Combined with contactless technology, Safran Cabin is innovating solutions to help limit the spread of the virus on aircraft. The company is currently developing ultraviolet disinfection technology for the surface disinfection of passenger cabins.
Since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, health-related laws and regulations have become more and more stringent. Therefore, Safran Cabin is committed to providing customers with a safe disinfection system to limit the risk of the spread of the virus on the plane.
“Data shows that the new coronavirus can survive on the surface for several days without any treatment, which increases the risk of its spread.” said Michael Glück, director of business development and innovation at Safran Cabin. “Infected people can even sneeze or even sneeze. Limb touch makes the surface of the object infectious. In the aircraft cabin, non-contact technology is an effective way to deal with it, but the surface of some objects will still be contaminated by the virus."
During the 2020 epidemic, Safran Cabin launched the "Clean Lav" program, which included a solution to disinfect solid surfaces with ultraviolet light. Due to the high traffic in the bathroom, the company is exploring new ways to disinfect its surfaces.
Use of UV
Ultraviolet rays have the characteristics of effective disinfection of objects, and have been widely used in air, surface disinfection and water treatment.
"We have used ultraviolet rays to purify the water on board, which is also the standard for all Boeing 787 aircraft. This measure guarantees the quality of water on board. Water on board is generally obtained from airports around the world, but local drinking water standards may not be able to meet Quality requirements." Michael Glück pointed out.
Utilize wavelength characteristics
There are several types of ultraviolet rays: UVA, UVB and UVC, each of which has specific properties and uses.
"UVA and UVB rays belong to the solar spectrum, and the wavelength of UVC ultraviolet rays are blocked by the atmospheric ozone layer, so they are not part of natural light. It takes several hours for UVA and UVB light to disinfect the surface of an object to take effect, which is not our ideal solution. ." Michael Glück continued.
The last type of UVC ultraviolet rays can effectively resist pathogens and is now used in surgical equipment and tools in hospitals. All known pathogens can be killed by UVC rays.
Based on the characteristics of UVC light, Safran Cabin is developing two products: LED UVC and FarUVC.
"These two solutions can be used to disinfect the surface of the cabin, which can ensure that 99.9% of the viruses are killed in 60 seconds, including the new coronavirus, influenza virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Ebola virus, and Methicillin Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella and other viruses and bacteria.” Michael Glück pointed out.
UVC LED-flexible and effective
UVC LED technology can quickly and effectively disinfect the surface of objects and can be easily integrated into the bathroom. The entire system can operate in a low-current, low-voltage environment, so it has no impact on the aircraft's power supply. Despite these advantages, if exposed directly, this wavelength may cause harm to the human body.
"When using UV technology, safety is the first consideration for Safran Cabin. In order to avoid any harm, we have developed an overall system architecture that can ensure the safety of passengers, flight crews, cleaners and maintenance personnel." Michael Glück Express.
Safran Cabin is developing automatic, redundant sensing technology to detect whether there are users in the bathroom and whether the bathroom door is closed. If the monitoring result is that there is no one in the bathroom and the door is closed, the UV LED can start to work.
"Another big additional advantage of this type of UV is that the UV LED is very flexible and easy to install." Michael Glück commented.
Far-UVC-safety first
According to authoritative research in this field, Far-UVC (far ultraviolet lamp) can also effectively eliminate pathogens, and a certain amount of radiation is safe and will not cause harm to humans. Safran Cabin is also studying Far-UVC to disinfect the surfaces of objects in the cabin that require multiple points of contact, especially the washroom, to eliminate pathogens that remain on the surface after passengers touch it.
Far-UVC is produced by using excimer light source technology instead of LED lights, which can generate disinfection light.
"Compared with UVC-LED, Far-UVC has certain limitations in design size and form flexibility," Glück explained, "but because it is safe under a certain dose of irradiation, passengers can accept us in some Installation in a complex structure. We look forward to using this technology for more commercial applications in the near future."
