IIT Bhubaneswar developed a Disinfectant Tunnel to combat COVID-19

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar has developed and installed a Disinfectant Tunnel with its commitment to the health and welfare of the IITBBS family during the current situation of outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A group of faculty, staff members and student (Dr. Suvradip Mullick, Dr. Gaurav Bartarya, Dr. Chetan, Dr. Mihir Kumar Pandit, Mr. Bivudatta Mohanty, Mr. Dilip Kumar Sahoo and Mr. Umesh Melkani) from the School of Mechanical Sciences and Dr. Ashis Biswas from the School of Basic Sciences have been actively involved in this work.

The Disinfection tunnel is a semi-closed structure and is currently being used at the main gate of IIT Bhubaneswar so that it may be helpful in sanitization of almost entire portion (except the face and head) of the body of persons. The unit applies spray of appropriate disinfectant comprising of isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide in the form of fine mist generated from four nozzles placed at different heights, focused towards a specific location and connected to the air blowers. The sensing unit of the developed system is programmed to keep the disinfectant mist turned on for 15-20 sec, once the person reach to the central position. The person has to take a full turn while standing at the designated location to get exposed to the spray mist to the desired level.