Mathematical model of the probe volume in an optical particle sizing device

This paper presents a new approach in numerical simulation and mathematical modeling of the sample volume in an optical particle-sizing instrument (MSU-PSI) [1]. This in done for when the device is operating in Small Angle Near Forward Scattering (SANFS) mode. The instrument is designed to perform on-line measurement of the particle-size distributions by means of non-intrusive methods. This is achieved by measuring the size of individual particles in a sample volume. The sample volume in the SANFS mode is formed by focusing a single laser beam. The size of a particle is determined by the amount of light that it scatters, when inside the sample volume. This scattered light is captured and processed electronically and eventually is converted to a histogram which, when interpreted, will be a representation of the particle-size distribution.