Testing of (new) instrumentation under controlled atmospheric conditions in the simulation chamber

Tests of instruments under atmospheric conditions helps improving the quality of measurements and validation of the performance can be used to advertise instruments to customers. Improvements of potential issues in the application under realistic conditions can be implemented at an early stage of the development to avoid costly re-design of the instruments at a later stage.

In the complex chemical environment of the atmosphere, instruments may behave differently from laboratory conditions. In the outdoor simulation chamber SAPHIR, instruments can be tested for atmospherically relevant conditions allowing for tests over a wide range of concentrations of the species detected by the instrument and species that may affect the performance of the instrument. Atmospheric conditions can be mimicked by performing oxidation experiments at the same conditions as chemical transformation of pollutants is happening in the atmosphere. A large set of highly sensitive, state-of-the-art instruments can be used to validate results and monitor chemical conditions in the tests. The large size of the chamber allows to host instruments of any size. SAPHIR can support the development of instruments for example by identifying potential issues of a new method under atmospherically relevant conditions at an early stage of the development or validating measurements of instruments that are already on the market.