Wind Tunnel Evaluation of PM10Samplers

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated new national ambient air quality standards for PM10 (particles smaller than 10 μm aerodynamic diameter). Samplers used to collect PM10 must be subjected to wind tunnel tests before they can be approved as part of a designated reference or equivalent method. Monodisperse liquid and solid particles are used over a range of particle sizes and windspeeds to characterize the sampling effectiveness and 50 percent cutpoint of candidate samplers. This paper describes an EPA wind tunnel test facility, sampler test procedures, and the results of selected sampler tests with liquid and solid test particles. The agreement between wind tunnel results and observations from field measurements of ambient particulate matter is also discussed.