Continuous size-separation of airborne particles in a microchannel for aerosol monitoring

Schaap, Allison M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5391-0516; Chu, Winnie C.; Stoeber, Boris. 2011 Continuous size-separation of airborne particles in a microchannel for aerosol monitoring. IEEE Sensors Journal, 11 (11). 2790-2797. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2011.2166759

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2011.2166759

Abstract/Summary

The real-time monitoring of aerosols is important for protecting human health and the environment. The small size of microchannels and their potential for integration with sensing technologies suggest them as a promising tool for the next generation of aerosol sensors. To that end, we present a novel microfluidics-based system for the size-separation of aerosols using the centrifugal force exerted on each particle as it travels around a curve. We demonstrate with simulations and experiments the separation by size of mixtures of aerosolized microspheres with diameters ranging from 0.2-3.2 μm. With bidisperse particle sizes in a single-outlet channel, a separation efficiency is defined to quantify how much of each of the two sizes of particles are located in distinct regions of the channel; the separation of mixtures at up to 80% separation efficiency is demonstrated. Particles are also separated into two or three outlets, each containing a different distribution of particles by size. Both experimental particle position and separation efficiency results match well with the simulations.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2011.2166759
ISSN:	1530-437X
Date made live:	21 Apr 2020 14:15 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527436

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2011.2166759

ISSN:

1530-437X

Date made live:

21 Apr 2020 14:15 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527436