Time-Resolved Aerosol Collector (TRAC)
The latest project from Greg Eakins is a compact, automated Time-Resolved Aerosol Collector (TRAC). This instrument takes samples of the atmosphere in field environments and deposits aerosol particles onto individual carbon films. The deposits are time stamped and can be combined with GPS and other data to form a bigger picture of the air quality in our skies.
This unit has flown on the Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research plane (ALAR) here at Purdue, as well as in an NOAA DHC-6-300 plane over the skies of Colorado.
This project showcases a multitude of technologies we work with here in the Amy Facility. The heart is a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ talking to 2 Arduino Zeros that control stepper motors for the sampling arm and the rotating carbon grid platter. The Pi is running a webserver based on Node.js that provides a user interface can be accessed over a local network from any device with a web browser.
The mechanical build, 3D printing, and machining were done by Erick Norwood and Randy Replogle. Electronics assembly was done by Cathy McIntyre. This project is a modernization / upgrade to an original design fabricated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for Dr. Alexander Laskin, Purdue Professor of Analytical Chemistry.
- A Look Inside the Amy Facility
- Optical Stimulator
- Hot Plate Photoreactor
- Modular Low-Cost Photoreactor Chamber
- Pulse Stretching Amplifier
- Florescence Imaging System
- Linear Rail Fatigue Tester
- Spherical Void Electrodynamic Levitator
- Mass Spec Solids Probe
- Cold Ion Spectroscopy
- Photomultiplier Tube Power Supply
- Cryogenic Cooling Stage
- Carbon Fiber Tubing
- Coiled Tubing Reactor
- E-Beam Project
- TRAC
- Flow Reactor
- Triboluminescence
- Vertical Air Profiler
- Argos Data Collector
- ALAR
- O'Buoy Project
- Microsecond Raman imaging might probe cells, organs for disease
- High Bandwidth 16-Channel PMT Amplifier
- RCF Controller
- Photochemical Reactor
- Apple Pencil Charger
- 8-Channel RF Signal Generator