飞机上没有空气消毒系统。因此，加拿大飞机制造商正在研究通过通向客舱的空气供应管道消毒客舱空气的方法。这样做是为了恢复公众对飞行的信心，并降低整体飞行成本。由于其紧凑性，离子发生器成为一种可行的解决方案，可以通过带电离子（即冷等离子体）对病毒进行消毒。挑战在于，当离子沿着行进距离衰减时，如何从离子发生器的位置通过通风口进入舱内，保持所需的离子浓度。我们建议研究三个因素：1)离子发生器的位置，2)管道材料的渗透性和3)紫外线离子促进。将开发一个原型系统，该系统具有上游离子发生器，可以为不同位置的几个通风口产生离子。将进行试验以确定上述三个因素的最佳组合。该项目将与庞巴迪航空公司合作进行。该项目的成果将确保在这一艰难时期和未来许多年里加强飞机上的卫生安全，并对降低COVID- 9以及未来其他细菌和病毒污染物的传播风险产生持久而重大的影响。

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aerospace industry around the world and Canada is no exception. Aircraft are essential for our long-distance travel but prone to virus infection due to closely packed cabin environment. To combat the Covid-19, a new way of flying will have constant sanitization on the plane for entire flight journey. Though simple solutions such as on-board janitors, periodic sanitizer services and seat distancing can alleviate the problem to a certain extent, they are not effective for cabin air disinfection and the associated costs have increased airfare drastically. Aerosols are regarded as the main source of virus transmission in highly populous areas like aircraft cabins. Though modern aircraft are equipped with advanced ventilation systems to supply clear cabin air, there is no air disinfection system on board. For this reason, Canadian aircraft manufacturers are looking into methods for disinfecting cabin air through air supply lines leading to the cabin. Doing so is to reinstate public confidence in flying and reduce overall flight costs. Owing to the compactness, ion generators emerge to be a viable solution that can disinfect viruses by means of charged ions, a.k.a. cold plasma. The challenge is how to keep a required ion concentration from the location of an ion generator through an air vent into the cabin as ions decay along the travel distance. We propose to investigate three factors: 1) location of an ion generator, 2) permeability of duct material and 3) UV light ion promotion. A prototype system will be developed to have an upstream ion generator that can generate ions for several air vents at different locations. Tests will be carried out to determine an optimal combination of the afore-mentioned three factors. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Bombardier Aviation. The outcome of the project will ensure hygiene-enhanced security on aircraft in this arduous time and for many years to come, with long-lasting and significant impact in reducing risks for the spread of not only COVID- 9, but also other bacterial and viral contaminants in future.