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A numerical prediction on the reduction of microorganisms with UV disinfection

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Abstract

This paper investigates the three dimensional flow field and organism concentration in a UV disinfection channel. The modified P-1 model is newly adopted to solve the UV intensity field. This modified P-1 model for radiative transfer can yield an accurate light intensity for even complicated geometries. The effect of UV light intensity on the disinfection of microorganisms has been considered in the species equation. Differently from existing literatures, this study has used the Euler method for the calculation of both the flow field and the concentration of organisms. The CFD modeling results are compared with existing experimental data [1] for a UV channel, which shows outstanding agreement. The effects of inlet velocity, absorption coefficients of lamps quartz and water on the disinfection efficiency are investigated. With a smaller inlet velocity and smaller absorption coefficients, higher disinfection efficiency has been obtained. The current CFD model has the capability to predict the performance of UV disinfection channels.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyunghee University, Yongin, 446-701, Korea

    Chan Li & Chang Nyung Kim

  2. College of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China

    Baoqing Deng

  3. Industrial Liaison Research Institute, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 446-701, Korea

    Chang Nyung Kim

Authors
  1. Chan Li
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  2. Baoqing Deng
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  3. Chang Nyung Kim
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Correspondence to Chang Nyung Kim.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Haecheon Choi

Chang Nyung Kim is a full professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Kyung Hee University in the Republic of Korea. His research focuses on computational fluid dynamics, micro-fluidic flow, heat transfer, biomechanics, and environmental fluid mechanics.

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Li, C., Deng, B. & Kim, C.N. A numerical prediction on the reduction of microorganisms with UV disinfection. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 1465–1473 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0502-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0502-5

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