| Download | - View final version: Comparison of measurement systems for assessing number- and mass-based particle filtration efficiency (PDF, 3.4 MiB)
- View supplementary information: Comparison of measurement systems for assessing number- and mass-based particle filtration efficiency (DOCX, 720 KiB)
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| DOI | Resolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2022.2114596 |
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| Author | Search for: Sipkens, Timothy A.1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1719-7105; Search for: Corbin, Joel C.1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2584-9137; Search for: Koukoulas, Triantafillos1; Search for: Oldershaw, Andrew1; Search for: Lavoie, Thierry1; Search for: Norooz Oliaee, Jalal1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3839-2313; Search for: Liu, Fengshan1; Search for: Leroux, Ian D.1; Search for: Smallwood, Gregory J.1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6602-1926; Search for: Lobo, Prem1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0626-6646; Search for: Green, Richard G.1 |
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| Affiliation | - National Research Council of Canada. Metrology Research Centre
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| Funder | Search for: Public Health Agency of Canada |
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| Format | Text, Article |
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| Subject | particle filtration efficiency; particle size; particle size distribution; PPE; respiratory protection; respiratory standards |
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| Abstract | The particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of a respirator or face mask is one of its key properties. While the physics of particle filtration results in the PFE being size-dependent, measurement standards are specified using a single, integrated PFE, for simplicity. This integrated PFE is commonly defined concerning either the number (NPFE) or mass (MPFE) distribution of particles as a function of size. This relationship is non-trivial; it is influenced by both the shape of the particle distribution and the fact that multiple practical definitions of particle size are used. This manuscript discusses the relationship between NPFE and MPFE in detail, providing a guide to practitioners. Our discussion begins with a description of the theory underlying different variants of PFE. We then present experimental results for a database of size-resolved PFE (SPFE) measurements for several thousand candidate respirators and filter media, including filter media with systematically varied properties and commercial samples that span 20%–99.8% MPFE. The observed relationships between NPFE and MPFE are discussed in terms of the most-penetrating particle size (MPPS) and charge state of the media. For the sodium chloride particles used here, we observed that the MPFE was greater than NPFE for charged materials and vice versa for uncharged materials. This relationship is observed because a shift from NPFE to MPFE weights the distribution toward larger sizes, while charged materials shift the MPPS to smaller sizes. Results are validated by comparing the output of a pair of automated filter testers, which are used in gauging standards compliance, to that of MPFE computed from a system capable of measuring SPFE over the 20 nm–500 nm range. |
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| Publication date | 2022-11-02 |
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| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
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| Licence | |
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| In | |
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| Language | English |
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| Peer reviewed | Yes |
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| Export citation | Export as RIS |
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| Report a correction | Report a correction (opens in a new tab) |
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| Record identifier | ee0d8b8a-add0-4076-92d4-262d1765374f |
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| Record created | 2023-07-26 |
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| Record modified | 2023-07-26 |
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