Practical Characterization and Modeling of Higher Flow in a Water Condensation Growth Tube Bioaerosol Sampler
Dominick Heskett, BRADEN STUMP, Patricia Keady, Gregory S. Lewis, Arantzazu Eiguren-Fernandez,
Aerosol Devices Inc. Abstract Number: 693
Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
AbstractThe BioSpot-VIVAS™ bioaerosol sampler currently has a default flow rate of 8LPM. During ambient bioaerosol sampling, higher volumetric flowrate is highly desired. Higher flow rates can reduce sampling time required to achieve limit of detection and can provide better statistical significance in experimental results. It was recently hypothesized based off work previously completed at Aerosol Dynamics that the BioSpot-VIVAS™ sampler’s growth tube could be operated with the same efficiency of aerosol capture (in certain environments) above 8LPM, up to 15LPM. This hypothesis was tested via two methods. Uranine collection efficiency testing and modeling was performed to confirm activation of aerosol, and to confirm and quantify the performance of the BioSpot-VIVAS bioaerosol sampler at higher flow rates. Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling was also completed on the inlet of the instrument to confirm large aerosol 2.5 um – 10 um are efficiently transported through the inlet of the instrument into the growth tubes. These experiments aim to confirm that the BioSpot-VIVAS™ bioaerosol sampler can be operated at flowrates up to 15 LPM without compromising scientific specifications.