System and method for detecting aerosol particles in a atmosphere and counting aerosol particles with respect to each particle size

• US 9,212,983 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2012
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RION Company Limited
• Original Assignee: RION Company Limited
• Inventors: Tsunoda, Chiryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US13/605,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20130060509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 702/128
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 2201/24 for measuring or calculating of parameters, e.g. efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/145 Inertia
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/155 Filtration
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/56 by using electric or magnetic effects G01F1/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/0266 with electrical classification
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/0656 using electric, e.g. electrostatic methods or magnetic methods by investigating individual particles G01N15/1031, G01N15/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/00 Digital computers in general details G06F1/00 – G06F13/00; Data processing equipment in general

Abstract

A particle size distribution measuring system 1 sets a reference voltage in a DMA 300 to a voltage value U, and executes the classifying of aerosol particles based on electrical mobility, in an electric field to which the voltage value U is supplied. When a predetermined condition is not satisfied, an analyzing device 600 causes a sum of the voltage value for the previous classifying (previous value) and the voltage value U to be re-set in the DMA 300 and causes the classifying of the aerosol particles to be executed again. A particle measuring device 400 defines a first measurement result as a measurement result M1, and defines a result of the re-measurement as a new measurement result Mx every time the measurement is thereafter repeated. An analyzing device 600 calculates a ratio of the measurement result Mx to the measurement result M1, and confirms that the condition is satisfied when the calculation result is a prescribed value or smaller, while confirming that the condition is not satisfied when the calculation result is larger than the prescribed value.

Claims

1. A particle size distribution measuring system comprising:

a neutralizer which puts aerosol particles into a charged equilibrium state;

a DMA (Differential Mobility Analyzer) which classifies the aerosol particles charged by the neutralizer in a predetermined electric field based on electrical mobility and which, in a state where a reference voltage supplied to form the electric field is initially set to a voltage value U, executes the first classifying of the aerosol particles under the supplied voltage having the initially set voltage value U;

an aerosol particle measuring device which measures the aerosol particles classified out by the DMA, by an electrical and/or optical measuring method and outputs a result of the measurement; and

a measurement result analyzing device which confirms whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied, based on the measurement result output by the aerosol particle measuring device, and when confirming that the condition is satisfied, calculates particle size distribution with respect to each particle size from the measurement result output by the aerosol particle measuring device, and when confirming that the condition is not satisfied, executes;

(a) causing the DMA, in a state where the voltage supplied to form the electric field is re-set to a sum of the voltage value of the voltage supplied in the previous classifying (previous value) and the voltage value U, to execute re-classifying of the aerosol particles under the supplied voltage having the re-set voltage value;

(b) causing the aerosol particle measuring device

(b-1) to output a first measurement result M1 which is the measurement result of the aerosol particles that the DMA classifies out under the supplied voltage having the initially set voltage value U, and

(b-2) to output a new measurement result Mx which is the re-measurement result of the aerosol particles that are classified out, every time the re-classifying is executed in the (a) by the DMA;

(c) calculating a ratio of the measurement result Mx, which the aerosol particle measuring device is caused to output in the (b-2), to the measurement result M1, which the aerosol particle measuring device is caused to output in the (b-1);

(d) confirming that the condition is not satisfied yet when the ratio calculated in the (c) is larger than a prescribed value, to execute the (a), (b), and (c), while confirming that the condition is satisfied when the ratio calculated in the (c) is equal to or smaller than the prescribed value; and

(e) when confirming that the condition is satisfied, calculating the particle size distribution with respect to each particle size from the measurement result based on a charging probability for the aerosol particles to be charged by the neutralizer.

2. The particle size distribution measuring system according to claim 1, further comprising

an aerosol particle collecting device which collects the aerosol particles with a plurality of kinds of particle sizes suspended in the atmosphere and makes the collected aerosol particles flow in the neutralizer,

wherein the DMA sets particle size groups as measurement targets among the plural kinds of particle sizes in a plurality of manners, and calculates the reference voltage value U for each of the set particle size groups, to initially set the calculated voltage values U as the reference voltage in sequence.

3. The particle size distribution measuring system according to claim 1,

wherein the aerosol particle measuring device includes:

a Faraday cup aerosol electrometer (FCAE) which electrically measures the aerosol particles classified out by the DMA by collecting electric charges on the aerosol particles;

a condensation particle counter (CPC) which grows the aerosol particles classified out by the DMA large by means of condensation, irradiates the grown aerosol particles with a laser beam, and optically measures the aerosol particles by receiving scattered lights from the irradiated aerosol particles; and

a splitting device which splits the aerosol particles classified out by the DMA to send the split aerosol particles to the FCAE and the CPC, and

wherein the aerosol particle measuring device calibrates the CPC by comparing the particle size distribution which is calculated by the measurement result analyzing device based on a result of the measurement by the FCAE and the particle size distribution which is calculated by the measurement result analyzing device based on a result of the measurement by the CPC.

4. The particle size distribution measuring system according to claim 3,

wherein, for the calibration, the aerosol particle measuring device calculates detection efficiency regarding the optical measurement by the CPC based on the following relational expression (18):

5. A particle size distribution measuring method comprising:

(A) a step of putting aerosol particles into a charged equilibrium state;

(B) a step of classifying the aerosol particles charged in the step (A), in a predetermined electric field based on electrical mobility, the step being a step of initially setting a reference voltage supplied to form the electric field to a voltage value U, and executing the first classifying of the aerosol particles under the supplied voltage having the initially set voltage value U;

(C) a step of measuring the aerosol particles classified out in the step (B), by an electrical or/and optical measuring method and outputting a result of the measurement;

(D) a step of confirming whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied, based on the measurement result output in the step (C); and

(E) a step of, when confirming in the step (D) that the condition is satisfied, calculating particle size distribution with respect to each particle size from the measurement result output in the step (C), and when confirming that the aforesaid condition is not satisfied, executing;

(a) a procedure to re-set the voltage supplied to form the electric field to a sum of the voltage value of the voltage supplied in the previous classifying executed in the step (B) (previous value) and the voltage value U, and execute re-classifying of the aerosol particles under the supplied voltage having the re-set voltage value;

(b-1) a procedure to output a first measurement result M1 which is the measurement result of the aerosol particles that are classified out in the step (B) under the supplied voltage having the initially set voltage value U, and

(b-2) a procedure to output a new measurement result Mx which is the re-measurement result of the aerosol particles that are classified out, every time the re-classifying is executed in the procedure (a);

(c) a procedure to calculate a ratio of the measurement result Mx, which is output in the procedure (b-2), to the measurement result M1, which is output in the procedure (b-1); and

(d) a procedure to confirm that the condition is not satisfied yet when the ratio calculated in the procedure (c) is larger than a prescribed value, to execute the procedures (a), (b), and (c), while confirming that the condition is satisfied when the ratio calculated in the procedure (c) is equal to or smaller than the prescribed value; and

(e) a procedure to, when confirming that the condition is satisfied, calculate the particle size distribution with respect to each particle size from the measurement result based on a charging probability for the aerosol particles to be charged in the step (A).

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

(F) a step of collecting, prior to the step (A), the aerosol particles with a plurality of kinds of particle sizes suspended in the atmosphere; and

(G) a step of setting particle size groups as measurement targets among the plural kinds of particle sizes in a plurality of manners, and calculating the reference voltage value U for each of the set particle size groups, and

wherein in the step (B), the voltage values U calculated in the step (G) are initially set as the reference voltage in sequence.

7. The method according to claim 5,

wherein the step (C) includes:

(C-1) a step of splitting the aerosol particles classified out in the step (B) into two lines;

(C-2) a step of electrically measuring the aerosol particles by collecting electric charges on the aerosol particles split into one of the lines in the step (C-1), by using a Faraday cup aerosol electrometer (FCAE);

(C-3) a step of growing the aerosol particles split into the other line in the step (C-1) large by means of condensation, irradiating the grown aerosol particles with a laser beam, and optically measuring the aerosol particles by receiving scattered lights from the irradiated aerosol particles, by using a condensation particle counter (CPC); and

(C-4) a step of calibrating the CPC used in the step (C-3) by comparing the particle size distribution which is calculated in the step (E) based on a result of the measurement in the step (C-2) and the particle size distribution which is calculated in the step (E) based on a result of the measurement in the step (C-3).

8. The method according to claim 7,

wherein, in the step (C-4), for the calibration of the CPC, detection efficiency regarding the optical measurement in the step (C-3) is calculated based on the following relational expression (18′

);