Device for determining the mass of a particle in suspension or in solution in a fluid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9506852-B2
Application number	US-201414202490-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2014
Priority date	Mar 11, 2013
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

A device is provided for determining the mass of a particle in suspension or in solution in a fluid, including a first device for the nebulization of the fluid to obtain a flux comprising at least the particle; a second device for the guidance and the aerodynamic focusing of the flux; and a third device for determining the mass of the particle by a frequency measurement, the third device including at least one gravimetric detector, arranged opposite an outlet of the second device, to receive the particle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for determining the mass of at least one particle in suspension or in solution in a fluid, comprising:
a first nebulizing device configured to nebulize the fluid to obtain a flux comprising said at least one particle;
a second device configured for guiding and aerodynamic focusing of the flux, said second device comprising an inlet configured to receive the flux, and an outlet; and
a third device configured to determine a mass of said at least one particle by a frequency measurement, said third device comprising at least one gravimetric detector, arranged opposite to the outlet of the second device, configured to receive said at least one particle.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the second device is electrically neutral.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the second device comprises an aerodynamic lens.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the aerodynamic lens is associated, at the outlet, with an orifice.

5. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a zone at a given pressure containing the first nebulizing device; and
at least one first vacuum enclosure provided to be at a first pressure below a pressure of said zone, the first vacuum enclosure communicating with the zone and containing at least one part of the second device.

6. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the second device further comprises a capillary having an inlet orifice in the zone and an output orifice in the first vacuum enclosure, to place the zone in communication with the first vacuum enclosure.

7. The device according to claim 6 , wherein the second device further comprises an aerodynamic lens opposite the inlet orifice and/or output orifice of the capillary.

8. The device according to claim 5 , further comprising a second vacuum enclosure provided to be at a second pressure, the second vacuum enclosure containing the third device and communicating with the first vacuum enclosure via a first orifice situated opposite the gravimetric detector.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the second pressure is lower than the first pressure.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the gravimetric detector is selected from nano-electromechanical systems, micro-electromechanical systems, quartz crystal microbalances, surface acoustic wave resonators, bulk acoustic wave resonators, and impact detectors.

11. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first nebulizing device is selected from ultrasonic nebulizers, microwave induced nebulization devices, microcapillary array nebulizers, and surface acoustic wave nebulizers.

Assignees

• Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique Et Aux Ene Alt
• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Hentz Sebastien
• Masselon Christophe

Classifications

• G01G3/16

  measuring variations of frequency of oscillations of the body · CPC title

• G01N15/10 Primary

  Investigating individual particles · CPC title

• G01N29/022 Primary

  Fluid sensors based on microsensors, e.g. quartz crystal-microbalance [QCM], surface acoustic wave [SAW] devices, tuning forks, cantilevers, flexural plate wave [FPW] devices (microdevices per se B81B) · CPC title