Aerosol & Particle Measurement Course Schedule

Monday, August 19

Aerosol Behavior and Measurement Principles

Time	Activity	Presenter	Location
7:30 a.m.	Registration and Continental Breakfast		Keller Hall 3-230
7:50 a.m.	Welcoming Remarks and Introduction	David Y.H. Pui, University of Minnesota	Keller Hall 3-230
8:00 a.m.	Aerosol Measurement Overview	David Y.H. Pui, University of Minnesota
9:00 a.m.	Aerosol Mechanics, Sampling, and Transport	David Y.H. Pui, University of Minnesota
10:00 a.m.	Break
10:30 a.m.	Light Scattering Fundamentals and Optical Techniques	Wladyslaw W. Szymanski, University of Vienna, Austria
11:30 a.m.	Condensing Particle Counters	Chris Hogan, University of Minnesota
12:30 p.m.	Lunch		Weisman Art Museum
1:30 p.m.	Filtration Fundamentals and Applications	Kenneth L. Rubow, Vice President Emeritus for Filtration and Advanced Media Science, Mott Corporation

Basic Instrumentation and Calibration, Part I


2:30 p.m.	Filter Pleating Design for Panel and Cartridge Filters	Da-Ren Chen, Virginia Commonwealth University
3:30 p.m.	Break
4:00 p.m.	Indoor Air Quality and Health Impact	Jing Wang, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

5:00 p.m.

Adjourn

Tuesday, August 20

Basic Instrumentation and Calibration, Part II

Time	Activity	Presenter	Location
7:30 a.m.	Continental Breakfast		Keller Hall 3-230
8:00 a.m.	Inertial Impactors, Samplers, and APS	Francisco Romay, University of Minnesota
9:00 a.m.	Nanoparticle Measurement via Electrical Techniques	Chris Hogan, University of Minnesota
10:00 a.m.	Break		Keller Hall 3-230
10:30 a.m.	Optical Particle Counters	Wladyslaw W. Szymanski, University of Vienna, Austria
11:30 a.m.	Aerosol Generation for Instrument Calibration	Francisco Romay, University of Minnesota
12:30 p.m.	Lunch		Weisman Art Museum
1:30 p.m.	Lab Experiments at TSI Incorporated (see descriptions) Transient Aerosols: Capturing Fast Size Distribution Changes Submicron Aerosol Generation and Measurement Supermicron Aerosol Generation and Measurement Filtration: Filter Testing Concepts and Recommended Practices
5:30 p.m.	Reception and Dinner, sponsored by TSI Incorporated

Wednesday, August 21

Aerosol Applications

Time	Activity	Presenter	Location
7:30 a.m.	Continental Breakfast		Keller Hall 3-230
8:00 a.m.	Sampling and Measurement of Industrial Hygiene and Atmospheric Aerosols	Kenneth L. Rubow, Vice President Emeritus for Filtration and Advanced Media Science, Mott Corporation
9:00 a.m.	Filtration Testing, Standard and non-Standard Evaluation, and Applications	Qisheng Ou, University of Minnesota
10:00 a.m.	Break		Keller Hall 3-230
10:30 a.m.	Biological Aerosol Detection and Characterization	Jing Wang, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
11:30 a.m.	Measurement of Particle Emissions from Piston and Gas Turbine Engines	David Kittelson, University of Minnesota
12:30 p.m.	Lunch		Campus Club
1:30 p.m.	Lab Experiments at University of Minnesota Particle Technology Lab Optical/Laser Particle Counters: Calibration and Applications Dust Measurement and Impactors Aerosol Transport Efficiency in Tubes and PM2.5 Samplers Filter Efficiency Measurements		Mechanical Engineering, Room 1130
5:30 p.m.	Adjourn

Lab Experiments at TSI Incorporated

Participants may choose up to two labs to attend.

Topic A: Transient Aerosols: Capturing Fast Size Distribution Changes

If your aerosols are changing quickly, can your instruments keep up? Transient aerosol dynamics presents a challenge to obtaining accurate data on particle size and concentration. Applications such as engine emissions, brake dust measurements, and some environmental studies face this difficulty. We will explore the importance of using an instrument that is suited to the task of measuring fast-changing aerosols by using TSI’s Engine Exhaust Particle Measurement System (EEPMS). Aside from changing quickly, engine emissions aerosols sometimes need to be measured in the field. The second half of this lab will explore a portable instrument designed for tailpipe measurements, the Nanoparticle Emissions Tester (NPET).

Topic B: Submicron Aerosol Generation and Measurement

Submicron aerosol is an important area for aerosol-related work. These nano-scale particles are ubiquitous in ambient air; when intentionally created in a laboratory, they can be used to validate instrument performance. This lab session will explore both aspects: measuring what’s out there, and generating particles in order to use them for a specific purpose. On the laboratory front, we will generate nano-scale aerosol for use in calibrating instruments. With respect to conducting ambient measurements, this lab will feature TSI’s Ultrafine Monitoring solution, which includes a sampling system, SMPS, standalone CPC, and relative humidity sensor. Designed for compliance with a pair of European standards, the instruments comprising this solution are useful for measuring ultrafines in the atmosphere in any setting.

Topic C: Supermicron Aerosol Generation and Measurement

This laboratory session will focus on the generation and size measurement of supermicron aerosol particles (i.e., those greater than about one micrometer). Two aerosol generators will be featured: a dust generator that creates polydisperse aerosol from powders, and a monodisperse aerosol generator (FMAG) that creates monodisperse particles from liquid solutions. The particles coming from these generators will be characterized by several different particle sizers: the Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS), the Optical Particle Sizer (OPS), and the DustTrak DRX. Measurements made by each of these instruments will be compared and discussed.

Topic D: Filter Testing Concepts and Recommended Practices

Air filters are tested by generating particles and measuring concentrations upstream and downstream of a filter. The choice of particle type (material and size distribution) as well as detector type are major factors that influence the test results.

During this lab we will discuss a number of different sensors that can be used for testing air filters. We will feature several automated testers that use different aerosols, detectors, and other features to meet the needs of different filter testing applications.

Lab Experiment at UMN

Participants will attend all four labs.

Dust Measurement and Impactors

The objective of this experiment is to demonstrate several aerosol-measuring techniques that are useful for dust and aerosol measurements in the work place, in the atmosphere, and in special applications such as pharmaceutical inhaler testing.
The dust measurements will involve generating a polydisperse dust (Arizona road dust) using a fluidized-bed dust generator and measuring the mass concentration of the aerosol by a light- scattering aerosol photometer (TSI DRX DustTrak), and by inertial impaction (TSI’s Micro-orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI), with size selective sampling followed by gravimetric analysis). Generated dust will be introduced into a small dust chamber from which samples will be extracted to measure the dust aerosol. The instructor will describe the proper use of the impactor with aluminum foils to collect size segregated samples on the impactor stages, and how to make gravimetric measurements with a laboratory microbalance.
A second laboratory demonstration will be conducted to show how pharmaceutical inhalers are tested with a cascade impactor. In this case, the Next Generation Pharmaceutical Impactor (MSP NGI) will be used to collect size segregated samples that can be chemically analyzed for the active drug ingredient, so that the size distribution of the inhaler drug aerosol can be measured experimentally. While the chemical analysis will not be done, participants will be able to see the drug deposits collected on the impactor collection cups.

Optical/Laser Particle Counters

The objective of this experiment is to study the performance of single optical particle counters, demonstrate the calibration of the instrument using monodisperse test aerosols, and apply the optical particle counter to measure the size distribution and the number of concentrations of particles. Different types of optical particle counters are available, and their characteristics will be discussed. Monodisperse aerosols of latex particles will be used for calibration. The test aerosol will be generated from a diluted aqueous suspension of polystyrene latex spheres of different sizes. The suspension will be atomized and dried and subsequently, particles will be electrically neutralized. Monodisperse test aerosols will be sampled by an optical particle counter and corresponding pulses will be observed by an oscilloscope and analyzed using a pulse height analyzer. The response of different instruments to test particles and to ambient aerosol will be demonstrated and discussed.

Aerosol Transport Efficiency

The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the aerosol transport loss in various transport tubing. The transport efficiency will be determined as a function of particle size, particle charge level, and tubing material. Various particle loss mechanisms, such as diffusion, sedimentation, inertial impaction, turbulent deposition and electrostatic effects will be demonstrated and/or discussed. Also, the PM2.5 sampler will be demonstrated at the lab. In this test setup, monodisperse particles will be generated by passing the atomized aerosol through a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) operated at a fixed voltage. The aerosol exiting the DMA will be sent to different types of tubing of equal length (600 cm) and diameter (ID = ¼ inch) with and without a neutralizer in line. Three different tubing materials will be tested: Teflon, Copper, and Tygon. The concentration of the aerosol at the inlet (upstream) and outlet (downstream) of the tubing will be measured by a condensation particle counter (CPC) in order to determine the transport efficiency. Penetration of aerosols consisting of singly charged particles and particles in Boltzmann equilibrium charge distribution are measured and compared.

Filter Efficiency Measurements

How effective your air filter is? How can you determine it? Measurement of filter efficiency can sometimes be more complicated than it sounds like. Data quality strongly depends on selection of techniques and practice. The objective of this lab session is to demonstrate the method of using Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA) selected monodisperse testing aerosol for air filter collection efficiency test, where the Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) is used to determine the up- and down-stream particle number concentration. The UMN computer-controlled filter testing system will be demonstrated in this experiment, which is capable of testing size-dependent filter collection efficiency from 20 nm to 1000 nm, under a variety of filtration velocities. Factors affecting filter’s efficiency will be discussed. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different measurement techniques for determining filter efficiency and notes to pay attention to in practice.