Influence of the number of detectors by laser scattering method for estimation of particle size

Effect of the number of detectors on an inversion problem of a scattering pattern by laser scattering method based on Mie scattering model has been investigated. The influence of the number of detectors is obtained by comparing a given size distribution and a calculated size distribution by computer simulation and experimental method. An observing range of scattering angles is from 0.0007 to 2.5 rad. A non-linear iteration method is used for calculating particle size distribution. The number of detectors is changed from 6 to 81 elements by the computer simulation. The algorithm of the inversion problem is applied with mean diameters of log-normal distribution in a range from 0.546 to 214 mu m at standard deviation of 0.27 and 0.68. Experimental results of certified mono-disperse polystyrene latex standards and a poly-disperse aluminum sample are obtained with 21, 41, and 81 elements detector, respectively. All tests are performed under conditions at diluted aqueous suspensions. Narrow size distribution is influenced by the number of detectors compared with wide size distribution. Not the number of physical detectors but the number of useful detectors affects the algorithm of the inversion problem. When the detector elements are over 20, the influence of the number of detectors is decreased. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4709493]