Design and Build of an Aerosol Generator

Research was conducted to investigate different Laskin Nozzle aerosol generator designs. Based on previous designs an aerosol generator for use in the Union College wind tunnel lab was designed and built. A Laskin Nozzle is a device that uses compressed air to turn liquid into aerosol form. The aerosol is used as seeding particles for the particle image velocimetry (PIV) system utilized to measure flow in the Union College wind tunnel. The aerosol generator was designed with four nozzles to allow for a large amount of aerosol to be produced. Each nozzle contains four crosswise one-millimeter holes where the air exits into the liquid. This air flow causes a shearing process that creates aerosol particles whose diameter size distribution is centered on 1-2 microns. The concentration of the aerosol produced is dependent on the air pressure the nozzles are run at, with higher pressures corresponding to higher concentration of particles. Each nozzle can also be turned on and off, controlling the amount of aerosol generated. Ongoing preliminary testing investigates whether the generator provides sufficient amount of seeding at the desired particle size for PIV measurements.