Design and performance characteristics of three continuous-flow condensation particle counters: a summary

Selection of the optimum condensation particle (nucleus) counter (CPC) for any application requires knowledge of the performance characteristics of available, usually commercial, instruments. Performance characteristics are a result of the design of a CPC. This paper describes the designs of three commercial CPCs that use continuous-flow, evaporation/condensation configurations. The paper reviews available data describing the performance of TSI 3010, 3022A, and 3025A CPCs. Data reported by a variety of investigators include detection efficiency as a function of monodispersed NaCl and Ag particles with diameters of 3–100 nm, effect on lower detection efficiency of ambient temperature from 0 to 40 °C, response time for step increase and step decrease of aerosol concentration, effect on detection efficiency of relative humidities of 0–50%, and effect on indicated concentration when feeding high-concentration aerosol to the CPCs. The reference standard is usually a Scheibel–Porstendorfer (1983) aerosol generator with an aerosol electrometer measuring the concentration of singly charged monodispersed aerosol exiting from a differential mobility analyzer. One set of such data has been obtained for Mo(CO)6 aerosol. Limited data compare the CPCs' detection efficiency with an alternating gradient cloud chamber (NaCl aerosol) and an automatic diffusion battery (WOx aerosol).

[1]  F. Raes,et al.  Intercomparison of eleven condensation nucleus counters , 1986 .

[2]  G. Reischl.  The relationship of input and output aerosol characteristics for an ideal differential mobility analyser particle standard , 1991 .

[3]  H. Hansson,et al.  Calibration of the TSI 3760 Condensation Nucleus Counter for Nonstandard Operating Conditions , 1990 .

[4]  Benjamin Y. H. Liu,et al.  Performance of TSI 3760 condensation nuclei counter at reduced pressures and flow rates , 1991 .

[5]  S. Twomey,et al.  A segmented thermal diffusion chamber for continuous measurements of CN , 1979 .

[6]  Jugal K. Agarwal,et al.  Continuous flow, single-particle-counting condensation nucleus counter , 1980 .

[7]  Benjamin Y. H. Liu,et al.  Particle activation and droplet growth processes in condensation nucleus counter—I. Theoretical background☆ , 1990 .

[8]  A. Berner,et al.  A new electromobility spectrometer for the measurement of aerosol size distributions in the size range from 1 to 1000 nm , 1991 .

[9]  H. G. Scheibel,et al.  Generation of monodisperse Ag- and NaCl-aerosols with particle diameters between 2 and 300 nm , 1983 .

[10]  R. Niessner,et al.  Application of a multistep condensation nuclei counter as a detector for particle surface composition , 1985 .

[11]  H. Fissan,et al.  A New Generator for Ultrafine Aerosols Below 10 nm , 1987 .

[12]  M. Stolzenburg,et al.  Response characteristics for four different condensation nucleus counters to particles in the 3-50 nm diameter range , 1985 .

[13]  John Aitken.  I.—On the Number of Dust Particles in the Atmosphere , 1889 .

[14]  H. Hansson,et al.  Experimental verification of the particle detection efficiency of TSI 3025 UCPC , 1990 .

[15]  K. Okuyama,et al.  Development of a mixing type condensation nucleus counter , 1982 .

[16]  M. Stolzenburg,et al.  A condensation nucleus counter designed for ultrafine particle detection above 3nm diameter , 1988 .

[17]  Peter H. McMurry,et al.  An Ultrafine Aerosol Condensation Nucleus Counter , 1991 .

[18]  Benjamin Y. H. Liu,et al.  Particle activation and droplet growth processes in condensation nucleus counter—II. Experimental study , 1990 .

[19]  David Sinclair,et al.  A continuous flow condensation nucleus counter , 1975 .

[20]  Intercomparison Between Commercial Condensation Nucleus Counters and an Alternating Temperature Gradient Cloud Chamber , 1995 .

[21]  A. Reineking,et al.  Calibration of a TSI model 3025 ultrafine condensation particle counter , 1991 .

[22]  Gerhard Kasper,et al.  Counting efficiency of condensation nuclei counters in N2, Ar, CO2 and He , 1988 .