The Influence of Electrostatic Charge on the Performance of 10-mm Nylon Cyclones

Abstract

The 10-mm nylon cyclone is commonly used for measuring the respirable aerosol concentration of airborne dust. Under some conditions, the measured respirable aerosol concentration may be lower than the actual value due to electrostatic charge. An ideal solution to this inaccuracy is a cyclone, identical to the nonconducting type but molded of conducting, graphite-filled nylon, which performs the same as the nonconducting nylon cyclone under electrically neutral conditions. When exposed to conditions which tend to produce electrostatic charge, the performance of the conducting cyclone is unaffected, but aerosol penetration of the nonconducting cyclone decreases as a function of charge. Relatively high electrostatic charges are used in this study for demonstration purposes since the magnitudes of charges found in the field are hard to predict. Using the conducting cyclone gives consistent measurements, resulting in more accurate representation of deposition in the human respiratory tract.