Simulation Chambers

ISAC is a medium sized indoor simulation chamber which has been developed specifically to investigate interfaces processes such as air-water-air, air-sol interfaces. It is made of a 2m³Teflon envelop embedded in a structure containing the irradiation system UV and visible light sources. On the floor of the chamber sits a tank which can be filled with any liquid/material/chemicals. The liquid filling and emptying can be done without opening the chamber. The cuboid shape of the chamber allows people to enter by a door to manually scrub the walls and the tank allowing to minimize the memory effects of the chamber.

The photolysis system consists of 32 superactinic lamps (Philips TL05 40W,l= 300-480 nm withlmax= 360 nm) and 32 low pressure mercury lamps (Philips TUV,l= 254 nm). The lamps are wired in parallel thus allowing a large variation in the photolysis frequencies/radical levels within the chamber.

PACS-C3 consists of 3 different simulation chambers, a stationary 27 m³ chamber (air-conditioned at 15 to 30°C), a mobile 9 m³ chamber (without own air condition), and a stationary 9 m³ cool chamber (air-conditioned at 10 to 30°C).The stationary big chamber has the advantage of a air volume which is important when many instruments sample for long times, such as for intercomparison purposes. The mobile chamber can be brought to any emission source and is therefore especially suited to e.g. evaluate secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from test benches. The cool chamber is able to simulate SOA formation also at temperatures below 0°C, which is especially relevant for wood burning emissions, which typically occur at low temperatures.

The simulation chamber LEAK has a cylindrical geometry and a volume of 19 m³. Main focus of the performed work is on SOA formation and particulate products. LEAK experiments are performed at humidities up to 80%, allowing the study of multiphase chemical processes with deliquescent particles. The Leipzig Biomass Burning Facility (LBBF) is part of LEAK. This facility allows studying not only the emissions from biomass burning but also the processing (aging) of the emitted smoke. The Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) is a world-widely unique infrastructure for investigating aerosol-cloud-interaction processes under well-defined fluid- and thermodynamic conditions.

ILMARI facility is a unique and top class laboratory facility bringing together combustion emission studies, atmospheric aging processes and health related toxicological studies. The real life combustion appliances and also real plants are connected to atmospheric simulation chamber enabling the simulation of atmospheric particle formation and aging processes of the exhaust in realistic conditions. The highly controlled in-vitro studies using on-line cell exposure unit and subsequent toxicological analysis allows the investigation of activated cellular mechanisms related to adverse aerosol health effects.

FORTH-SC is an indoor smog chamber. It is made of a10-15 m³ Teflon reactor in a 30 m³ temperature controlled UV-equipped room.Instrumentation includes: HR-AMS, PTR-MS, SMPS, Ultrafine-SMPS, APS, thermodenuder, SO², NOx, CO, CO², O³, NH3 monitors, MAAP, TEOM, nephelometer, Dry-Ambient Aerosol Size Spectrometer (DAASS).Its unique feature consists of its source characterization (wood burning, open burning, gasoline and diesel engines, scooters, food cooking, etc.)

The infrastructure comprises a pair of coupled chambers within the Centre of Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), at the University of Manchester that may be accessed together or as separate installations.The Manchester aerosol chamber (MAC) has been designed to study atmospheric processes of multicomponent aerosols under controlled conditions.The Manchester Ice Cloud Chamber (MICC) is a fall-tube 10 m tall and 1 m in diameter, spanning 3 floors with a cold room on each, capable of reaching temperatures as low as -55°C. The chamber can also be pressure sealed and evacuated to as low as 50 mbar to simulate conditions found in the upper troposphere. Liquid water, mixed phase, or entirely glaciated clouds can be generated in the chamber, with cloud liquid water contents ranging from zero to the highest values found in nature.

HIRAC is a stainless steel, 2 m³ cylindrical simulation chamber equipped with a variety of instrumentation to monitor both radicals and stable species. The focus of HIRAC is on gas phase chemistry.