Abstract
A mathematical model is presented along with test results which allow an investigator to measure the functional mean residence time of the chamber and the rate of dispersion within the chamber. The model is unique in that it does not use an underlying assumption of the type of flow model in order to calculate the above parameters. The percent dead space is calculated from the theoretical and functional mean residence times. The dispersion coefficient is calculated from the increase in the variance of the tracer concentration curve between two points. A conventional “Hinners-type” chamber, a horizontal flow chamber, and a multi-tiered exposure chamber all were tested with the model. Any potential problems of tracer loss due to surface adsorption/reaction may be eliminated by normalizing the data.