AWWA ACE68628

Upstream piping configuration has been known to impact the ultraviolet (UV) reactor validation using biodosimetry tests. However, the influence of upstream configuration on the UV dose distribution has not been experimentally investigated. This research was performed to evaluate the UV reactor dose distribution under multiple upstream configurations using UV sensitive fluorescent microspheres. The upstream hydraulics configurations included two kinds of 90 degree bends and one straight pipe configuration. Experimental tests were performed at 51 gpm flow rate, 91% UV transmittance (UVT) on a single lamp low-pressure high-output (LPHO) UV reactor. The results of this study showed that the straight pipe configuration produced a shift in UV fluence distribution to a higher UV fluence range compared to the two elbow configurations. No significant difference was observed between the two elbow configurations. The fluorescent microspheres Bayesian method can serve as an additional test to the traditional biodosimetry for UV reactor validation and added confidence in the experimental results by providing unbiased UV dose behavior. Includes 19 references, tables, figures.