Pressure Drop and Interception Efficiency of Multifiber Filters

The viscous flow fields around multifiber filters have been investigated in a previous paper. The results of the previous work show that the flow becomes periodic immediately after the first fiber array downstream from the entrance if the fibers are arranged uniformly along the flow direction. The characteristics of such flow fields enable the pressure drop and the particle interception efficiency of a multifiber filter to be represented by single-fiber models. The total filtration efficiency, however, cannot be so represented since fibers interact during filtration processes. In this study, the pressure drop and the interception efficiency were investigated by making use of the viscous flow fields modeled in the previous research. The fiber separation ratio was found to have significant effects on pressure drop and efficiency. At a given volume fraction, changes in the fiber separation ratio will result in changes to the patterns of fluid flow and aerosol particle motion. Therefore, the fiber separation ratio significantly affects pressure drop and interception efficiency.