In-duct UVGI systems for air disinfection against COVID-19 in buildings

用于建筑物内 COVID-19 空气消毒的管道内 UVGI 系统

• 批准号: 555262-2020
• 负责人: Lee, Bruno
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=705624
• 关键词: duct; UVGI; systems; air; disinfection

In recent months, more evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted through the air. Airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled to mitigate such a transmission path. Recent heatwaves illustrated the need for well-conditioned spaces. As deconfinement is on the agenda and temperature is on the rise, ensuring public health at conditioned spaces, particularly at congregate spaces, is a priority. However, operators of most spaces usually could not afford a dedicated maintenance crew. Therefore, any HVAC air disinfection solutions must be self-contained, cost-effective, dependable, and low maintenance. UVC radiation effectively inactivates airborne microorganisms by breaking bonds in RNA and thus preventing replication of the microorganisms. In-duct ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) systems treat moving air streams in HVAC systems is proposed. Collaborating with an HVAC design company (Les Services Polarbear), this project will address the challenge in designing in-duct UVGI systems: how to ensure the steady and consistent delivery of targeted UVC dose under constantly changing conditions of the in-duct air stream. The project will conduct a simulation-based experiment to test the impact of temporal and spatial dependent variations in in-duct conditions of the air stream such as temperature, relative humidity, and airflow rate on UVC dose. Les Services Polarbear, will collect the performance data of on-going projects to validate the simulation-based experiment. The validated results will provide a best practice guide for the HVAC industry in retrofitting existing HVAC systems with in-duct UVGI systems. The practical solution helps cut one likely path of transmission and hence increases Canada's preparedness in facing future infectious outbreak.

最近几个月，更多的证据表明SARS-CoV-2可以通过空气传播。应控制空气中的病毒暴露，以减少这种传播途径。最近的热浪说明需要空调良好的空间。随着解除禁闭的议程和温度的上升，确保空调空间，特别是聚集空间的公共卫生是一个优先事项。然而，大多数空间的运营商通常负担不起专门的维护人员。因此，任何HVAC空气消毒解决方案都必须是独立的、具有成本效益的、可靠的和低维护的。 UVC辐射通过破坏RNA中的键有效地灭活空气中的微生物，从而防止微生物的复制。提出了管道内紫外线杀菌辐照（UVGI）系统处理HVAC系统中的移动气流。该项目与HVAC设计公司（Les Services Polarbear）合作，将解决设计管道内UVGI系统的挑战：如何确保在不断变化的管道气流条件下稳定一致地提供目标UVC剂量。 该项目将进行基于模拟的实验，以测试气流管道内条件（例如温度、相对湿度和气流速率）的时间和空间相关变化对UVC剂量的影响。Les Services Polarbear将收集正在进行的项目的性能数据，以验证基于模拟的实验。验证结果将为暖通空调行业提供最佳实践指南，以改造现有的暖通空调系统与管道UVGI系统。这一切实可行的解决办法有助于切断一条可能的传播途径，从而加强加拿大对未来传染病爆发的准备。