The Effect of the Aerosol Flow Rate on Apparent Particle Sizes Measured by the Electric-Mobility-Classification Method

Abstract

The use of the electric-mobility-classification method for sizing 0.1 μm mono-disperse particles was examined experimentally. It was suggested in a recent study that, in contradiction to the well-established theory of the electric mobility classification, the experimentally observed particle size depended slightly on the sample aerosol flow rate. In order to investigate this phenomenon, a statistically designed experiment was conducted in which precise setting of the air flow rates was made possible through a newly devised air flow configuration. It was confirmed that the measured particle size did decrease as the sample aerosol flow rate increased. The observed variation in the apparent size was about 0.7%, when the aerosol flow rate was varied from 0.3 L/min to 2 L/min. © 1994, The Japan Society for Precision Engineering. All rights reserved.