HIGH-SENSITIVITY AND HIGH-RESOLUTION DEVICE FOR MEASURING CONCENTRATIONS OF PARTICLES IN CASCADE IMPACTORS

• Main Authors: GOMEZ MORENO, FRANCISCO, JAVIER, MARTIN ESPIGARES, MANUEL
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 19.03.2008
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUIDLEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME; PHYSICS; TESTING

High-sensitivity electrometers are connected to each stage, the collector (4) being electrically insulated by a system of sapphires (2) or another non-piezoelectric material. The electrical connection between this collector (4) and the electrometer is also based on another system of multiple sapphires or other another non-piezoelectric material. Each stage of the impactor is designed such that it is, in and of itself, a Faraday box, completely enclosing the collector (4) and the line connecting it to the amplifier and to the electrometer itself. The aerodynamic design of the stages is optimized for preventing turbulence by setting a nozzle-collector distance comparable to the diameter of the nozzle. The device allows for increasing the sensitivity and resolution during the measurement of particle size distributions in automatic cascade impactors, and is applicable in those fields in which it is necessary to measure sub-micronic particles, especially in the environmental and emissions fields. Figure 1.