Determination of airborne particle size distributions: Calculation of cross-sensitivity and discreteness effects in cascade impaction

Abstract

A theory is developed which permits numerical evaluation of errors associated with the determination of aerosol size distributions using cascade impactors. Account is taken of errors due to the overlap of a given particle size between adjacent impaction stages and to the discrete nature of cascade impaction. The theory is applied to both log-normal and polynomial functional approximations to an aerosol size distribution. Numerical determination of errors considered shows that the mass of large and small particles present in the wings of a log-normal aerosol distribution is over-estimated manyfold by most cascade impactors but that the mass of particles having aerodynamic diameters close to the aerosol mass median diameter is generally subject to quite small (<20%) negative errors. Even under extremely unfavorable conditions the mass median diameter of an aerosol can be determined to well within 25% of the true value.