Determination of Particle Effective Density in Urban Environments with a Differential Mobility Analyzer and Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer

Effective densities of atmospheric aerosols in various locations of the Los Angeles Basin were determined by a DMA-APM technique. Effective density was calculated by comparing voltage distributions of sampled atmospheric aerosols with PSL particles of known density. The five sites chosen for field experiments were: (1) Interstate-710 Freeway, impacted by heavy-duty diesel vehicles; (2) State Route CA-110, open only to gasoline vehicles; (3) Riverside, a receptor site known for secondary particle formation; (4) University of Southern California, a typical urban and industrial environment; and (5) Coast for marine aerosol. The size range selected for this study was from 50 nm to 414 nm. While 50 nm particles exhibited a single effective density multiple effective densities were measured for each of the other particle sizes as significant fractions of these particles are transported from background sources. Regardless of location, 322–414 nm particle effective densities were considerably lower than unity. The lowest effective densities (∼ 0.1 g cm − 3 ) were reported for I-710, confirming that diesel combustion aerosols are rich in chain agglomerates with large void spaces. Riverside exhibited high effective densities (∼ 1.2–1.5 g cm − 3 ) for 50–202 nm particles, which we hypothesize is due to transformations that occur during advection from Los Angeles. Measurements of diurnal variation of effective density at Riverside support this hypothesis. Overall, our results suggest that effective density declines as the particle mobility diameter increases irrespective of location. Fractal dimensions calculated from average effective densities were lowest for I-710 ( D f = 2.41) and CA-110 (D f = 2.54) aerosols, presumably due to the influence of vehicular combustion emission on these sites. By contrast, average fractal dimensions at USC, Riverside and Coast were found to be 2.79, 2.83, and 2.92, respectively. High fractal dimensions at these sites may be the effects of aging, moisture absorption and/or organic vapor condensation on the particles, which fills void space and makes particles more spherical.

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