SASS®4200

Vehicle-Mount Aerosol Concentrator

Overview

SASS 4200 mounted on military vehicle
Figure 1: SASS 4200 mounted on a military vehicle.
The SASS 4200 is a highly efficient, rugged aerosol particle concentrator and collector that can be mounted onto either a civilian or military vehicle. By mounting only the rugged shock-mounted concentrator on the vehicle’s roof, ancillary equipment such as low volume samplers and bioanalyzers can be placed in a controlled environment within the vehicle while the concentrator performs the primary objective of external collection. In addition, a vehicle-mounted unit can also be rapidly deployed to different locations and can provide continuous sampling along a road or border while the vehicle is in motion.

How Does the Vehicle-Mount Concentrator Work?

The concentrated aerosol generated by the SASS 4200 is available at a nominal 48.3 mm circular port located under the unit, while a similar spigot near the rear of the unit is available for discharging concentrate air after it has been stripped of particles.

Particles are routed into the secondary flow by forcing primary circuit air to circulate through specially shaped channels where centrifugal force and particle momentum are used to isolate and concentrate the particles. The interior structure has been designed so that the smallest flow cross-section is a channel 0.6 mm wide x 6.35 cm long, providing good resistance to clogging by larger particles. A coarse screened cover with 5.4 mm square openings at the unit’s front inlet face further restricts the entrance of large debris.

Operating in Wet Conditions

While it is not recommended that the SASS 4200 be operated in the rain, tests have shown that the unit will tolerate the direct injection of up to 8 liters/minute of water into the inlet in the form of 1 to 2 mm nominal diameter water droplets. Core components within the external shroud are mounted in such a way that they can be easily removed for decontamination or replacement. Dust/rain caps are also provided for both the inlet and outlet faces for use when not sampling.