Patent GB-1360223-A (GB)
Title: Condensation nuclei meters
IPC: G01N15/06
Filed: 1971-07-21
Abstract: 1360223 Condensation nuclei meters ENVIRONMENT ONE CORP 21 July 1971 [21 July 1970] 34174/71 Heading G1A A portable condensation nuclei meter comprises a manually operable pump arranged to flush a condensation chamber and supply thereto a sample gas at 100% relative humidity and an expansion chamber having a piston which is manually cocked by a cam against the force of a return spring and then released to expand the sample and cause condensation droplets to form on the nuclei which are detected by an electrooptical system. The expansion chamber piston is provided with seals effective only at the ends of its travel. As shown, Fig. 1, the gas sample is drawn into a tube 21 where it is humidified by means of felt wicks 23 dipping into a water supply 22. The humidified sample then passes via an upper valve block 12 to a condensation chamber 11 arranged coaxially within the humidifier tube 21. The lower end of the condensation chamber 11 is provided with a second valve block 13 connected to an extractor pump 43. The valves comprise diaphragms 27, 33 pressed against the valve seats 26, 32 by actuators operated by a cam 37. An expansion chamber 51 is also connected to the condensation chamber 11 and contains a piston (81) which is cocked against the force of a return spring 54 by a second cam 56 which is shaped to produce a sudden release of the piston to provide the expansion of the gas, the resulting cloud of water droplets being measured by means of a beam of light from a GaAs LED 16 passing through the condensation chamber 11, via transparent windows 15, 14, to a photo-resistor 18. The cam shaft 38 also carries a series of cams 57A to F which operate switches controlling the measuring circuit. The circuit Fig. 6 (not shown) comprises an FET (91) constant current source which biases the photo-resistor and an FET operational amplifier (102) provided with a storage capacitor (104) and a blocking diode (103) arranged to form a measure-and-hold circuit. In the measure mode the output of the op-amp (102) is connected via the diode (103) to the capacitor (104) which thus stores the peak value of the output signal of the op-amp (102) produced by the change in impedance of the photo-resistor (18) which is coupled to its input by a short time constant RC (differentiating) circuit. In the hold mode the capacitor (104) is connected to the input of the op-amp (102) which is switched to unity gain to provide a reading on a meter (109) connected to its output. The components are mounted in a casing together with power supplies for the electronic circuitry, the cam shaft 38 being rotatable by a function selector control knob which provides five function positions in sequence, STANDBY, FLUSH, ZERO ADJUST, EXPAND, and READ. In the STANDBY position the light source and detector bias circuit are energized but the measure-and-hold circuit is de-energized to conserve power, and the storage capacitor is discharged via a resistor. In the FLUSH position the measure-and-hold circuit is energized and the expansion chamber piston is cocked. The air pump is manually operated to flush the previous sample from the condensation chamber and to draw-in and humidify the gas sample. In the ZERO ADJUST position the inlet and outlet ports are closed by cam 37 and the storage capacitor is connected (via the diode) to the output of the op-amp. A resistor (113) may be adjusted to give a zero reading on the output meter, but this adjustment may be omitted during a sequence of measurements the control being advanced quickly. In the EXPAND position the cam 56 releases the expansion piston which causes the condensation of water droplets on the nuclei. The resulting change in light transmission produces a signal which is applied to the input of the op-amp. The peak output of the op-amp, whose gain is adjustable by means of a range control placed in the feedback loop, is detected and stored on the capacitor (104). When desired the function control is turned to the READ position in which the inlet and outlet ports are opened and the storage capacitor is first disconnected from the output and then connected to the input of the opamp which is simultaneously switched to unity gain. The voltage stored on the capacitor is thus displayed on the output meter. The expansion piston does not form a tight fit in its cylinder and this reduces the strength of return spring necessary and hence the force required to cock the piston. At both ends of its travel however the piston abuts against O-rings (82, 83) arranged in the cylinder to provide a seal. The detector may also comprise a photo-cell, photo-diode or photo-transistor. Mention is made of using known ancillary apparatus for particle size determinations.