Effect of polydisperse aerosol slit and classified aerosol outlet widths on the performance of a cylindrical differential mobility analyzer

The effects of polydisperse aerosol slit and classified aerosol outlet widths on the performance of a cylindrical differential mobility analyzer (DMA) were investigated using numerical simulations and measurements. The approach was verified by comparing the MF-DMA experimental voltages with numerical results. The study shows that the polydisperse aerosol slit width plays an important role in the performance of a cylindrical DMA and has an optimal value. When deviating from this optimal value, the DMA resolution decreases, specifically, increasing the radial ratio and aspect ratio while decreasing the optimal value. However, the enhanced classification length increases the resolution. It is also shown that the performance of DMA deteriorates as the classified aerosol outlet width increases.