Horizontal elutriator preliminary test results under nonstill air conditions

Recently, a high-volume horizontal elutriator with a flared inlet was developed to monitor inhalable particulates in the ambient air. Preliminary results of a study to evaluate the performance of the horizontal elutriator under nonstill air conditions are presented. Collection efficiency data were obtained for monodisperse aerosols with particle sizes of 4.0, 9.25, 20.0, and 30.7 μm aerodynamic diam. Experimental results indicate that the device does not meet the established performance criteria. The main cause of nonperformance is probably a combination of exterior turbulent propagation into the initial part of the elutriator, nonisokinetic sampling conditions and particle diffusion.