LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications

The sterilization properties of the C-band of the ultraviolet (UV) light have been well-known for many years; however, their application has become more vital and widespread today due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, minimal work has been devoted to simulating UV-C propagation for surface dis...

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Main Authors: Maria S. Baltadourou, Konstantinos K. Delibasis, Georgios N. Tsigaridas, Harilaos G. Sandalidis, George K. Karagiannidis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2021-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9559977/
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author Maria S. Baltadourou
Konstantinos K. Delibasis
Georgios N. Tsigaridas
Harilaos G. Sandalidis
George K. Karagiannidis
author_facet Maria S. Baltadourou
Konstantinos K. Delibasis
Georgios N. Tsigaridas
Harilaos G. Sandalidis
George K. Karagiannidis
author_sort Maria S. Baltadourou
collection DOAJ
description The sterilization properties of the C-band of the ultraviolet (UV) light have been well-known for many years; however, their application has become more vital and widespread today due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, minimal work has been devoted to simulating UV-C propagation for surface disinfection in indoor environments. UV light has also been proposed for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) outdoor communication applications, where a number of simulators have been developed, but with several simplifications. The current work presents a fully-featured simulator for UV light propagation, called LaUV, designed mainly for indoor settings, capable of calculating measurable parameters that can be used for indoor surface disinfection and communication applications. LaUV considers atmospheric absorption and scattering according to Rayleigh and Mie theory, and reflections from rough surfaces. The scattering cross-section and probability density function of the scattering angles (phase function) are calculated accurately for any wavelength, concentration, and diameter distribution of spherical scattering particles (aerosols and droplets). Examples are presented for indoor environments, including empty rooms and rooms with furniture, for different environmental conditions and surface albedos. Interesting initial conclusions can be drawn, considering the spatial distribution of UV exposure for surface disinfection applications and channel modeling for line-of-sight (LOS) and NLOS communication, demonstrating the versatility and the potential applications of the proposed simulator.
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spelling doaj.art-a6de7309bf87432e84d4e6036975d9c72022-12-21T21:29:55ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362021-01-01913754313755910.1109/ACCESS.2021.31183029559977LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication ApplicationsMaria S. Baltadourou0Konstantinos K. Delibasis1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1055-3007Georgios N. Tsigaridas2Harilaos G. Sandalidis3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3975-3785George K. Karagiannidis4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8810-0345Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, GreeceDepartment of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, GreeceDepartment of Physics, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, GreeceDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, GreeceThe sterilization properties of the C-band of the ultraviolet (UV) light have been well-known for many years; however, their application has become more vital and widespread today due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, minimal work has been devoted to simulating UV-C propagation for surface disinfection in indoor environments. UV light has also been proposed for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) outdoor communication applications, where a number of simulators have been developed, but with several simplifications. The current work presents a fully-featured simulator for UV light propagation, called LaUV, designed mainly for indoor settings, capable of calculating measurable parameters that can be used for indoor surface disinfection and communication applications. LaUV considers atmospheric absorption and scattering according to Rayleigh and Mie theory, and reflections from rough surfaces. The scattering cross-section and probability density function of the scattering angles (phase function) are calculated accurately for any wavelength, concentration, and diameter distribution of spherical scattering particles (aerosols and droplets). Examples are presented for indoor environments, including empty rooms and rooms with furniture, for different environmental conditions and surface albedos. Interesting initial conclusions can be drawn, considering the spatial distribution of UV exposure for surface disinfection applications and channel modeling for line-of-sight (LOS) and NLOS communication, demonstrating the versatility and the potential applications of the proposed simulator.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9559977/Ultraviolet (UV) lightchannel modelingMonte Carlo simulationindoor communicationssurface disinfection
spellingShingle Maria S. Baltadourou
Konstantinos K. Delibasis
Georgios N. Tsigaridas
Harilaos G. Sandalidis
George K. Karagiannidis
LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
IEEE Access
Ultraviolet (UV) light
channel modeling
Monte Carlo simulation
indoor communications
surface disinfection
title LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
title_full LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
title_fullStr LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
title_full_unstemmed LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
title_short LaUV: A Physics-Based UV Light Simulator for Disinfection and Communication Applications
title_sort lauv a physics based uv light simulator for disinfection and communication applications
topic Ultraviolet (UV) light
channel modeling
Monte Carlo simulation
indoor communications
surface disinfection
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9559977/
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