Numerical studies of internal flow in different types of filters

The quality of ambient air attracts considerable, widespread interest. Over the last decades, air purification has become an integral part of HVAC systems, process engineering, automotive and respiratory protection. Efficient separation of micro- and nano- particles is solidly linked with the development of new, sophisticated filtrating materials, as well as generating and validating mathematical models of such porous structures. The paper regards the numerical modeling of various filters. The presented work aims to validate four virtual filtrating materials – the fiberglass HEPA filter, the paper filter used in the automotive industry, knitted wire mesh and polyurethane foam. The pressure drop obtained for the filters under investigation was examined. The CFD results were validated against the data available in the literature. The agreement of the results of numerical and experimental studies proves the suitability of the proposed methods. At the same time, the simplifications employed in the simulations leave room for further improvement in future works.