The nature of air flow near the inlets of blunt dust sampling probes

This paper sets out to describe the nature of air flow near blunt dust samplers in a way which allows a relatively simple assessment of their performances for collecting dust particles. Of particular importance is the shape of the limiting stream surface which divides the sampled air from that which passes outside the sampler, and how this is affected by the free-stream air velocity, the sampling flow rate, and the shape of the sampler body. This was investigated for two-dimensional and axially-symmetric sampler systems by means of complementary experiments using electrolytic tank potential flow analogues and a wind tunnel respectively.

For extreme conditions the flow of air entering the sampling orifice may be wholly divergent or wholly convergent. For a wide range of intermediate conditions, however, the flow first diverges then converges, exhibiting a so-called “spring onion effect”. Whichever of these applies for a particular situation, the flow may be considered to consist of two parts, the outer one dominated by the flow about the sampler body and the inner one dominated by the flow into the sampling orifice. Particle transport in this two-part flow may be assessed using ideas borrowed from thin-walled probe theory.