| dc.description.abstract | Two experimental configurations of linear slot nozzle virtual impactors were
constructed and experimentally investigated for use as bioaerosol concentrators. In one
configuration, the Linear Slot Virtual Impactor (LSVI), the nozzle was a straight slot
having a length of 89 mm (3.5"). In the second configuration, the Circumferential Slot
Virtual Impactor (CSVI), the nozzle was curvilinear following a circular path having a
diameter of 152.4 mm (6.0") and the resulting total slot length was 479 mm (18.8").
Multiple prototypes of the two configurations were constructed having nozzle widths
that varied from 0.508 mm (0.015") to 0.203 mm (0.008"). Optical and physical
measurements were made of the nozzle dimensions in the critical region of the virtual
impactor units. For the LSVI units the misalignment between the acceleration nozzle
and the receiver nozzle was measured between 6 µm (0.00025") and 29 µm (0.00114").
This represented a range of 2% to 10% misalignment relative to the acceleration nozzle
width. The CSVI Unit 1 and 2 misalignments were measured to be 15 µm (0.00061")
and 9 µm (0.00036"), or 10% and 1.8% relative misalignment, respectively. The virtual
impactors were tested with liquid and solid monodisperse aerosol particles. For
operation at flow rate conditions predicted from the literature to produce a cutpoint of 0.8 µm AD, an acoustic resonance was observed, corresponding to significant nozzle
wall losses of particles and an absence of normal particle separation in the virtual
impactor. The onset of the resonance phenomenon was observed to begin at a nozzle
Reynolds number of approximately 500 for the LSVI configuration, and 300 for the
CSVI configuration. For flow rates just below the onset of resonance, normal virtual
impactor behavior was observed. The value of Stk50 was 0.58 for both devices,
corresponding to a particle cutpoint size of 1.1 µm AD for the LSVI configuration and
2.2 µm AD for the CSVI. The collection efficiency was greater than 72% for all particle
sizes larger than twice the cutpoint up to the largest particle size tested (≈ 10 µm AD).
The peak collection efficiency for both concentrators was greater than 95%. | en |
