AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Testing of a Battery Powered Data-Logging TSI Water-Based Ultrafine CPC for Mobile Outdoor Use
ASHISH SINGH, Robert Bullard, Charles Stanier, University of Iowa
Abstract Number: 629 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract An Ultrafine Water-based Condensation Particle Counter (UWCPC-3786, TSI) was modified for battery operation and use of a data logger and global positioning system (GPS). These modifications allow the use of CPC as outdoor mobile particle counter. The major modifications will be presented in detail, including the selection of batteries, battery housing, wiring, and charging procedures for 12 volt DC operation. Additionally, integration of the portable data logger (Campbell Sci. CR 850) for data collection and GPS will be presented. CR (Campbell recorder) basic programming language was used for communication with the CPC using PC 400 version 1.4 through the RS-232 port. The total hours of operation of CPC under battery power achieved (including the initial warm up period) ranges from 1-1.3 hrs. Battery configuration was two 5 cell packs connected in parallel; individual nickel metal hydride cell (NiMH) was rated at 1.2 V and 2.5 Ah.
For data quality assurance, parallel runs between the modified UWCPC-3786 and UWCPC -3785 with mono-disperse aerosols were conducted. The testing also included mobile sampling at different traffic density areas in Iowa City.