Electrostatic sampling is a promising method for the collection of bioaerosol particles. Although the underlying physics responsible for particle collection are well understood, the collection efficiency of simple passive electrostatic samplers is difficult to predict. Under these conditions, the collection efficiency becomes very sensitive to ambient air current and particle size, especially for submicron particles relevant for airborne virus transmission. In this paper, we compare two electrostatic aerosol sampler designs, a commercial product consisting of a flat collector plate located in the same plane as the charging needles and an axisymmetric design sampling directly to a liquid droplet. The aerosol particle collection efficiency of the samplers is investigated for particle size ranging from 0.25 to 2 µm while the air flow velocity surrounding the samplers is varied from 0.3 to 1 m s^–1. For the planar design, at all ambient flow velocities, the submicron fraction of the particles captured originates in streamlines up to a maximum of 75 mm above the surface of the device collector, which greatly limits the volume of air being effectively sampled. The axisymmetric design features a non-monotonic capture efficiency as a function of particle size, with a minimum between 0.4 and 0.8 µm. The flow field in the inter-electrode region, captured using particle image velocimetry (PIV) reveals the presence of strong recirculation zones that can be responsible for the increased collection efficiency for very small particles.

The net acoustic force acting on submicron particles suspended in a gas and exposed to a standing wave field is investigated as a function of particle size, by measuring both the aerosol number density and size distribution in a flow-through resonator. By taking into account all contributions relevant to the net force, this experimental study provides a first estimate for the acoustic radiation force in a size range where molecular effects are expected to be significant. The experiment consists of an electrostatic transducer generating a standing wave in the 50–80 kHz frequency range, with the submicron aerosol particles concentrated at pressure antinodes located across the height of a rectangular channel. A section of the flow is sampled isokinetically and analyzed using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), while the nodal patterns are visualized simultaneously using light scattering. The net acoustic force is calculated from their measured displacement along the axis of the 1D standing wave field. The component of this force resulting from radiation pressure is estimated by subtracting contributions from other forces. The results provide the first experimental estimation of the size dependence of the acoustic contrast factor for submicron aerosol particles, demonstrating the possibility of performing acoustic separation for diameters as small as 150 nm. 

We investigate experimentally the effects of acoustic forces on submicron aerosol in a channel flow. This technique can potentially overcome some of the limitations of conventional separation systems and provide advanced manipulation capabilities such as sorting according to size or density. The theoretical framework for acoustophoresis at such small length scales where molecular effects are expected to be significant is still incomplete and in need of experimental validation. The main objectives of this thesis are to identify the physical limitations and capabilities of acoustophoretic manipulation for submicron aerosol particles.

Two sets of experiments were carried out: first, qualitative results revealed that acoustic manipulation is possible for submicron particles in air and that the acoustic force follows the trend expected by theoretical models developed for particles in inviscid fluids. The acoustic force on submicron particles was estimated in a second set of measurements performed with quantitative diagnostic tools. Comparison of these results with available theoretical models for the acoustic radiation forces demonstrates that for such small particles additional forces have to be considered. At submicron length scales, the magnitude of the forces observed is orders of magnitude higher than the predictions from the inviscid theory.

One potential application for acoustophoresis is specifically investigated in this thesis: assist electrostatic precipitation (ESP) samplers to target very small aerosols, such as those carrying airborne viruses. To identify the shortcomings of ESP samplers that acoustophoresis should overcome, two ESP designs have been investigated to quantify capture efficiency as a function of the particle size and of the air velocity in a wind tunnel. The results reveal that both designs have limitations when it comes to sampling submicron aerosol particles. When exposed to polydispersed suspensions they behave as low-pass filters.

The separation of submicron particles suspended in gaseous flows is a problem of great importance and is the subject of sustained research efforts. This is motivated by several challenges presented by modern science and technology requiring high separation efficiencies for submicron particles.Continuous acoustic particles separation is a novel technique based on the acoustophoresis phenomenon, in which a particle within an acoustic field is manipulated using acoustic forces on its surface. This technique has the potential to overcome some of the limitations of common techniques for the separation of submicron particles, as well as performing advanced tasks such as sorting particles according to their size or density.In this thesis, the separation of submicron solid particles suspended in air is investigated experimentally, with a focus on the effect of key design parameters (acoustic, flow, geometry) on the efficiency of the process. A simple method based on laser light scattering was also used to provide qualitative information on the particle number density as a function of position in the channel. This technique allowed to quickly investigate the effect of a wide range of parameters on the acoustic separation efficiency including the pressure amplitude, the frequency of the standing wave, the average flow velocity and the parallelism of the channel walls.   The results demonstrate conclusively that acoustic manipulation is possible for submicron particles and that the acoustic force scales following the trends expected from theoretical models developed in the continuum regime. From the size of the particles used it however follows that the observed separation is the result of transition regime acoustophoresis, with a Knudsen number on the order of 0.2.

The use of ultrasound to continuously separate submicron particles suspended in air is investigated in a rectangular channel with adjustable height. An electrostatic transducer is used to generate a standing wave in the 50-80 kHz frequency range and the particles experience forces within the acoustic field causing them to concentrate at the pressure nodes. To assess the effect of several key design parameters on the separation efficiency, a simple method based on light scattering is implemented to provide information on the particle concentrations as a function of position in the channel. The images acquired are processed to yield a separation efficiency metric that is used to evaluate the effect of acoustic, flow and geometrical parameters. The results show that, in qualitative agreement with theoretical models, the maximum separation efficiency increases with the pressure amplitude of the sound wave. The separation efficiency is also linearly proportional to the standing wave frequency, when it is varied between 50-80 kHz. On the other hand, the effect of the average fluid velocity is less pronounced than expected, suggesting that in our channel separation is not limited by the interaction length between the acoustic field and the suspended particles. The effect of the parallelism of the reflector relative to the transducer is also investigated.

In several areas of science and technology there is a strong need for concentrating, separating and sorting small particles suspended in gaseous flows. Acoustic fields can be used to accomplish this task, an approach extensively used in liquid phase microfluidics that has great potential for aerosol treatment. This paper presents an experimental investigation of acoustophoresis for very small particles in gases, with sizes ranging from tens to hundreds of nanometers. The phenomenon is studied in a rectangular channel with variable height in which a standing acoustic field is created by a broadband electrostatic transducer operated in the 50-100 kHz range. Downstream of the separation channel, the flow is separated into enriched and depleted streams with adjustable slits for analysis. The particle number density and size distribution is measured with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) as a function of position in the standing wave pattern. From these measurements, the separation efficiency is determined as a function of the particle size and the amplitude of the acoustic field. For the very small particles used here, this yields novel information on the magnitude of acoustophoretic forces in the transition and molecular flow regimes.

Advanced particle manipulation techniques based on acoustophoresis have been developed in recent years, driven by biomedical applications in liquid phase microfluidics systems. The same underlying physical phenomena are also encountered in gases and hold great potential for novel particle separation and sorting techniques aimed at industrial and scientific applications. However, considering the physical properties of gases, optimizing the performance of flow-through separators unavoidably requires an understanding of the re-mixing effect of turbulence. In the work presented here we have investigated the effect of turbulence intensity on the separation efficiency of a variable frequency acoustic particle separator featuring a rectangular cross-section with adjustable height. This allows the creation of a standing wave with a variable frequency and number of nodes. The air flow is seeded with alumina particles, 300 nm nominal diameter, and the excitation source is an electrostatic transducer operated in the 50-100 kHz range. In addition to flow and acoustic parameters, the separation efficiency is investigation as a function of geometric parameters such as the parallelism of the resonator walls and the matching between the channel height and the excitation frequency. The measurements made using laser doppler anemometry and light scattering provide guidance for the design of separator configurations capable of advanced separation and sorting tasks with sub-micron particles