The generation of particles with a vibrating reed aerosol generator

The adhesion of contaminant particles to surfaces is a major problem in many industries. The strength of adhesion is dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the individual particles and those of the surface. The purpose of this project is to develop a sampling protocol to reproducibly remove particles from a surface thereby qualitatively measuring the adhesion strength. The suspended particles are subsequently collected and characterized by electron microscopy. The measurement of adhesion strength and subsequent characterization will enhance our understanding of adhesion of particles to surfaces. The approach towards development of a sampling protocol is to direct a stream of clean gas of known velocity on to a surface at varying angles, where particles have been previously deposited. The initial task is the development of a generator of monodisperse particles of known composition that can be deposited on a well defined surface. The authors have begun construction of a vibrating reed aerosol generator. The generator is based on the principal that a thin wire sweeps through a solution reservoir detaching droplets which on evaporation produce a stream of dry, solid particles of uniform size. The operational parameters of this aerosol generating system have been explored