Portable Planar DMA: Development and Tests

A novel high-resolution planar and portable differential mobility analyzer (DMA) has been designed and built (Nano-ID® PMC500, Naneum, Canterbury, UK). Finite element multi-physics numerical modeling was employed to optimize the geometry of the DMA and to find a regime for high resolution within the confines of a portable instrument. The numerical approach for solving the Navier–Stokes equation was verified by comparison of calculated data to experimental values. The PMC500 was calibrated and tested with different monodisperse aerosol challenges. The PMC500 portable DMA is shown to have good sizing accuracy and resolution, similar in performance to commercially available desktop instruments. Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research