Abstract
A piezoelectric-electrostatic aerosol mass concentration monitor has been designed, constructed, and tested. The instrument measures particle mass, not some parameter of mass. Its time resolution is high; the mass concentration of typical atmospheric aerosols can be measured with 5% accuracy in about 10 seconds and typical automotive particulate emissions in about 0.1 second. The electrostatic precipitator has 100% collection efficiency for the dense (105 μg/m3) cigarette-smoke aerosol used in the detailed collection-efficiency tests and for all other aerosols tested, including automobile exhaust, laboratory aerosols, and office aerosol. The mass sensitivity of the piezoelectric microbalance is within experimental error of its theoretical value for the following aerosols tested: automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke, laboratory aerosol, and office aerosol.