The Dynamics of an Aerosol in an Open Tube under Oscillations of Various Intensities near Resonance

The dynamics of an aerosol in an open tube under the action of acoustic waves of various intensities near the first eigenfrequency in the transient mode, when shock waves are not formed, was experimentally studied. The time–pressure profiles of the aerosol were obtained, whose shape becomes somewhat different from the harmonic one only at resonance. The time of aerosol clearing for different frequencies and the piston-displacement amplitudes is determined. It is demonstrated that the dependence of the aerosol clearing time on frequency with a minimum at the first eigenfrequency is nonmonotonic in character. In the transition mode, the aerosol clearing occurs 1.5 times faster than in the shock-free wave mode with the same piston-displacement amplitudes.     

An Experimental Investigation of the Coagulation of Aerosol in a Tube in the Vicinity of Subharmonic Resonance

Nonlinear oscillation of aerosol in the vicinity of a resonance frequency that is twice lower than the first eigenfrequency (subharmonic resonance) is experimentally investigated in tubes with different conditions at the ends. The time dependence of the number density of aerosol droplets is determined, and the effect of the frequency and intensity of oscillation on the process of coagulation of droplets is studied. The nonmonotonic pattern of the dependence of the time of coagulation of aerosol droplets on the frequency of excitation with a minimal value at resonance is found. Ordered space-time structures (alternation of denser and looser regions of aerosol) are revealed in the visible region in the vicinity of the middle of a closed tube.     

Approach for measuring the chemistry of individual particles in the size range critical for cloud formation

Aerosol particles, especially those ranging from 50 to 200 nm, strongly impact climate by serving as nuclei upon which water condenses and cloud droplets form. However, the small number of analytical methods capable of measuring the composition of particles in this size range, particularly at the individual particle level, has limited our knowledge of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) composition and hence our understanding of aerosols effect on climate. To obtain more insight into particles in this size range, we developed a method which couples a growth tube (GT) to an ultrafine aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (UF-ATOFMS), a combination that allows in situ measurements of the composition of individual particles as small as 38 nm. The growth tube uses water to grow particles to larger sizes so they can be optically detected by the UF-ATOFMS, extending the size range to below 100 nm with no discernible changes in particle composition. To gain further insight into the temporal variability of aerosol chemistry and sources, the GT-UF-ATOFMS was used for online continuous measurements over a period of 3 days.     

Diffusion of aerosols in a tube with turbulent flow

Aerosol diffusion in a tube with turbulent flow is investigated. Two systems of aerosol diffusion are considered; the first case with uniform inlet aerosol concentration and without formation in flight, and the second without aerosol particles at the tube inlet and with formation in flight. Both systems have been found in practical applications. Observations of the results indicate that the Reynolds and Schmidt numbers, which characterize the gas flow and aerosol diffusion, respectively, play an extremely important role in the determination of aerosol concentration.     

一种新型人工放射性气溶胶发生装置的研制

为满足使用放射性无机盐溶液产生放射性气溶胶的需求,基于超声雾化原理研制了气溶胶发生器装置.通过气溶胶发生实验,得出如下结论:使用超声波微孔雾化片雾化盐溶液,产生的雾滴经干燥管干燥后形成小粒径高浓度的气溶胶.调节溶液的盐浓度(浓度1 ～20g/L)可改变气溶胶粒径(142～309 nm),调节载流气体流量(1～2 L/min)可改变气溶胶浓度(2.37×105 ～ 3.86×105个/cm3).     

Features of the Diffusiophoresis of Aerosol Droplets with Allowance for the Influence of the Evaporation (Sticking) Coefficient and Internal Flows

A new theory of diffusiophoresis of large volatile spherical aerosol droplets, which is a further development of the previous investigations, has been formed. Account has been taken of the influence of the evaporation coefficient of the droplet liquid, the surfacetension coefficient variable along the droplet surface, and internal flows in the droplet on the diffusiophoresis velocity. The formulas obtained enable one to directly find the velocity of motion of single large aerosol droplets in a binary gas mixture inhomogeneous in concentration.     

Deposition of aerosol particles in a model vitreous chamber

The purpose of this study was to assess quantitatively the aerosol deposition in a model eye chamber to identify the mechanism(s) of deposition and delivery efficiency for application in retinal disease treated with vitrectomy. Dry aerosol particles were produced with mixtures of fluorescein and a variable concentration of cesium chloride, which ranged in aerodynamic size from 0.6 to 1.3 μm. The aerosol was injected through a small inlet tube into Teflon chambers that had a vented, spherical cavity (diameter ?"). Two filling times of 60 s and 90 s were used. Although significant loss occurred in the syringe, the mass deposited within the chambers increased with aerosol concentration and ranged from 0.5 to nearly 15 μg. Between 60 and 90% of the mass was deposited on the lower surface of the chamber. The mechanism of deposition was consistent with diffusion through a boundary layer during filling followed by sedimentation of the remaining suspended aerosol particles. Based on these results, an aerosol with a median particle size of 1.3 μm was shown to provide a therapeutically effective dose of 5-fluorouracil. The approach is general and can be applied to the aerosol delivery of other drugs to the vitreous chamber.     

Diagnostics of the Presence of Solid Particles in Aqueous Aerosol Droplets by Their Interference Pattern

Technical Physics Letters - We have experimentally studied the influence of solid impurity particles present in aqueous aerosol droplets on their interference patterns. The interference patterns...     

Lidar calibration technique using laboratory-generated aerosols

A new calibration technique for continuous-wave Doppler lidars that uses an aerosol scattering target has been developed. Calibrations with both single- and many-particle scattering were performed at the same lidar operating conditions as in atmospheric measurements. The calibrating targets, simulating atmospheric aerosols, were laboratory-generated spherical silicone oil droplets with known complex refractive indices and sizes, hence with known single-particle backscatter cross sections as obtained from Mie theory. Measurements of lidar efficiency with the conventional hard target calibration method were consistently higher by a factor of ~2 than measurements with the aerosol calibration technique. This result may have important implications for lidar backscatter estimates both for aerosol modeling efforts and for optimal design of future lidar systems. The aerosol calibration method provides a validation of basic lidar theory for particle scattering for coherent detection.     

Interferometric laser imaging for droplet sizing: a method for droplet-size measurement in sparse spray systems

A full-field, time-resolved interferometric method for the characterization of sparse, polydisperse spray systems is reported. The method makes use of the angular intensity oscillations in the wide-angle forward-scatter region. A pulsed laser is used to illuminate a planar sheet through the spray, which is imaged, out of focus, from the 45°direction. The image consists of a set of out-of-focus spots, each of which represents an individual droplet, and superimposed on which is a set of fringes corresponding to the angular intensity oscillations of that droplet. Macrophotographic recording with high-resolution digitization for image analysis provides a full-field capability. The spatial frequency of fringes on each spot in the image plane is dependent on the diameter of the corresponding droplet in the object plane, and a simple geometric analysis is shown to be appropriate for the calculation of the spatial frequency of fringes as a function of droplet size. Images are analyzed automatically by a software suite that uses Gaussian blur, Canny edge detection, and Hough transforms to locate individual droplets in the image field. Fringe spatial frequency is then determined by least-squares fitting to a Chirp function. The method is applicable to droplets with diameters in the range of several millimeters to several hundred millimeters and number densities of up to 10(3) to 10(4). The accuracy of the method for droplet-size determination has been evaluated by measurements of monodisperse aerosols of known droplet size, and measurements of droplet-size distribution in a polydisperse aerosol produced by a gasoline fuel injector are also presented. An extension of the method, using high-speed photography to measure two components of velocity in addition to size and position, is discussed. A two-wavelength approach may also offer the capability to measure the concentration of model fuel additives in droplets, and the results of a feasibility study are described.     

Studying gas temperature variation upon aerosol injection

Variation of the temperature of gaseous combustion products upon pulsed injection of aqueous aerosols (water, NaCl solution, clay suspension) with droplet sizes within 40–400 μm has been experimentally studied at initial gas temperatures from 520 to 910 K. The motion of aerosol droplets in the counterflow of combustion products was visualized by panoramic optical techniques. It is established that the process of gas cooling depends on the degree of aerosol dispersion, NaCl concentration in solution, clay content in suspension, and the conditions of liquid phase injection.     

The effectiveness of an air cleaner in controlling droplet/aerosol particle dispersion emitted from a patient's mouth in the indoor environment of dental clinics

Dental healthcare workers (DHCWs) are at high risk of occupational exposure to droplets and aerosol particles emitted from patients'' mouths during treatment. We evaluated the effectiveness of an air cleaner in reducing droplet and aerosol contamination by positioning the device in four different locations in an actual dental clinic. We applied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods to solve the governing equations of airflow, energy and dispersion of different-sized airborne droplets/aerosol particles. In a dental clinic, we measured the supply air velocity and temperature of the ventilation system, the airflow rate and the particle removal efficiency of the air cleaner to determine the boundary conditions for the CFD simulations. Our results indicate that use of an air cleaner in a dental clinic may be an effective method for reducing DHCWs'' exposure to airborne droplets and aerosol particles. Further, we found that the probability of droplet/aerosol particle removal and the direction of airflow from the cleaner are both important control measures for droplet and aerosol contamination in a dental clinic. Thus, the distance between the air cleaner and droplet/aerosol particle source as well as the relative location of the air cleaner to both the source and the DHCW are important considerations for reducing DHCWs'' exposure to droplets/aerosol particles emitted from the patient''s mouth during treatments.     

Numerical investigations of acoustic agglomeration of liquid droplet using a coupled CFD-DEM model

Acoustic agglomeration is widely considered a potentially effective technology for application in artificial defogging and precipitation. A coupled three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics and Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) model was constructed to investigate the agglomeration performance of liquid droplets in the acoustic field. The acoustic field is calculated by solving the Linearized Navier-Stokes Equations (LNSEs) in the time domain, and the background flow is initially obtained using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a k–ε turbulence model. The motion of the droplet aerosol follows Newton’s second law with fluid-particle and particle-particle interactions, including collision, agglomeration, and fragmentation. The agglomeration performance of liquid droplets under high-intensity acoustic waves was numerically investigated in terms of the effects of the acoustic properties as well as the droplet characteristics.The numerical results show that it is necessary to consider droplet fragmentation in the process of acoustic agglomeration under the action of high-speed jet. The sprayed droplets are more likely to collide and condense than those without a breakup model, which has rarely been reported in previous studies. Acoustic frequency has a significant effect on agglomeration behavior, with optimal frequencies of about 225 Hz, 150 Hz, and 125 Hz corresponding to droplets with mode diameters of 15.97 μm, 25.85 μm, and 42.88 μm, respectively. However, despite the fact that most studies favoured large acoustic intensity for agglomeration performance, the agglomeration performance of aerosol particles is not always positively correlated with acoustic intensity, especially for large droplets. The optimal intensity of droplet with d_p = 42.88 μm is in the range of 120-130 dB, which is smaller than the maximum operation pressure of 150 dB used in this study. In addition, an effective approach to increase the agglomerate size is to extend the residence time that liquid droplets are exposed in the acoustic and flow field, especially because the typical acoustic intensity of actual operation is usually not that high.     

Aerosol polarization effects on atmospheric correction and aerosol retrievals in ocean color remote sensing

The current ocean color data processing system for the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) and the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) uses the Rayleigh lookup tables that were generated using the vector radiative transfer theory with inclusion of the polarization effects. The polarization effects, however, are not accounted for in the aerosol lookup tables for the ocean color data processing. I describe a study of the aerosol polarization effects on the atmospheric correction and aerosol retrieval algorithms in the ocean color remote sensing. Using an efficient method for the multiple vector radiative transfer computations, aerosol lookup tables that include polarization effects are generated. Simulations have been carried out to evaluate the aerosol polarization effects on the derived ocean color and aerosol products for all possible solar-sensor geometries and the various aerosol optical properties. Furthermore, the new aerosol lookup tables have been implemented in the SeaWiFS data processing system and extensively tested and evaluated with SeaWiFS regional and global measurements. Results show that in open oceans (maritime environment), the aerosol polarization effects on the ocean color and aerosol products are usually negligible, while there are some noticeable effects on the derived products in the coastal regions with nonmaritime aerosols.     

The thermophoretic capture of large volatile aerosol particles by growing or evaporating droplets in multicomponent gas mixtures

The motion of large two-component volatile aerosol particles in a three-component gas mixture containing droplets is considered, which is caused by optical radiation. An expression is derived for the rate of deposition of aerosol particles onto the droplet surface. Analysis is made of the conditions in which the aerosol particles either deposit on the droplet surface or scatter. Numerical estimates are given for antimony-bismuth aerosol particles.     

Mechanism of signal suppression by anionic surfactants in capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Micellar-mediated capillary electrophoresis (CE) is used for a wide variety of applications, including the separation of pharmaceuticals, environmental contaminants, illicit drugs, DNA fragments, and many other biological samples. The electrospray ionization interface is one of the most common CE-MS interfaces. Coupling micellar-mediated CE separations with MS detection combines two very powerful, widely applicable analytical techniques. Some types of surfactants strongly interfere with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) detection of analytes, and in many cases the ESI-MS analyte signals are completely quenched. Only a few reports have appeared that describe the ESI-MS detection of analytes in the presence of surfactants; however, the exact mechanism of ionization suppression has not yet been addressed. In this work, a modified aerosol ionic redistribution (AIR) model is presented that qualitatively explains the results of previous studies, including those using "polymeric surfactants". Analyte ionization suppression by surfactants appears to be caused by Coulombic interaction between oppositely charged solute and surfactant ions in the ESI-produced offspring droplets. It appears that the ability of surfactants to quench electrospray ionization is directly related to the surface activity and the charge of the surfactant. Also, highly surface active components tend to be enriched in ESI-produced offspring droplets. Analyte ion signals can be detected under conditions that lower the surface concentration of oppositely charged surfactant ions in aerosol droplets. The mechanistic information outlined here may be used to design micellar-mediated CE separations that allow detection of analyte ions by ESI-MS.     

Microstructure Evolution of Cu-Pb Monotectic Alloys Processed in Drop Tube

Rapid solidification of Cu-Pb monotectic alloys has been accomplished during free fall in a 3m drop tube.Both macrosegregated and uniformly dispersed structures are observed in Cu-40wt pct Pb alloy droplets,whereas droplets of composition Cu-64wt pct Pb exhibit only macrosegregation morphologies.The microstructures are strongly dependent on droplet size.The higher undercooling tends to facilitate liquid phase separation and results in more extensive macrosegregation in smaller droplets.There exists a pronounced tendency for the Pb-rich liquid to occupy the surface of the droplets of both compositions,resulting from the quite lower surface tension of the Pb-rich phase and cauing a Pb-rich layer at the surface of the solidified droplet.The nucleation of monotectic cells in the Cu-40 wt pct Pb droplets with dispersed structures preferentially occurs at the droplet surface.A single nucleation event takes place more frequently as droplet size is reduced.     

Simulation and numerical investigations of the kinetics of atmospheric aerosol droplets in the wake behind a flat plate

Within the framework of the physicomathematical model of evolution of a polydisperse condensate, numerical investigations of the kinetics of atmospheric aerosol droplets in a supersonic two-phase flow past a flat plate were carried out. The gas flow was described by the Reynolds equations with the use of the two-parameter turbulence model. In view of the smallness of the condensate mass fraction in the incoming flow, the inverse effect of the dispersed phase on the gas was not considered. For various regimes of exposure to a flow, the characteristic features of the spatial distribution of the main parameters of the condensate fractions have been studied: the number densities, radii, temperatures, and averaged velocities of microdrops. The dependence of the dispersed phase dynamics on the Mach number and the incoming flow angle of attack has been investigated and the influence of the allowance for the processes of coagulation/fragmentation on the mass spectrum of droplets is shown. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 82, No. 2, pp. 331–341, March–April, 2009.     

Targeted delivery of magnetic aerosol droplets to the lung

The inhalation of medical aerosols is widely used for the treatment of lung disorders such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, respiratory infection and, more recently, lung cancer. Targeted aerosol delivery to the affected lung tissue may improve therapeutic efficiency and minimize unwanted side effects. Despite enormous progress in optimizing aerosol delivery to the lung, targeted aerosol delivery to specific lung regions other than the airways or the lung periphery has not been adequately achieved to date. Here, we show theoretically by computer-aided simulation, and for the first time experimentally in mice, that targeted aerosol delivery to the lung can be achieved with aerosol droplets comprising superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles--so-called nanomagnetosols--in combination with a target-directed magnetic gradient field. We suggest that nanomagnetosols may be useful for treating localized lung disease, by targeting foci of bacterial infection or tumour nodules.     

Solar corona caused by juniper pollen in Texas

Coronas are colorful, concentric rings centered on a bright light such as the Sun, the Moon, or even a streetlamp. Coronas are most commonly caused by water droplets or ice particles of relatively uniform size. Observers in Finland have reported spectacular clear-sky coronas caused by pollen grains. A clear-sky corona in central Texas occurred during the peak of the juniper pollinating season. The aerosol optical thickness at each of three wavelengths was highest when the corona was most prominent. Photographic measurements of the corona infer a particle diameter of ~32.4 mum. Because juniper pollen grains have a diameter of from 22 to 30 mum, they are the aerosol most likely to have caused the corona.