Graduation Year

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.P.H.

Degree Name

MS in Public Health (M.S.P.H.)

Degree Granting Department

Public Health

Major Professor

Yehia Y. Hammad, Sc.D.

Co-Major Professor

Steven P. Mlynarek, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jason S. Garica, Ph.D.

Keywords

aerosol collection, aerosol generation, fluorescent polystyrene latex spheres, wind tunnel

Abstract

This project aims to determine if sampling efficiency differences are present between a sharp edge probe and a blunt edge probe during isokinetic sampling. To answer this question, isokinetic sampling was performed inside a wind tunnel. Sampling was performed with the sharp edge probe and compared to data previously obtained using the blunt edge probe. Two different particle sizes were used, 0.50 m and 2.00 m, at air velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.0 m/s and 2.0 m/s in the wind tunnel. Results showed that there is a difference in sampling efficiency between the two probes and a larger difference in the larger particle size. A graph comparing the mass concentrations showed an r value of 0.9990 for the 0.50 m particles and 0.9980 for the 2.00 m particles, meaning the larger particle size has a greater difference than the smaller particles. This can be shown further by looking at the average mass concentration for all wind speeds, where there was a 2.45% increase in the 0.50 m particles and a 14.26% increase in the 2.00 m particles when going from the blunt edge probe to the sharp edge probe. Probe shape should be considered when selecting equipment for isokinetic sampling as a blunt edge probe tends to be less efficient than a sharp edge probe and this difference appears to increase with the particle sizes used.

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