Penetration efficiency of nanometer-sized aerosol particles in tubes under turbulent flow conditions

Abstract In order to quantify losses of nanometer-sized particles in turbulent flows through tubes, their penetration efficiencies were measured as a function of the particle size, Stokes number and Reynolds number. The penetration efficiency of tungsten oxide and ammonium nitrate particles with diameters between 3 and 17 nm was investigated in turbulent flow conditions with Reynolds numbers (Re) extending from 4500 to 10,500. The measured penetration efficiencies in straight tubes were found to deviate from the empirical correlation of Lee and Gieseke (1994) . In contrast, the empirical equation of Fan and Ahmadi (1993) agrees better with our experimental results, also in comparison with t…