In-duct uvgi air sterilisation: Optimisation study for high performance energy efficient systems

UV sterilisation technologies appear to be an energy efficient way of ensuring clean air supply. Future designs need to maximise sterilisation performance while reducing energy consumption. This study uses CFD analysis to consider how the position of a UV lamp in a duct influences the performance. Validated steady state CFD simulations using Fluent (ANSYS) are used to model UV dose distribution for seven different lamp locations. Results show that lamp location has significant impact on UV dose distribution. With only one lamp, a significant number of particles receive a dose that is higher or lower than the average; in some cases it can account for a difference of up to 17% on the average UV dose of the system.