Electrical mobility analyzer, aerosol measurements

Husar( 1971) studied the coagulation of ultrahne particles produced by a propane torch aerosol in a 90-m polyethylene bag. The size distribution was measured as a function of time with an electrical mobility analyzer. The results of the experiments are shown in Fig. 7.11 in which the size distribution is plotted as a function of particle diameter and in Fig. 7.12 in which is shown as a function of t) both based on particle radius. Numerical calculations were carried out by a Monte Carlo method, and the results of the calculation are also shown in Fig. 7.12. The agreement between experi ment and the numerical calculations is quite satisfactory. 

Figure 7.11 Coagulation of aerosol panicles much smaller than the mean free path. Size distributions measured with the electrical mobility analyzer (Husar. 1971).

Experiments on simultaneous coagulation and growth were made by Husar and Whitby (1973). A 90-m polyethylene bag was filled with laboratory air from which paniculate matter had been removed by filtration. Solar radiation penetrating the bag induced photochemical reactions among gaseous pollutants, probably SO2 and organics, but the chemical composition was not determined. The reactions led to the formation of condensable species and photochemical aerosols. Size distributions were measured in 20-min intervals using an electrical mobility analyzer. The results of one set of experiments for three different time,s are shown in Fig. 11.3. 

The smaller aerosol particles can be captured from the air for subsequent counting and size measurement by means of so-called thermal precipitators. In these instruments, metal wires are heated to produce a temperature gradient. Aerosol particles move away from the wire in the direction of a cold surface, since the impact of more energetic gas molecules from the heated side gives them a net motion in that direction. The particles captured are studied with an electron microscope. Another possible way to measure Aitken particles is by charging them electrically under well-defined conditions. The charged particles are passed through an electric field and are captured as a result of their electrical mobility (see equation [4.6]). Since size and electrical mobility are related, the size distribution of particles can be deduced. These devices are called electrical mobility analyzers. 

The device resembles a cylindrical differential mobility analyzer (DMA) in that a sample flow is introduced around the periphery of the annulus between two concentric cylinders, and charged particles migrate inward towards the inner cylinder in the presence of a radial electric field. Instead of being transmitted to an outlet flow, the sample is collected onto a Nichrome filament located on the inner cylinder. The primary benefit of this mode of size-resolved sampling, as opposed to aerodynamic separation into a vacuum, is that chemical ionization of the vapor molecules is feasible. Because there is no outlet aerosol flow, the collection efficiency is determined by desorption of the particles from the filament, chemical ionization of the vapor, separation in a mobility drift cell, and continuous measurement of the current produced when the ions impinge on a Faraday plate. 

On-line aerosol measurements were made using a Thermo-Systems, Inc., Model 3030 Electrical Aerosol Size Analyzer (EAA). This instrument uses the electrical mobility of the particles to measure the size distribution in the 0.01 to 0.5 ym range. 

One potential method for measuring the size of aerosol nanoparticles is a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), consisting of a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) and a condensation particle counter (CPC). Aerosol particles enter the DMA where they are charged using a radioactive source and their size is classified based on the electrical mobility, Z, of the particles in the applied electrical field ... 

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