Computational investigation of chemical processes and particle formation inside a mass spectrometer using CFD

Measurement of nucleating particles in the atmosphere is extremely difficult due to many factors, including non-ideal electric field, flows, and complex ionization reactions. Efforts are underway to develop more sensitive and accurate instruments to measure these particles. This project involves computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of flow physics and chemical processes occurring inside such an instrument using state-of-the-art CFD tools used by many in industry and research. Results obtained from the CFD simulations will be used to improve instrument design resulting in more accurate measurements of nucleating particles.