Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorHagan, David H
dc.contributor.authorKroll, Jesse H
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-15T18:33:05Z
dc.date.available2021-10-15T18:33:05Z
dc.date.issued2020-11
dc.date.submitted2020-09
dc.identifier.issn1867-8548
dc.identifier.issn1867-1381
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/133002
dc.description.abstractLow-cost sensors for measuring particulate matter (PM) offer the ability to understand human exposure to air pollution at spatiotemporal scales that have previously been impractical. However, such low-cost PM sensors tend to be poorly characterized, and their measurements of mass concentration can be subject to considerable error. Recent studies have investigated how individual factors can contribute to this error, but these studies are largely based on empirical comparisons and generally do not examine the role of multiple factors simultaneously. Here, we present a new physics-based framework and open-source software package (opcsim) for evaluating the ability of low-cost optical particle sensors (optical particle counters and nephelometers) to accurately characterize the size distribution and/or mass loading of aerosol particles. This framework, which uses Mie theory to calculate the response of a given sensor to a given particle population, is used to estimate the fractional error in mass loading for different sensor types given variations in relative humidity, aerosol optical properties, and the underlying particle size distribution. Results indicate that such error, which can be substantial, is dependent on the sensor technology (nephelometer vs. optical particle counter), the specific parameters of the individual sensor, and differences between the aerosol used to calibrate the sensor and the aerosol being measured. We conclude with a summary of likely sources of error for different sensor types, environmental conditions, and particle classes and offer general recommendations for the choice of calibrant under different measurement scenarios.en_US
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCopernicus GmbHen_US
dc.relation.isversionof10.5194/AMT-13-6343-2020en_US
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licenseen_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.sourceCopernicus Publicationsen_US
dc.titleAssessing the accuracy of low-cost optical particle sensors using a physics-based approachen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.citationHagan, D. H. and Kroll, J. H.: Assessing the accuracy of low-cost optical particle sensors using a physics-based approach, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6343–6355, 2020en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
dc.relation.journalAtmospheric Measurement Techniquesen_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen_US
dc.type.urihttp://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticleen_US
eprint.statushttp://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerRevieweden_US
dc.date.updated2021-10-15T17:54:14Z
dspace.orderedauthorsHagan, DH; Kroll, JHen_US
dspace.date.submission2021-10-15T17:54:15Z
mit.journal.volume13en_US
mit.journal.issue11en_US
mit.licensePUBLISHER_CC
mit.metadata.statusAuthority Work Neededen_US


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record