Evaluation of the Particle Filtration Efficiency of Surgical Masks by Electrostatic and Light Scattering Particle Counters

Authors

  • Panich Intra Research Unit of Applied Electric Field in Engineering, College of Intrgrated Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna
  • Visut Asanavijit Research Unit of Applied Electric Field in Engineering, College of Intrgrated Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna
  • Wisanapat Rattanachan Research Unit of Applied Electric Field in Engineering, College of Intrgrated Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna

Keywords:

COVID19, Surgical Mask, Light scattering particle counters, Electrostatic particle counters

Abstract

The goal of this study was to use light scattering and electrostatic particle counters to evaluate the particle filtration efficiency of surgical masks. Samples of surgical masks that have been approved by the FDA were chosen for testing in this study. Particle filtration efficiency was measured using polystyrene latex spherical particles with diameters of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 µm at a face velocity of 10.6 cm/s and a test area of 17.8 cm2 according to the ASTM F2299-03 standard. The light scattering and electrostatic particle counters were used to measure the upstream and downstream particle number concentrations of the test mask in order to evaluate the measured particle filtration efficiency of both counters. The particle filtration efficiency of the two counters was found to be similar based on the experimental results. It was shown that the particle filtration efficiency that obtained from both counters were in the range of 95.38–98.61%, the difference in the mean absolute percentage error of the particle filtration efficiency between the light scattering and electrostatic particle counts was about 0.99, 2.03, 1.84 and 1.79 for particles 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 µm, respectively. The results of the comparison suggest that electrostatic particle counters may be used to measure particle filtration efficiency in a way that is comparable to the ASTM F2299-03 standard for light scattering particle counters.

 

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Published

2022-06-30

How to Cite

[1]
P. Intra, V. . Asanavijit, and W. . Rattanachan, “Evaluation of the Particle Filtration Efficiency of Surgical Masks by Electrostatic and Light Scattering Particle Counters”, Eng. & Technol. Horiz., vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 53–69, Jun. 2022.

Issue

Vol. 39 No. 2 (2022): April-June

Section

Research Articles

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