Effect of Particle Size on the Performance of an N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator and a Surgical Mask at Various Breathing Conditions
Open accessAbstract
The effect of aerosol particle size on the performance of an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) and a surgical mask (SM) was evaluated under different breathing conditions, including breathing frequency and mean inspiratory flow (MIF) rate. The FFR and SM were sealed on a manikin headform and challenged with charge-equilibrated NaCl aerosol. Filter penetration (P filter) was determined as the ratio of aerosol concentrations inside and outside the FFR/SM size-selectively (28 channels) within a range of 20 to 500 nm. In addition, the same models of the FFR and SM were donned, but not sealed, on an advanced manikin headform covered with skin-like material. Total inward leakage (TIL), which represents the total particle penetration, was measured under conditions identical to the filter penetration experiment. Testing was conducted at four mean MIFs (15, 30, 55, and 85 L/min) combined with five breathing frequencies (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 breaths/min). The results show that SM produced much higher P filter and TIL values, and thus provide little protection against aerosols in the size range tested. P filter was significantly affected by particle size and breathing flow rate (p < 0.05) for the tested FFR and SM. Surprisingly, for both devices, P filter as a function of the particle size exhibited more than one peak under all tested breathing conditions. The effect of breathing frequency on P filter was generally less pronounced, especially for lower MIFs. For the FFR and SM, TIL increased with increasing particle size up to about 50 nm; for particles above 50 nm, the total penetration was not significantly affected by particle size and breathing frequency; however, the effect of MIF remained significant. Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research
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The lack of significant change in filtration efficiency between H2O2 and heat treatment on the N95 respirator is because of the involvement of mechanical filtration and particle size.
“because of the involvement of mechanical filtration 34 and the particle size. 36”
From Assessment of N95 and K95 respirator decontamination: fiber integrity, filtration efficiency, and dipole charge density (2020) · cites this paper as [36]
The Results and Discussion section reports that particle size significantly affected filter penetration in the tested N95 respirator and discusses possible mechanical and electrostatic contributions. The paper does not compare H2O2 with heat treatment or explain a lack of significant difference between those treatments. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFiltration efficiency depends on the particle size and air flow in the air.
“illustrating that filtration efficiency depends on the particle size and air flow in the air. 36”
From Assessment of N95 and K95 respirator decontamination: fiber integrity, filtration efficiency, and dipole charge density (2020) · cites this paper as [36]
Mechanical filtration and particle size are involved in determining filtration efficiency.
“because of the involvement of mechanical filtration 34 and the particle size. 36”
From Assessment of N95 and K95 respirator decontamination: fiber integrity, filtration efficiency, and dipole charge density (2020) · cites this paper as [36]
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- Authors
- He, X., Reponen, T., McKay, R. T., & Grinshpun, S. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Venue
- Aerosol Science and Technology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-11
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1180-1187
- ISSN
- 0278-6826 (ISSN-L)
- 1521-7388
- PMC
- PMC6756464
- OpenAlex
- W2073215115
- Cited by
- 64
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 1.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Aerosol Science and Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Cincinnati
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (T42-OH008432, OH008432)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Infection Control and Ventilation
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Aerosol Filtration and Electrostatic Precipitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Inhalation and Respiratory Drug Delivery
- Keywords
- N95 respirators, surgical masks, particle size, filter penetration, breathing conditions, respiratory rate, NaCl aerosol, respiratory protection, aerosol filtration
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