Smart conditional sampler for airborne particles

恶劣的空气质量是公众健康和环境方面的一个主要问题。TZOA是一家加拿大公司，开发用于空气质量监测的传感器。在这一领域发展的大多数传感器测量悬浮颗粒物的浓度和粒度分布，但没有提供关于颗粒组成的信息。颗粒组成在评估颗粒物及其来源的影响时非常重要--即找到减少影响的方法。许多室内空气质量研究已经确定了颗粒组成的特征，但没有达到确定主要来源所需的空间和时间分辨率。表征颗粒组成的方法要么极其昂贵，要么非常缓慢。运行仪器、采样器和分析所需的专家是获得所需测量的非常大的障碍。TZOA的目标是设计一种廉价、小型、智能的条件颗粒采样器，可以大量应用。有条件采样器在风向、占用或系统运行的特征周期内收集有限数量的样本。这将以低成本提供所需的信息。拟议的项目旨在开发由该采样器收集的气溶胶的收集、成分分析和来源解析的方法。

Poor air quality is a major concern with respect to the public health and environment. TZOA is a Canadiancompany that develops sensors for air quality monitoring. Most of the sensors developed in this field measurethe concentration and size distribution of suspended particulate matters, but provide no information on thecomposition of the particles. Particle composition is important in assessing the impacts of the particles andtheir source - that is finding ways of reducing the impacts.Particle composition has been characterized in a number of indoor air quality studies, but not with the spatialand temporal resolution needed to determine the major sources. Methods to characterize particle compositionare either extremely costly or very slow. The expertize needed to run the instrumentation, samplers and analysisis a very large barrier to obtaining the needed measurements.TZOA is aiming to design an inexpensive, small, and smart conditional particle sampler that can be deployedin a large quantity. A conditional sampler collects a limited number of samples for characteristic periods ofwind direction, occupation or system operation. This provides the information needed at low cost. Theproposed project aims to develop methods for the collection, composition analysis, and source apportionmentof aerosols collected by this sampler.