CFD Analysis of Fixture Output Impact on Upper room Germicidal Ultraviolet Light System Performance

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) using electromagnetic radiation in the UV-C wavelength band of 200-280 nm can prevent the reproduction of microorganisms. Several factors related to UV fixtures, HVAC layout and the resulting airflow flow patterns can affect the performance of upper-room UVGI applications. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, this study systematically evaluated the impact of UV-C intensities on the effectiveness of an upper room UVGI system, showing that adding even a small amount of UV-C energy in the upper region of room space can significantly reduce the probability of infection as predicted by the Wells- Riley model. Increasing the UV-C output shows a further reduction in the infection probability, although with a diminishing impact. The second part of this study will evaluate the effect of airflow patterns on the performance of UVGI systems. This work demonstrated that CFD analyses can help optimize the performance of UVGI systems to minimize the probability of infection in indoor spaces.