ISO/TS 12103-3:2020

TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 12103-3
First edition
Road vehicles — Test contaminants for
filter evaluation —
Part 3:
Soot contaminant
PROOF/ÉPREUVE
Reference number
ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)
©
ISO 2020

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ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)

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ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms . 2
5 Test contaminant definition . 3
5.1 Test contaminant designation. 3
5.2 Generation of soot aerosol . 3
5.3 Particle size distribution . 3
5.4 Stability of aerosol concentration and particle size distribution . 3
5.5 Chemical composition . 3
6 Analysis equipment and operating procedure . 4
6.1 Analysis equipment . 4
6.2 Particle size analysis procedure . 4
6.3 Instrument calibration . 4
Annex A (normative) Particle size distributions by number . 5
Annex B (informative) Handling and use of contaminant . 8
Annex C (informative) Concentration . 9
Annex D (informative) Flame operation and morphology.11
Annex E (normative) Thermal-optical transmission analysis .13
Annex F (informative) Air-to-fuel ratio .15
Bibliography .16
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ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 22, Road Vehicles, Subcommittee
SC 34, Propulsion, powertrain and powertrain fluids.
A list of all parts in the ISO 12103 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)

Introduction
This document specifies a grade of test aerosol, which is composed of soot from a combustion source
similar to soot occurring in the environment that motor vehicles are commonly subjected to. This test
contaminant is developed for air filter media and element testing.
Ambient aerosols include at least two distinct modes of aerosol: a sub-micron mode and a super-micron
mode. Generally the sub-micron mode comes from combustion sources or condensation of gases. The
super-micron mode comes from physical abrasion processes and wind-blown dust. The test dusts
described in ISO 12103-1 can be used to simulate the super-micron mode of ambient aerosol for testing
air filters. The soot aerosol described in this document is intended to simulate the sub-micron mode of
ambient aerosol.
There are several possible methods of generating soot aerosol, to simulate the sub-micron mode
for air filter testing purposes such as dispersing soot from a powder or using generated soot from a
combustion process.
Particle size of soot dispersed from bulk powder exceeds the environmental soot considerably.
For generated soot from a combustion process, a new procedure is described in this document. Using
aliphatic hydrocarbons, the soot consists of a combination of carbon, organic hydrocarbons and other
substances.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)
Road vehicles — Test contaminants for filter evaluation —
Part 3:
Soot contaminant
1 Scope
This document defines particle size distribution by number and chemical content limits involving one
grade of test aerosol made from combustion soot.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 15900, Determination of particle size distribution — Differential electrical mobility analysis for aerosol
particles
ISO 29904:2013, Fire chemistry — Generation and measurement of aerosols
NIOSH, Elemental carbon (diesel particulate): Method 5040, Issue 3
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 15900, ISO 29904 and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
diffusion flame
flame from a burner which gets its oxygen from the ambient surrounding air by diffusion and convection
mechanisms instead of having the oxygen forcibly premixed into the fuel
3.2
generation
process in which airborne particles are produced and injected into a defined airstream
3.3
mobility particle size
particle size provided by an electro-static classifier
Note 1 to entry: The method is based on a principle that uses the forces exerted on charged particle in an electro-
static field. The method is used for particles in the nm range and the classifier is typically combined with a
condensation particle counter to actually determine the concentration.
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ISO/TS 12103-3:2020(E)

3.4
optical particle size
particle size as recorded by an optical particle sizing instrument or spectrometer
Note 1 to entry: The optical size differs in general from the physical size of a particle as it depends on particle
properties like the light diffraction index.
3.5
particle size distribution
number, mass or volume of particles as function of the particle size
Note 1 to entry: In this document the term is used for number distributions only. Particle size distributions may
have a wide variety of shapes but for the purpose of this document and application the distributions of soot (3.7)
particles can be assumed to be of a lognormal type.
3.6
particle number sizer
system consisting of a method to classify particles by electrical mobility and measures the number
concentration of particulate at each size through means of one or more condensation particle counters
and or electrometers
3.7
soot
particles from a combustion process consisting of carbon and being created during incomplete
incineration of organic fuels
Note 1 to entry: The particles start with clusters of several hundred carbon atoms and can form large grains up
to several hundred µm. Small soot particles have the tendency to agglomerate. Soot particle from combustions
consists of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). A lot of organic compounds are known and most of
them are bound on the EC-agglomerates. Some of the organic compounds are carcinogenic like poly aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH).
3.8
thermal-optical transmission
method to measure elemental carbon (EC) with its relationship to atmospheric soot (3.7)
Note 1 to entry: For the thermal-optical transmission method (TOT), an emphasis on optical behaviour presents
it as a method for the accurate measurement of light-absorbing particulate carbon and thus allows EC to be
defined as black carbon (BC) as in the aethelometer.
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms
Symbol Explanation
µ mean value of a Gaussian standard distribution
σ standard deviation of a Gaussian standard distribution
σ geometric standard deviation (the logarithm of the GSD is the standard deviation)
geo
Abbreviations Explanation
SMPS scanning mobility particle sizer
Sub-micron particles <1 µm
Super-micron particles >1 µm
EC elemental carbon
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OC organic carbon
TOT thermal-optical transmission
PAH poly aromatic hydrocarbons
EEPS engine exhaust particle sizer spectrometer
5 Test contaminant definition
Test aerosols according to this document are generated by combustion of an organic fuel in the test lab.
They consist primarily of agglomerates of carbon particles where the primary carbon particles are on
the order of 20 nm diameter. Some organic compounds may be condensed on the carbon agglomerates
during the combustion and dilution processes. The amount of condensed organic material determines
the category of the test aerosol per 5.1.
5.1 Test contaminant designation
Soot contaminants are produced by burning a fuel (gas or liquid) and are listed in the grade as follows:
— ISO 12103-3, S1 for ≥67 % carbon content.
This flame shall lead to an aerosol consisting of 70 % ± 3 % elemental carbon, 29 % ± 3 % organic
carbon, and <1 % other substances. The air-to-fuel ratio of the flame shall be set as ±10 % stoichiometric
balanced with adjustment of an inert mixing gas addition to the fuel flow to adjust the particle
distribution. The stoichiometric balance is described in Annex F.
Soot contaminant shall be tested per the methods in Annex E and the above requirements.
5.2 Generation of soot aerosol
Test aerosols according to this document are generated by combustion of an organic fuel in the test lab.
They consist primarily of agglomerates of carbon particles where the primary carbon particles are on
the order of 20 nm diameter. Organic compounds may be condensed on the carbon agglomerates during
the combustion and dilution processes.
5.3 Particle size distribution
The unimodal particle size distribution shall be determined using electrical mobility sizing method and
shall meet the distribution and tolerances given in Annex A. The size distributions shall be presented as
normalized number distribution.
5.4 Stability of aerosol concentration and particle size distribution
The soot aerosol mass concentration limits and tolerances are given in Annex A.
Care should be taken to ensure that the concentration is low enough to prevent size changes due to
coagulation from occurring in the test system. Recommendation for maximum number concentration is
7 3
10 /cm . More detailed information is provided in Annex C.
5.5 Chemical composition
For generating the soot a diffusion flame with gas (e.g. propane) can be used. But any fuel yielding the
defined chemical composition and size distribution is accepted. More detailed information is provided
in Annex
...