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

Covid 19：针对 Covid-19 的机舱空气消毒系统

• 批准号: 553525-2020
• 负责人: Xi, Fengfeng
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: Ryerson 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=704543
• 关键词: Covid; 19; Aircraft; Cabin; Air

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.

Covid-19 大流行严重影响了世界各地的航空航天业，加拿大也不例外。飞机对于我们长途旅行至关重要，但由于机舱环境拥挤，容易受到病毒感染。为了对抗 Covid-19，一种新的飞行方式将在整个飞行过程中对飞机进行持续消毒。虽然机上清洁工、定期消毒服务和座位距离等简单的解决方案可以在一定程度上缓解问题，但它们对客舱空气消毒效果不佳，相关成本也大幅增加了机票价格。气溶胶被认为是飞机机舱等人口稠密地区病毒传播的主要来源。尽管现代飞机配备了先进的通风系统以提供洁净的机舱空气，但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机舱的供气管线对机舱空气进行消毒的方法。这样做是为了恢复公众对飞行的信心并降低总体飞行成本。由于结构紧凑，离子发生器成为一种可行的解决方案，可以通过带电离子（又称冷等离子体）消毒病毒。挑战在于，当离子沿行进距离衰减时，如何保持从离子发生器位置通过通风口进入舱室所需的离子浓度。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，配备一个上游离子发生器，可以为不同位置的多个通风口生成离子。将进行测试以确定上述三个因素的最佳组合。该项目将与庞巴迪航空合作进行。该项目的成果将确保在当前困难时期和未来许多年加强飞机上的卫生安全，对降低新冠肺炎 (COVID-9) 以及其他细菌和病毒传播的风险产生持久而重大的影响未来的污染物。