Investigation of loss factors of aerosol particles in the sampling systems of a nuclear power plant

The loss factor of particles with different sizes in a sampling system of a nuclear power plant has been experimentally determined. As shown by optical particle size measurements, the particle size distribution of the test aerosol titanium dioxide (aerodynamic diameter between 0.6 and 8 mu m) agrees well with that of the ambient aerosol in the nuclear power plant. The total loss factor for titanium dioxide lies between 1.3 and 1.6. This means a loss of particles of about 23-38% and shows that the transfer properties of the sampling system are good. The experimental results for small particles (aerodynamic diameter 0.6-8 mu m) are in good agreement with those of theoretical estimations. The transfer properties of the sampling system for larger particles (aerodynamic diameters up to 3 mm) have been investigated, too. The results of the measured loss factors show that the sampling system is suitable even in this case. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.