Design and Construction of an Aerosol Particle Classification System Based on Electrical Mobility

Introduction: The application of particles’ electrical mobility in the electric field has always been an important concern, as the functional basis of a number of particle measuring and classification instrumentations. The objective of this study was to design and construct an aerosol particles classification system using electrical mobility feature in laboratory scale. Methodology: This laboratory experimental study was carried out in collaboration with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The theoretical principles governing the development of the DMAs, the FORTRAN programming software and the Excel-2016 program were used in design and construction of the DMA system. The technical drawings of the constituent parts of the DMA and laboratory layout were carried out using SOLIDWORKS-2017 software. The laboratory instrumentation including the particle generator, particle counter, dry and clean air supply system and high voltage power supply were prepared in order to study the performance of the DMA system. Results: The length of classification area, the diameter of the central and outer electrodes were 160, 20 and 55 mm, respectively. The efficiency of the proposed DMA in particle classification was in the range of 71.9 - 92.4 % for particles in the range of 500 - 600 nm and 300 - 350 nm, respectively. Each range of particle size leave the equipment with maximum efficiency at a specific voltage. Conclusion: By knowing the peak voltage for a particular particle size, the size distribution of the unknown particles can be determined by this device. The good performance and wide range of particle size distribution are the capabilities of the proposed DMA in this study.