"METHOD TO ENHANCE SENSITIVITY IN DETECTING AIRBORNE EXPLOSIVES"

BESIDES ENSURING AIR SAFETY, THERE ARE ECONOMIC REASONS FOR DEVELOPING A HIGH SENSITIVITY EXPLOSIVE DETECTING SYSTEM. SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW A QUICK, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE SCREENING OF AIRCRAFT SUSPECTED OF CARRYING EXPLOSIVES. DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF MILITARY EXPLOSIVES INVOLVES TRACE AMOUNTS OF AIRBORNE PARTICLES IN AMBIENT AIR. BECAUSE THE CONCENTRATIONS ARE SO LOW (ON THE ORDER OF 1 UG/M(3)), THE DETECTOR MUST BE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE OR A LONG SAMPLING TIME MUST BE USED TO COLLECT A SUFFICIENT SAMPLE. THE PROBLEM OF QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY DETECTING VERY LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF AIRBORNE EXPLOSIVES CAN BE SOLVED BY USING A DETECTOR WITH VERY HIGH SENSITIVITY OR BY CONCENTRATING THE PARTICULATES BEFORE SENDING THEM TO A DETECTOR OF LESS SENSITIVITY. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES AN INNOVATIVE PARTICULATE CONCENTRATING DEVICE TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EXISTING EXPLOSIVE DETECTORS. THE CONCEPT CALLED AN AIRBORNE PARTICULATE CONCENTRATOR (APC) IS AN IN-SITU DEVICE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO CAPTURE AND CONCENTRATE AIRBORNE PARTICULATES FROM LARGE VOLUMES OF AIR AND DELIVER THEM TO A DETECTOR WITHIN SECONDS.