Aerosol Laboratory (AL)

The Aerosol Laboratory (AL) has extensive analytic and experimental capabilities to characterize the formation and transport of aerosols formed from the condensation of vapors. Computer codes have been developed to analyze various phenomena related to homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation, aerosol agglomeration, and aerosol deposition by inertial, turbulent eddy, thermophoretics, and diffusion mechanisms. Examples of applications involving analytic work include:

• Nuclear reactor safety aerosols
• Fuel processing
• Combustion aerosols
• Fouling of heat exchangers
• Fouling, corrosion, and erosion of turbine blades

A further example of analytic capability is the FUARN3D code for analyzing spectral radiation transport in participating media. The code uses a hybrid technique of solving the three-dimensional radiation transport equations for absorbing, emitting, and scattering media. Spectroscopic data is used for absorption coefficients of participating gases and Mie theory for radiation cross sections of particles.

Another area which the Aerosol Lab staff has proven expertise is in development of strategies for a wide variety of particle sampling and analysis applications. Some recent programs include:

• Design and fabrication of a three-color polar nephelometer
• Characterization of sprays from a commercial nebulizer manufacturer
• Development and implementation of sampling protocol to measure aerosol penetration across a hot cell door during waste drum transport
• Design of systems to sample aerosols from simulated nuclear reactor accident scenarios

A related area of capability is the evaluation of existing particle control methods and the development of new technologies for particle and droplet removal from gas streams. Recent programs in this area include:

• Quantifying capture efficiencies and mass loading characteristics for prefilters and HEPA filters
• Determining methods to measure and extend the useful life of high-temperature ceramic filters subjected to cold cleaning pulses
• Developing methods for heavy metal vapor removal based on condensation and thermophoretic deposition