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Aircraft Aerosol System

The aerosol system is mounted inside a Cessna-172XP. The aerosol inlet is on the leading wing tip on the starboard side. A temperature and RH sensor is also located on the starboard wing.

photo of cessna-172xp
Cessna-172XP

Aircraft Aerosol Inlet and T/RH Sensor

The aerosol inlet and T/RH sensor are mounted on the outside of the aircraft.

photo of aerosol inlet
Aerosol Inlet: The aerosol inlet is mounted on the starboard (right) wing of the aircraft. The aerosol inlet nozzle is a diffuser design with slightly rounded leading edges. The nozzle orifice was sized to be isokinetic for typical C172 airspeeds (~50 m/s) and a volumetric sampling flow rate of 30 LPM. The nozzle and inlet tube are constructed of anodized aluminum. The aerosol inlet passes particles through large diameter flexible conductive tubing to the instrument rack.
photo of t/rh sensor
T/RH Sensor: The T/RH sensor (Humicap, Vaisala Inc.) is mounted on the outside of the aircraft on the the bottom of the right (starboard) wing. The sensor is mounted inside a counter-flow inlet (on loan from NCAR's ATD group) .

T/RH SENSOR

photo of counter-flow inlet in lab
Counter-flow inlet for sensor (in lab)
photo of counter-flow inlet on wing of plane
Counter-flow inlet for sensor (on wing)
close up photo of counter flow inlet
Close-up of counter-flow inlet and sensor
another close up photo of counter flow inlet
Closer close-up of counter-flow inlet and sensor

AIRCRAFT AEROSOL SYSTEM

The aerosol instrumentation payload is bolted down inside the Cessna. It consists primarily of a TSI nephelometer and a Radiance Research particle light absorption photometer (PSAP). Ancillary equipment includes a 1 micrometer impactor to exclude supermicrometer particles and a heater to ensure the relative humidity of the airstream is less than 40% RH.

photo of starboard side of aerosol rack
Front (starboard) view of rack
photo of port side of aerosol rack
Back (port) view of rack
photo of aerosol rack from rear of plane
View of rack from rear of plane

AIR STREAM CONTROL

The air stream is dried by gentle heating using an in-line heater, and particles greater than 1 micrometer are removed by an impactor before being sampled by the light scattering and absorption instruments.

photo of impactor and heater in lab
Impactor and heater (in lab) (heater wrapped in yellow tape) Note: actual configuration on plane is slightly different than this photo
photo of impactor and heater on plane
Impactor and heater (on plane) with insulated sample line
photo of flow control equipment in lab
Flow control (in lab) - pump, mass flow controller, solonoid valve
photo of flow control equipment on plane
Flow control (on plane) - solenoid valve, mass flow controller