Analysis of soot nanoparticles in a laminar premixed ethylene flame by scanning mobility particle sizer

Mobility size distributions of soot particles produced from a fuel-rich, laminar premixed ethylene flat flame were obtained by in situ probe sampling and online analysis using a nano scanning mobility particle sizer. The emphasis of the work was the development of an in situ sampling technique to follow the evolution of nanoparticles formed in flames. Particle size distribution functions were obtained along the centerline of the flame in a spatially resolved manner. Considerable efforts were made to eliminate particle losses in the sample probe. To this end, the effect of dilution on particle losses in the sample probe was systematically studied. It is demonstrated that particle losses due to coagulation and diffusive wall deposition were negligible using a dilution ratio greater than similar to10(4). The sampling technique is shown to be capable of closely following the evolution of particle size distribution from the nucleation mode to mass growth mode dominated by particle coagulation and gas-surface reactions. Beyond the particle nucleation region of the flame, the size spectra were found to be distinctively bimodal, indicating sustained particle nucleation throughout the flame studied.