Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Whittington, Wil

Committee Member

Rhee , Hongjoo

Committee Member

El Kadiri, Haitham

Date of Degree

4-30-2021

Original embargo terms

Worldwide

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented public health crisis around the world and has created novel needs in the healthcare industry. Primary among these needs is a vast shortage in personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves. This is problematic due to the near constant of COVID-19 cases in hospitals around the United States. In an effort to meet the need for more PPE, new disinfection techniques must be found to "recycle" used PPE. UVC light has previously been used by healthcare facilities for years to disinfect surfaces such as stainless steel and are frequently used in operating room sterilization and dentist offices. UVC light's effectiveness on porous materials such as masks has not been substantially investigated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This work shows the effectiveness and efficiency of UVC disinfection on porous surfaces for the COVID-19 virus and other bacteria.

Sponsorship

Engineering Research and Development Center

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