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Updated: Apr 25, 2026
Experimental Protocol to Investigate Particle Aerosolization of a Product Under Abrasion and Under Environmental Weathering
Published on: September 16, 2016
Granulometric characterization of airborne particulate release during spray application of nanoparticle-doped
Daniel Göhler1, Michael Stintz1
1Research Group Mechanical Process Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Dresden, Münchner Platz 3, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
Airborne particle release during the spray application of coatings was analyzed in the nanometre and micrometre size range. In order to represent realistic conditions of domestic and handcraft use, the spray application was performed using two types of commercial propellant spray cans and a manual gravity spray gun. Four different types of coatings doped with three kinds of metal-oxide tracer nanoparticle additives (TNPA) were analyzed. Depending on the used coating and the kind of spray unit, particulate release numbers between 5 × 108 and 3 × 1010 particles per gram ejection mass were determined in the dried spray aerosols. The nanoparticulate fraction amounted values between 10 and 60 no%. The comparison between nanoparticle-doped coatings with non-doped ones showed no TNPA-attributed differences in both the macroscopic spray process characteristics and the particle release numbers. SEM, TEM and EDX-analyzes showed that the spray aerosols were composed of particles made up solely from matrix material and sheathed pigments, fillers and TNPAs. Isolated ZnO- or Fe2O3-TNPAs could not be observed.
