Aerosol Filtering/Sampling Device Based on Irrigated Rotating Wires—(2) Experimental

Abstract

A study has been performed with development of a portable sampling device, which is capable of collecting particles from the atmosphere at a high volumetric sampling rate. The sampler is based on an irrigated rotating wire concept. A small laboratory scale model was first built and tested to confirm the feasibility of sampling airborne particles using the rotating wire design. Subsequently, a prototype device was designed, built, and operated. The prototype sampler was designed to provide a sampling rate of 28 m³/min (1,000 ft³/min) at the wires rotating speed of about 5,000 rpm. The test results indicated that the developed device proves to perform satisfactorily with a collection efficiency of about 50% for 1-micron particles. For particles larger than about 10 microns, the collection efficiency is essentially 100%.