Development of the Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer

Published

October 17, 2007

Author(s)

Nobuhiko Fukushima, Naoko Tajima, Kensei Ehara, Hiromu Sakurai, Kevin Coakley

Abstract

The Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer (APM), can classify particles according to their mass-to-charge ratio. The utility of the APM has been confirmed; the APM has been applied to atmospheric aerosol research and engine exhaust measurements. The operating principle of the APM is based on the balance of centrifugal and electrical forces on particles in the annular space between coaxial cylindrical electrodes. The operating condition of the APM is specified by a rotation rate and an applied voltage. The unique feature of the APM is its potential to obtain particle density information using particle diameter information provided from a DMA. Previously, the response time of the APM was not understood. More specifically, the response time was ten times longer than predicted by theory. This problem was resolved by preventing the adhesion and repulsion of particles on the insulation material inside the classifier. To quantify the accuracy of the inferred particle size distribution, it is necessary to quantify the uncertainty of important dimensions, such as the inner and outer diameters of the electrode, and the annular space between these electrodes. The distance between the electrodes has been determined to within an accuracy of 10 um, and the transfer function of the APM was determined using the PSL particles larger than 100 nm. We redesigned the APM based on our previous experiments, and mainly examined the characteristics of the transfer function for several ten nanometer size ranges using the PSL particles. Moreover, in our new APM design, we control the operating conditions, i.e., the rotation rate and applied voltage, through an external computer. These main design concepts and the performance of the instrument, particularly its classifying characteristics for smaller particles, is experimentally demonstrated.

Proceedings Title

Development of the Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer

Conference Dates

May 9-10, 2007

Conference Location

Tokyo, 1, JA

Conference Title

The Annual Technical Meeting on Air Cleaning and Contamination Control

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

aerosol, DMA, fine particle, nano particle, particle mass, PSL

Citation

Fukushima, N. , Tajima, N. , Ehara, K. , Sakurai, H. and Coakley, K. (2007), Development of the Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer, Development of the Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer, Tokyo, 1, JA (Accessed April 25, 2024)