On-board measurement of particle numbers and their size distribution from a light-duty diesel vehicle:Influences of VSP and altitude

In this study,the particle size-resolved distribution from a China-3 certificated light-duty diesel vehicle was measured by using a portable emission measurement system（PEMS）.In order to examine the influences of vehicle specific power（VSP） and high-altitude operation,measurements were conducted at 8 constant speeds,which ranged from 10 to 80 km/hr at10 km/hr intervals,and two different high altitudes,namely 2200 and 3200 m.The results demonstrated that the numbers of particles in all size ranges decreased significantly as VSP increased when the test vehicle was running at lower speeds（〈 20 km/hr）,while at a moderate speed（between 30 and 60 km/hr）,the particle number was statistically insensitive to increase VSP.Under high-speed cruising conditions,the numbers of ultrafine particles and PM2.5were insensitive to changes in VSP,but the numbers of nanoparticles and PM10 surged considerably.An increase in the operational altitude of the test vehicle resulted in increased particle number emissions at low and high driving speeds;however,particle numbers obtained at moderate speeds decreased as altitude rose.When the test vehicle was running at moderate speeds,particle numbers measured at the two altitudes were very close,except for comparatively higher number concentrations of nanoparticles measured at 2200 m.

An Improved Gaussian Particle Filter Algorithm Using KLD-Sampling

To adjust the samples of filtering adaptively,an improved Gaussian particle filter algorithm based on Kullback-Leibler divergence(KLD)-sampling(KLGPF)is proposed in this paper.During the process of sampling,the algorithm calculates the KLD to adjust the size of the particle set between the discrete probability density function of particles and the true posterior probability density function.KLGPF has significant effect when the noise obeys Gaussian distribution and the statistical characteristics of noise change abruptly.Simulation results show that KLGPF could maintain a good estimation effect when the noise statistics changes abruptly.Compared with the particle filter algorithm using KLD-sampling(KLPF),the speed of KLGPF increases by 28%under the same conditions.

Seasonal Variations of Number Size Distributions and Mass Concentrations of Atmospheric Particles in Beijing

Particle number and mass concentrations were measured in Beijing during the winter and summer periods in 2003, together with some other parameters including black carbon (BC) and meteorological conditions. Particle mass concentrations exhibited low seasonality, and the ratio of PM2.5/PM10 in winter was higher than that in summer. Particle number size distribution (PSD) was characterized by four modes and exhibited low seasonality. BC was well correlated with the number and mass concentrations of accumulation and coarse particles, indicating these size particles are related to anthropogenic activities. Particle mass and number concentrations (except ultra-fine and nucleation particles) followed well the trends of BC concentration for the majority of the day, indicating that most particles were associated with primary emissions. The diurnal number distributions of accumulation and coarse mode particles were characterized by two peaks.

Micro-organic dust combustion considering particles thermal resistance

Organic dust flames deal with a field of science in which many complicated phenomena like pyrolysis or devolatization of solid particles and combustion of volatile particles take place. One-dimensional flame propagation in cloud of fuel mixture is analyzed in which flame structure is divided into three zones. The first zone is preheat zone in which rate of the chemical reaction is small and transfer phenomena play significant role in temperature and mass distributions. In this model, it is assumed that particles pyrolyze first to yield a gaseous fuel mixture. The second zone is reaction zone where convection and vaporization rates of the particles are small. The third zone is convection zone where diffusive terms are negligible in comparison of other terms. Non-zero Biot number is used in order to study effect of particles thermal resistance on flame characteristics. Also, effect of particle size on combustion of micro organic dust is investigated. According to obtained results, it is understood that both flame temperature and burning velocity decrease with rise in the Biot number and particle size.

MEASUREMENTS OF PARTICLE NUMBER SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS AND NEW PARTICLE FORMATION EVENTS DURING WINTER IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA REGION,CHINA

Particle number size distribution(PNSD) between 10 nm and 20 μm were measured in the Pearl River Delta(PRD) region in winter 2011.The average particle number concentration of the nucleation mode(10-20 nm),Aitken mode(20-100 nm),accumulation mode(100 nm-1μm) and coarse mode(1-20 μm) particles were 1 552,7 470,4 012,and 19 cm-3,respectively.The volume concentration of accumulation mode particles with peak at 300 nm accounted for over 70% of the total volume concentration.Diurnal variations and dependencies on meteorological parameters of PNSD were investigated.The diurnal variation of nucleation mode particles was mainly influenced by new particle formation events,while the diurnal variation of Aitken mode particles correlated to the traffic emission and the growth process of nucleation mode particles.When the PRD region was controlled by a cold high pressure,conditions of low relative humidity,high wind speed and strong radiation are favorable for the occurrence of new particle formation(NPF) events.The frequency of occurrence of NPF events was 21.3% during the whole measurement period.Parameters describing NPF events,including growth rate(GR) and source rate of condensable vapor(Q),were slightly larger than those in previous literature.This suggests that intense photochemical and biological activities may be the source of condensable vapor for particle growth,even during winter in the PRD.

Analysis of choked two-phase flows of gas and particle in a C-D nozzle

Particle-gas two-phase flows show significantly different behaviors compared to single gas flow through a convergent-divergent nozzle. Non-equilibrium effects, thermal and velocity lag results to the inefficiency of nozzle performance. In the present studies, theoretical analysis and numerical simulations were carried out to investigate particle-gas flows in a C-D nozzle. Homogeneous equilibrium model that no lag in velocity and temperature occurs between particles and gas phase was used to derive mass flow rate and sound speed of multiphase flows. Two-phase flows are regarded as isentropic flows that isentropic relations can be used for homogeneous equilibrium model. Discrete phase model （DPM） where interaction with continuous phase and discrete random walk model were considered was used to calculate particle- gas flows. Particle mass loadings were varied to investigate their effects on choking phenomena of particle-gas flows. Mass flow rate and sound speed of mixture flows were theoretically calculated by homogeneous equilibrium model and compared with numerical results. Shock wave structure and particle number density were also obtained to be different at different particle mass loading and operating pressure conditions.

Particle Density in Zero Temperature Symmetry Restoring Phase Transitions in Four-Fermion Interaction Models

By means of critical behaviors of the dynamical fermion mass in four-fermion interaction models, we show by explicit calculations that when T = 0 the particle density will have a discontinuous jumping across the critical chemical potential μc in 2D and 3D Gross-Neveu (GN) model and these physically explain the first-order feature of the corresponding symmetry restoring phase transitions. For the second-order phase transitions in the 3D GN model when T → 0 and in 4D Nambu–Jona–Lasinio (NJL) model when T = 0, it is proven that the particle density itself will be continuous across μc but its derivative over the chemical potential μ will have a discontinuous jumping. The results give a physical explanation of implications of the tricritical point in the 3D GN model. The discussions also show effectiveness of the critical analysis approach of phase transitions.

Two-phase micro-and macro-time scales in particle-laden turbulent channel flows

The micro- and macro-time scales in two-phase turbulent channel flows are investigated using the direct nu- merical simulation and the Lagrangian particle trajectory methods for the fluid- and the particle-phases, respectively. Lagrangian and Eulerian time scales of both phases are cal- culated using velocity correlation functions. Due to flow anisotropy, micro-time scales are not the same with the theo- retical estimations in large Reynolds number （isotropic） tur- bulence. Lagrangian macro-time scales of particle-phase and of fluid-phase seen by particles are both dependent on particle Stokes number. The fluid-phase Lagrangian inte- gral time scales increase with distance from the wall, longer than those time scales seen by particles. The Eulerian inte- gral macro-time scales increase in near-wall regions but de- crease in out-layer regions. The moving Eulerian time scales are also investigated and compared with Lagrangian integral time scales, and in good agreement with previous measure- ments and numerical predictions. For the fluid particles the micro Eulerian time scales are longer than the Lagrangian ones in the near wall regions, while away from the walls the micro Lagrangian time scales are longer. The Lagrangian integral time scales are longer than the Eulerian ones. The results are useful for further understanding two-phase flow physics and especially for constructing accurate prediction models of inertial particle dispersion.

Influence of air masses on particle number concentration and size distribution at Mt. Waliguan, Qinghai Province, China

Particle size distribution of 12-500 nm was measured at Mt. Waliguan, China Global Atmosphere Watch Baseline Observatory, from Aug. in 2005 to May in 2007.72-hr back-trajectories at 100-m arrival height above ground level for the same period were calculated at 6：00, 12：00, and 21：00 （Beijing Time） for each day using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory （HYSPLIT-4） model developed by NOAA/ARL. It was found that air mass sources significantly impact particle number concentration and size distribution at Mt. Waliguan. Cluster analysis of back-trajectories show that higher Aitken mode particle number concentration was observed when air masses came from or passed by the northeastern section of Mt. Waliguan, with short trajectory length. High number concentration of nucleation mode was associated with air masses from clean regions, with long trajectory length.

Behaviors of thermalization for the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou system with small number of particles

We study the behaviors of thermalization in Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou(FPUT) system with small number of particles using periodic boundary conditions. The total energy has initially equidistributed among some of the lowest frequency modes. The thermalization time t_(eq) depending on system's energy density ε scales as t_(eq) ∝ε^(-4) only within a certain range of nonlinearity. In this range of nonlinearity, energies can interchange between the initial excited modes and other modes continuously with time until reaching the thermalized state. With a further decreasing nonlinearity, a steeper growth than ε^(-4) will appear. In the very weakly nonlinear regime, energies on low frequency modes are found to be frozen on large time scales. Redistribution of mode energies happens through the resonances of high frequency modes.

Estimate Totel Number of the Earth Atmospheric Particle with Standard Atmosphere model

The total number of atmospheric particle (AP) is an important datum for planetary science and geoscience. Estimating entire AP number is also a familiar question in general physics. With standard atmosphere model, considering the number difference of AP caused by rough and uneven in the earth surface below, the sum of dry clean atmosphere particle is . So the whole number of AP including water vapor is . The rough estimation for the total number of AP on other planets (or satellites) in condensed state is also discussed on the base of it.

Effect of Particle Number Density on Wave Dispersion in a Two-Dimensional Yukawa System

Effect of the particle number density on the dispersion properties of longitudinal and transverse lattice waves in a two-dimensional Yukawa charged-dust system is investigated using molecular dynamics simulation. The dispersion relations for the waves are obtained. It is found that the frequencies of both the longitudinal and transverse dust waves increase with the density and when the density is sufficiently high a cutoff region appears at the short wavelength. With the increase of the particle number density, the common frequency tends to increase, and the sound speed of the longitudinal wave also increases, but that of the transverse wave remains low.

Evaluating the performance of a WRF microphysics ensemble through comparisons with aircraft observations

observation data obtained in a mesoscale convective system are compared to Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model simulations using four microphysics schemes(Morrison,WSM6,P3,SBM)with different complexities.The main purpose of this paper is to assess the performance of the microphysics ensemble in terms of cloud microphysical properties.Results show that although the vertical distributions of liquid water content(LWC)and ice water content(IWC)simulated by the four members are quite different in the convective cloud region,they are relatively uniform in the stratiform cloud region.Overall,the results of the Morrison scheme are very similar to the ensemble average,and both of them are closer to the observations compared to the other schemes.Besides,the authors also note that all members still overpredict the LWC by a factor of 2–8 in some regions,resulting in large deviation between the observation and ensemble average.

Characteristics of settling of dilute suspension of particles with different density at high Reynolds numbers

Dilute suspension of particles with same density and size develops clusters when settle at high Reynolds number(≥250).It is due to particles entrapment in the wakes produced by upstream particles.In this work,this phenomenon is studied for suspension having particles with different densities by numerical simulations.The particle-fluid interactions are modelled using immersed boundary method and inter-particle collisions are modelled using discrete element method.In simulations,settling Reynolds number is always kept above 250 and the suspension solid volume fraction is nearly 0.1 percent.Two particle density ratios(i.e.density of heavy particles to lighter particles)equal to 4:1 and 2:1 and particles with same density are studied.For each density ratio,the percentage volume fraction of each particle density is nearly varied from 0.8 to 0.2.Settling characteristics such as microstructures of settling particle,average settling velocity and velocity fluctuations of settling particles are studied.Simulations show that for different density particles settling characteristics of suspension is largely dominated by heavy particles.At the end of paper,the underlying physics is explained for the anomalies observed in simulation.

Turbulent Modulation in Particulate Flow: A Review of Critical Variables

A review of the main mechanisms influencing turbulent modulation in the presence of spherical and non-spherical particles is presented. The review demonstrates the need for more numerical and experimental work with higher accuracy than obtained so far and the need to resolve the flow near the surface of particles with the aim to re-evaluate the quantitative effect of different parameters on turbulent modulation. The review reveals that non-spherical particles have more adverse effect on turbulence as compared to spherical ones, for the same ambient conditions.

Comparison of aircraft observations with ensemble forecast model results in terms of the microphysical characteristics of stratiform precipitation

The prediction of the particle number concentration and liquid/ice water content of cloud is significant for many aspects of atmospheric science.However,given the uncertainties in the initial and boundary conditions and imperfections of microphysical schemes,the accurate prediction of these microphysical properties of cloud is still a big challenge.The ensemble approach may be a viable way to reduce forecast uncertainties.In this paper,a large-scale stratiform cloud precipitation process is studied by comparing results of a 10-member ensemble forecast model with aircraft observation data.By means of the ensemble average,the prediction of bulk parameters such as liquid water content and ice water content can be improved in comparison with the control member,but the particle number concentrations are still one to two orders of magnitude less than those from observations.Intercomparison of raindrop size spectra reveals a big distinction between observations and predictions for particles with a diameter less than 1000μm.

Particle number size distribution and new particle formation:New characteristics during the special pollution control period in Beijing

New particle formation is a key process in shaping the size distribution of aerosols in the atmosphere.We present here the measurement results of number and size distribution of aerosol particles （10–10000 nm in diameter） obtained in the summer of 2008,at a suburban site in Beijing,China.We firstly reported the pollution level,particle number size distribution,diurnal variation of the particle number size distribution and then introduced the characteristics of the particle formation processes.The results showed that the number concentration of ultrafine particles was much lower than the values measured in other urban or suburban areas in previous studies.Sharp increases of ultrafine particle count were frequently observed at noon.An examination of the diurnal pattern suggested that the burst of ultrafine particles was mainly due to new particle formation promoted by photochemical processes.In addition,high relative humidity was a key factor driving the growth of the particles in the afternoon.During the 2-month observations,new particle formation from homogeneous nucleation was observed for 42.7% of the study period.The average growth rate of newly formed particles was 3.2 nm/hr,and varied from 1.2 to 8.0 nm/hr.The required concentration of condensable vapor was 4.4×10 7 cm-3,and its source rate was 1.2×10 6 cm-3 sec-1.Further calculation on the source rate of sulphuric acid vapor indicated that the average participation of sulphuric acid to particle growth rates was 28.7%.

Impacts of continuously regenerating trap and particle oxidation catalyst on the NO_2 and particulate matter emissions emitted from diesel engine

Two continuously regenerating diesel particulate filter （CRDPF） with different configurations and one particles oxidation catalyst （POC） were employed to perform experiments in a controlled laboratory setting to evaluate their effects on NO2, smoke and particle number emissions. The results showed that the application of the after-treatments increased the emission ratios of NO2/NOx significantly. The results of smoke emissions and particle number （PN） emissions indicated that both CRDPFs had sufficient capacity to remove more than 90% of total particulate matter （PM） and more than 97% of solid particles. However, the POC was able to remove the organic components of total PM, and only partially to remove the carbonaceous particles with size less than 30 nm. The negligible effects of POC on larger particles were observed due to its honeycomb structure leads to an inadequate residence time to oxidize the solid particles or trap them. The particles removal efficiencies of CRDPFs had high degree of correlations with the emission ratio of NO2/NOx. The PN emission results from two CRDPFs indicated that more NO2 generating in diesel oxidation catalyst section could obtain the higher removal efficiency of solid particles. However this also increased the risk of NO2 exposure in atmosphere.

Application of nanoparticle tracking analysis for characterising the fate of engineered nanoparticles in sediment-water systems

Novel applications of nanotechnology may lead to the release of engineered nanoparticles（ENPs）, which result in concerns over their potential environmental hazardous impact. It is essential for the research workers to be able to quantitatively characterise ENPs in the environment and subsequently to assist the risk assessment of the ENPs. This study hence explored the application of nanoparticle tracking system（NTA） to quantitatively describe the behaviour of the ENPs in natural sediment-water systems. The NTA allows the measurement of both particle number concentration（PNC） and particle size distribution（PSD） of the ENPs. The developed NTA method was applied to a range of gold and magnetite ENPs with a selection of surface properties. The results showed that the positively-charged ENPs interacted more strongly with the sediment than neutral and negatively-charged ENPs. It was also found that the citrate coated Au ENPs had a higher distribution percentage（53%） than 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid coated Au ENPs（20%） and citrate coated magnetite ENPs（21%）. The principles of the electrostatic interactions between hard（and soft） acids and bases（HSAB） are used to explain such behaviours; the hard base coating（i.e. citrate ions） will interact more strongly with hard acid（i.e. magnetite） than soft acid（i.e. gold）.The results indicate that NTA is a complementary method to existing approaches to characterise the fate and behaviour of ENPs in natural sediment.

Modeling the impact of the viaduct on particles dispersion from vehicle exhaust in street canyons

In this paper, the impact of the viaduct on flow and traffic exhausting particles dispersion within urban street canyons was numerically simulated using a computational fluid dynamics （CFD） model. Two-dimensional flow and dispersion of particles from traffic exhausts were modeled using the standard k-e turbulence model. The street canyons with a viaduct at different widths and different heights above the ground are simulated. The results show that the airflow in street canyon is evidently in- fluenced by the viaduct： The position of the main vortex center is changed, especially there are two strong vortexes when the viaduct is placed at 10 m height above the ground. It is found based on the study of the particles number concentrations （PNCs） that the viaduct may mitigate the pollution level in the street canyon sometimes. The impact of the viaduct width on PNCs is stronger than that of the height. The study of PNDs reveals that the mean PNCs at the wall of upwind building increase when a viaduct is placed in street canyon. In addition, it is found based on the study of mean particles residence time （PRT） that the removal of the particles strongly correlates to the mean PNCs. The results indicate that the viaduct is an important factor to influence the flow patterns and particles dispersion in street canyons.