Friday, January 12, 2007 - 8:00 AM

Wind Tunnel Testing Protocol for Evaluating Aerosol Samplers Using Poly-dispersed Particles

Jing Chen, Bryan W. Shaw, and Calvin Parnell. Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science, Department of Bioloical and Agricultural Engineering, TAMU 2117, College Station, TX 77840

Wind tunnel testing is required by USEPA for evaluating Particulate Matter samplers. In the past, most wind tunnel studies employed mono-dispersed aerosols as test particulate matter. Compared to the mono-dispersed aerosols, using poly-dispersed particles have two primary advantages: (1) better simulation of the performance of samplers in the real world and (2) significantly reduced experimental time and cost. A new wind tunnel testing protocol has been developed to use poly-dispersed particles. This paper will discuss dispersion of the test particulate matter, sampler/filter quality assurance, sample analysis, and data processing. The sampling protocol was employed to test SA241 PM10 and a Low-Vol TSP inlets (top half of SA241 inlet without the impaction plate and water excluder sections). Initial results of sampler cut point and slope will be presented.

Recorded presentation