Test Chamber for Particulate Matter Sensors Measurements in Controlled Environment Through a Python GUI

The lifestyle of humankind in recent years has resulted in inordinate levels of air pollution. This has generated a trend in the design and manufacture of portable, personal and fixed-site PM monitoring systems to prevent exposure to air pollutants. However, these devices still need to be improved and properly evaluated to compete with environmental monitors on the market. In this work, a test chamber with controlled environmental conditions was developed for the evaluation of low cost portable and personal PM sensors. The developed system guarantees quick evaluation tests spanning from seconds to hours, to corroborate prolonged operation and correct calibration. It is controlled by a Python-based graphical user interface (GUI). The prototype ensures the recording of PM, altitude, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, luminescence, and temperature measurements. Thirty measurement tests were carried out to ensure robust performance and data transfer. Thereafter, three tests were conducted to measure PM 2.5 using burned wood smoke. In the aforementioned tests, Pearson correlation (r) analyses between two commercial PM personal monitors and a low cost PM test sensor were done. Rvalues over 0.98 were obtained in all the tests. This device could help evaluate the developed sensors to determine if the equipment meets appropriate calibration.