2026-10-14T17:48:11Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33960013 2026-09-21T21:10:03Z category_4 category_146 category_915 category_8 category_12 category_21 category_272 category_873 category_502 category_45 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

An improved method for measuring the penetration efficiency of low cutoff cyclones Abhigya Devkota (25085617) Gregory J. Smallwood (1517833) Jason S. Olfert (537555) Biochemistry Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Microbiology Cell Biology Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Astronomical and Space Sciences not elsewhere classified Sociology Se-Jin Yook <p>Cyclone separators are a critical component of many aerosol sampling systems and it is essential that cyclone penetration efficiency be characterized in terms of cutoff diameter and sharpness for accurate measurements. Existing cyclone characterization methods rely on a monodisperse test aerosol using polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres, which are costly, or on Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) measurements that can be susceptible to artifacts when high concentrations of small particles are present. In this study, a new cyclone penetration efficiency measurement method which utilizes an Aerodynamic Aerosol Classifier (AAC) and a condensation particle counter (CPC) using polydisperse test aerosols is evaluated. The polydisperse AAC-CPC method is assessed alongside the traditional use of PSL spheres and the APS method using different polydisperse test aerosols. The polydisperse aerosols used were dioctyl sebacate, fluorescent microspheres, and soot. In contrast to the polydisperse APS method, the polydisperse AAC-CPC approach does not exhibit artificial concentrations at large aerodynamic diameters and enables reliable characterization of cyclone penetration efficiency with different test aerosols, most importantly when soot is used as the test aerosol. Since the AAC-CPC has lower counting statistics than the APS, longer or repeated experiments are needed to reduce errors. The capability of the polydisperse AAC-CPC method is essential for aviation emissions sampling, where soot particles dominate and the cutoff of the cyclone is relatively small (1 micron). For other applications, modifications can be made to measure cyclones with cutoff diameters less than ∼5 µm.</p> <p>Copyright © 2026 American Association for Aerosol Research</p> 2026-09-21T21:10:03Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33960013.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/An_improved_method_for_measuring_the_penetration_efficiency_of_low_cutoff_cyclones/33960013 CC BY 4.0