Irrigated precipitator for sampling soluble aerosols.

The design and performance of a simple parallel plate, irrigated, precipitator for use in the sampling of soluble aerosols is described. Unifrom surface coverage of 0.044 +/- 0.003 mL/cm2 by the gravity fed collection fluid is provided with a fiberglass mat (Gelman type A/E filter), while a surface washout of approximately 45% occurs in fluid residence time tf = V/q for a collector surface inclination of 40 degrees relative to horizontal. Efficiency tests using laboratory generated DOP aerosols and field tests of sulfate-bearing particles indicate good correlation with the Deutsch equation. Values of V/Q, proportional to the instrument sampling time, representing the ration of collection fluid volume to air flow rate for the present design compare favorably with other available instrumentation.