Modeling of a new UV test cell for evaluation of lamp fluence rate effects in regard to water treatment, and comparison to collimated beam tests

Collimated beam (CB) tests allow for consistent, easily calculated and reproducible measurements of UV fluence, and are widely used in UV treatment research and validation testing. However, because CB tests employ distance to provide collimation, the irradiance at the test sample is much lower than in UV treatment systems. A potential benefit of pulsed light may arise from the high fluence rate it produces. A new high-irradiance (HI) test cell approach and modeling technique are presented for use in evaluating these effects. The model is shown to correctly predict the fluence in the HI test cell by benchmarking it to CB measurements. This demonstrates that the HI cell is a useful tool in evaluating the effect of high fluence rate in UV treatment. This modeling technique also has application in reactor design.Key words: pulsed UV, collimated beam, modeling, disinfection, remediation.