AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
Using Low-cost PM2.5 Sensors for Air Quality Education Outreach
CHARLES STANIER, Can Dong, Nathan Janechek, Nathan Bryngelson, Joseph A'Hearn, Megan Christiansen, University of Iowa
Abstract Number: 773 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract As part of the CLE4R air quality education project, the University of Iowa has been working with AirBeam low-cost consumer-grade PM2.5 sensors in educational and outreach settings, both in K-12 environments and in informal settings such as science days and technology fairs. For use in K-12 classrooms, requirements for robust startup, operation, and ease-of-use are high. Mapping of concentrations is a desirable attribute but adds additional sources of failure to the hardware-software system used for education/outreach. The AirBeam sensor is a portable, low-cost sensor based on the Shinyei PPD60PV-T2 sensor which measures light scattering due to aerosols as a single bin, converting the detected signal to a particle count and uses a calibration fit to estimate particle mass. The AirBeam is able to detect particle sizes of 0.5 – 2.5 µm, concentrations up to 400 µg m-3, and with a time resolution of 1 s. A corresponding Android device is used to visualize, record, and upload measured data to a community website that maps the spatial and temporal resolved data. As of April 1st, 2017, through the CLE4R project, 109 people had used the AirBeam sensors for educational purposes, for a total of 271 person hours. In the poster, we will explain the outreach that was done, and share best practices for education and outreach using consumer-grade PM sensors. Strengths and needed improvements to the technology for these outreach, education, and classroom uses will also be detailed. Sources of particles that can be artificially generated for educational use, including authentic smoke, spray smoke, and various dust sources will be enumerated.