Evaluation and correction of laser scattering-based particle size measurements at high obscurations using the Monte Carlo method

Abstract

High turbidity and its associated multiple scattering phenomena can often lead to an underestimation of the particle size for the laser scattering method. To investigate the light scattering characteristics and evaluate the effect of high-obscuration particle systems, a Monte Carlo model has been developed based on Mie’s theory. A compact setup was utilized to perform a series of experiments on three certified reference materials (CRMs) at different concentrations. Both the scattered light energy distribution and the obscuration were measured simultaneously. The inversion results of the particle size indicate a continuous increase in deviation from the nominal value as the obscuration rises. According to the conventional single scattering model, the inversion errors fall within 5% for obscuration levels ranging from 0.15 to 0.2. However, for a higher obscuration, the error can reach approximately 15%. Thus, a correction method has been proposed by introducing an improved model matrix that includes the multiple scattering contribution for the data inversion, which exhibits a significant enhancement in the accuracy of particle size measurements under high obscuration conditions. For all three types of particles being studied, the error was successfully reduced to within 5.0%.