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Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration by Fibrous Filters

K. W. Leea; B. Y. H. Liua
a
Particle Technology Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN

First published on: 23 December 1981

To cite this Article Lee, K. W. and Liu, B. Y. H.(1981) 'Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration by Fibrous Filters', Aerosol
Science and Technology, 1: 1, 35 — 46, First published on: 23 December 1981 (iFirst)
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/02786828208958577
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786828208958577

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 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration
by Fibrous Filters*
K. W. Lee? and B. Y . H. Liu
Particle Technology Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Submicron aerosol filtration by fibrous filters has been
studied experimentally employing a filter efficiency
measuring technique based on the use of moderately
monodisperse aerosols and an electrical aerosol de-
tector. Using this technique, the filtration efficiencies of
filters made of uniformly sized fibers have been
measured by the use of particles in the 0.03.5-1.3 pm
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
diameter range. Filter solidity has ranged from 0.0086
to 0.42. Filtration velocity has been varied between 1
and 300 cm/sec. The results of the measurement have
been compared quantitatively with the available the-
ories. It has been found that theories taking into account
the interference effect of neighboring fibers are in
reasonable agreement with the experiments.

NOMENCLATURE Reynolds number

drag coefficient = P BUD,/P

constant face velocity, undisturbed air velocity

(cm /sec)
fiber diameter (cm)
average air velocity inside filter (cm/sec)
particle diameter (cm or pm)
= U,/(1 - a)
constant
filter solidity
efficiency of filter mat
single fiber efficiency
efficiency due to filter holder
air viscosity (poise)
efficiency due to filter plus filter holder
stream function parameter
filter mat thickness (cm) = [c/(l - da)@]
pressure drop across filter (in. H,O or air density (g/cm3)
dyn/cm2)
dimensionless fiber drag parameter
Peclet number = [R/( 1 - a)4n]
= trD ,/D
dimensionless fiber drag parameter
interception parameter, diameter ratio of = C, Re12
particle to fiber. or dimensionless particle
radius
=D,lD, INTRODUCTION
-
Among various ways to remove particles from
* This paper ia based on the thesis of K. W . Lee m partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. Degree at the University air, filtration using fibrous filters is relatively
of Minnesota. inexpensive and simple to implement, yet it
t Present address: Battelle Memorial Inst~tute,Columbus provides a most efficient means for collecting
Laboratories, Columbus. OH 4320 1. submicron particles. Because of the increasing

Aerosol Science and Technology 1:3546 (1982)

1982 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
 36 K. W. LeeandB. Y. H. Liu

need to protect human health and valuable
devices from exposure to fine particles, filtration
is becoming more important.
The important mechanical mechanisms caus-
ing particle deposition in fibrous filters are
diffusion, interception, and inertial impaction. In
addition, electrostatic forces and gravitational
settling may contribute to particle collection in a
fibrous medium.
During the past 10 years, considerable prog-
ress has been made in air filtration studies.
Improved theories have been developed using
more reliable and exact flow fields (Spielman
and Goren, 1968; Stechkina et al., 1969;
Dawson, 1969; Harrop and Stenhouse, 1969;
Yeh and Liu, 1974).The corresponding progress
in experimental studies, however, has been slow
primarily because of a lack of suitable means for
measuring filter efficiencies over the broad range
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
phthalate (DOP) particles in a wide size range
and for filtration velocities up to 300 cm/sec.
The results of the filter efficiency measurements
are given as a function of particle size and
filtration velocity and as a function of filter
solidity. A series of comparisons between the
experimental results and existing theories are
made.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
AND TECHNIQUE
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system
used for filter efficiency measurement. The
system is comprised of a condensation aerosol
generator, a filter holder, and an electrical
aerosol detector. The different parts of the
system will be described separately.

of conditions that are encountered in practice. Aerosol Generation and Detection

In this study a new technique based on certian
new instrumentation developments at the
Particle Technology Laboratory, University of
Minnesota, was used for measuring fibrous filter
efficiencies. This technique enables filter ef-
ficiencies to be measured quickly and accurately
over a wide range of conditions. Filters with
solidity ranging from 0.0086 to 0.42 and made
from uniformly sized Dacron fibers were tested.
The measurements were made for di-octyle
FIGURE 1. Schematic diagram of filter efficiency
measurement system.
The condensation aerosol generator previously
reported was used to produce monodisperse
aerosols (Liu and Lee, 1975). In this generator a
low vapor pressure substance such as D O P is
dissolved in a volatile solvent, such as alcohol,
and the solution is atomized. The polydisperse
aerosols initially produced are then heated and
vaporzied. The vapor subsequently cools and
condenses to form a monodisperse aerosol. The
aerosol size is easily varied by varying the
concentration of DOP in the solution. This
method of aerosol generation had been used
previously (Liu et al. 1966; Tomaides et al. 1971).
However, certain important improvements were

EXCESS PINCH C L A M P S
AEROSOL
+ I- (li
ELECTRICAL
AEROSOL
DETECTOR

CONDENSATION
AEROSOL
GENERATOR
(1) Kr -85 NEUTRALIZER
(2)
-
*
(4)
-
FILTER
HOLDER
(5)

ROTAMETER
 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration
made; the output of the present generator is very
stable with a concentration fluctuation of less
than 2.5:/, over a 1 hr period. In filter efficiency
tests it is necessary to measure the aerosol
concentrations upstream and downstream of
the filter as a function of particle size. Since it is
desirable that generator output remain constant
during a series of these time delays, the cap-
ability of producing a highly stable output is an
important requirement for an aerosol generator
in filter efficiency measurements.
In order to avoid unwanted electrostatic
effects, electrical charges on the aerosols were
neutralized by exposing the aerosols to a cloud
of bipolar ions produced by a radioactive
source. The 2 mCi 85kryptonsource is placed
inside an aluminum tube and the aerosol is
passed through the tube. The particles are thus
brought to a state of Boltzmann charge equilib-
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
rium. The size distribution of aerosols produced
by the generator will be discussed later.
To determine the aerosol concentrations up-
stream and downstream of the filter, an electrical
aerosol detector similar to the unit now com-
mercially available (Model 3010, Thermo-
Systems, Inc., St. Paul, MN 55108) was used.
This instrument is a simplified version of the
previously reported electrical aerosol analyzer
(Liu and Pui, 1975);its two essential parts are a
diffusion charger and an electrometer current
sensor. The aerosol is detected by first exposing
the particles to unipolar ions in the diffusion
charger and then measuring the charge on the
particles with the electrometer current sensor. A
detailed description of the instrument has al-
ready been published (Liu and Lee, 1975).
One of the main advantages of using the
electrical aerosol detector in the filter efficiency
tests is that it allows the particle concentration
to be measured over a wide range of flow rates.
The operating pressure can also be varied over a
wide range of values. In filtration efficiency
studies only the relative aerosol concentrations
upstream and downstream of the filter need to
be measured, and the absolute aerosol concen-
tration need not be known. The electrical
aerosol detector is particularly suited to this
purpose because it is basically a relative concen-
37
tration measuring device, and the measurement
can be made easily, quickly, and with good
accuracy.
Filters Tested
Two different types of filters were used in this
study. These filters were made specifically for
this study and had fibers that were very uniform
in size. They were intended as ideal filters so that
the measurement results could be compared
with the theories.
The first type of filter, which will be denoted
Dacron filter A, is a filter consisting of uniform
11.0 pm diameter Dacron fibers loosely packed
together to form a filter mat. By compressing the
fibers, the filter solidity can be changed. The filter
solidity was varied by compression between
0.0086 and 0.299.
The mean fiber diameter of 11.0 pm was
determined by an optical microscope equipped
with image-splitting eyepiece attachment that
had been first calibrated against a stage micro-
meter. The geometrical standard deviation of
the fiber was found to be 1.06.
The homogeneity of the filter was confirmed
as follows. First, several batches of filters with
the same nominal solidity and dimensions were
prepared and the pressure drop across each filter
was measured as a function of velocity. The
results were compared. All of the filters were
found to have nearly identical pressure drop
characteristics. It was concluded that the filter
was the same.The filter dimensions used in this
study are listed in Table 1.
The second filter, Dacron filter B, was also a
specially prepared filter made of uniform
Dacron fibers of 12.9 pm in diameter. The
geometric standard deviation of the fibers was
found to be 1.06. The particular filter contains
about 10% by volume of small "fibrids" that
were used to make the fibers adhere to one
another to form a high density mat. The proper-
ties of this filter are shown in Table 1. The actual
solidity of Dacron filter B was varied between
0.0963 and 0.42. The filter thickness ranged from
0.1 to 0.037 cm. The filter structure is not as
homogeneous as Dacron filter A.
 38
TABLE 1. Dimensions and Pressure Drop Characteristics of Experimental Filters
Solidity thickness
Filter 01
Dacron filter A
Dacron filter B
Filter Holder
Three different filter holders were used, depend-
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
ing upon the particular filter being studied or the
flow rate used. For Dacron filter A the holder
described by Yeh (1972) was used. This par-
ticular holder can hold filters with a thickness of
up to about 3 cm. However, some modifications
were necessary which will be described later. For
Dacron filter B a 25-mm-diam Millipore filter
holder (Model XX 5002500) and a 3.5-in.-diam
Sierra filter holder (Model 710) were used.
FIGURE 2. Schematic diagrams of (a) the con-
ventional filter holder, and (b) the present filter
holder design.
Filter Support Screens
1,Filter Holder Outer Housing
Filter F7 bers
(a)
K. W. Lee and B . Y. H. Liu
Filter Dimensionless Fiber
fiber drag parameter diameter
(cm) Re C D , / ~ (ium)
Modifications to the filter holders were made
to avoid the uncertainty in filtration velocity
caused by a poor holder design. The problem is
illustrated in Figure 2a. It is seen that the flow
can expand radially as it passes through the filter
medium, causing a reduction in the filtration
velocity. This problem is particularly serious
when the dimension L in Figure 2a is not small
in comparison with R, - R,. This problem was
noted by Dawson (1969) in comparing his
theory with the experimental results of Wong
and Johnstone (1953);he found he had to make a
correction in the indicated face velocity. There
was nearly a factor of 2 uncertainty in the
filtration efficiency caused by the uncertainty in
flow.
I/ Filter Holder
Inner Housing
\
(b) Filter Support S c r e e n s
 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration
To eliminate this uncertainty, the holder
design shown in Figure 2b was adopted. A filter
holding ring was inserted in the holder, thereby
eliminating the uncertainty in flow. In actual
use, the filter fibers were first packed into this
ring and the two supporting screens were at-
tached to both sides of the ring with screws.
The entire assembly was then inserted into the
holder housing. Rings of different thickness had
to be used to create filter mats of dfierent thick-
ness. This new filter holder design had the
added advantage over the conventional arrange-
ment of allowing the filter thickness to be deter-
mined very accurately.
Filter Efficiency Measurement
In generating monodisperse aerosols with the
generator described previously, a series of stan-
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
dard solutions was prepared to produce aer-
osols of the desired particle size. A total of 11
different solutions were used to produce aero-
sols 0.035- 1.3 pm diameter. Table 2 summarizes
the particle sizes chosen, the solution concentra-
tions used, and the geometrical standard devi-
ation of the aerosol produced.
The operating procedure for each experiment
consists of first placing the filter medium in the
TABLE 2. List of Particle Sizes Used
in the Efficiency Measurement and the DOP
Concentrations Used for Generating
the Aerosols
Nominal
DOP Nominal geometrical
concentration mean particle standard
(vol. %) size (pm) deviation up
39
desired filter holder, bringing the aerosol genera-
tor to a steady operating condition, and then
measuring the aerosol concentrations upstream
and downstream of the filter with the electrical
aerosol detector. The last step was accomplished
by directing the aerosol into the electrical
aerosol detector either through the filter or
through a bypass. The ratio of the downstream
to upstream aerosol concentration was then
taken as the filter penetration P, from which the
filter efficiency E = 1 - P was then calculated.
Owing to particle loss in the electrical aerosol
detector, it was necessary to restrict the flow rate
through the electrical aerosol detector (Q, in
Figure 1) to less than a certain value. It was
found that at higher flow rates the loss could be
substantial and the measurement result could be
in error. A simple experiment showed that the
measured efficiency of a filter decreased with
increasing flow rate through the electrical detec-
tor. The appareht drop in the efficiency is caused
by particle loss by impaction in the instrument.
Consequently, in performing the filter efficiency
measurements, the flow rate of the electrical
detector was kept at 4 l/min or below, which was
found to be satisfactory.
Since the aerosol passing through the 85Kr
neutralizer was not completely neutralized and
was only brought to a state of charge equilib-
rium given by the Boltzmann's law, some experi-
ments were performed to determine the effect of
the residual particle charge on the measured
efficiencies. This was done in a way similar to
that used previously by Liu and Lee (1976).The
efficiency was first measured with the charge
equilibrated aerosol and then with the aerosol
that had first been passed through a precipitat-
ing electric field to remove the charged particles.
The same result was obtained, indicating a
negligible influence of the charge particles.
Since the filter efficiency measured by the
procedure described here was the total efficiency
with the filter placed in the holder, it was
necessary to correct for the contribution of the
holder to the total efficiency measured. To make
this correction, and also to account for the
differencein aerosol losses in the filter line and in
the bypass line, a separate series of measure-
 K. W. LeeandB. Y. H. Liu

ments was made in which the efficiency of an

empty filter holder was measured using the same
apparatus and the same procedure.
In order to verify a filtration theory com-
pletely, it is necessary to have data not only on
the filtration efficiency but also on the filter
pressure drop. The filter pressure drop was
measured across pressure taps installed on the
upstream and downstream sides of the filter
holder. A micromanometer was used to measure
filter pressure drop to a precision of 0.001 in.
H 2 0 for pressure drops of up to 2 in. H 2 0 . For
pressure drops above 2 in. H,O, a conventional
inclined manometer was used. The pressure
drop across the filter was obtained by subtract-
ing the measured pressure drop across the
empty filter from the measured pressure drop W
across the entire holder plus filter assembly. En SOLIDITY , Q
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010

FIGURE 3. Dimensionless fiber drag parameter for

RESULTS
Results for Dacron Filter A
Table 1 contains a summary of the filter dimen-
sions used and the filter pressure drop charac-
teristics. The dimensionlessfiber drag parameter
based on a face velocity of 5 cm/sec is plotted
against the filter solidity in Figure 3, where the
parameter is obtained from pressure drop A P by
the following equation:
Dacron filters A (0)and B (0) as a function of
solidity.
The results of the filter efficiency measure-
ments are shown in Figures 4--9. If we denote the
true filter efficiency by E, the filtration efficiency
due to the filter holder by E,, and the total
FIGURE 4. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter
A ( a = 0.0086).

where
R is the dimensionless fiber drag
parameter,
C,, the drag coefficient,
Re the Reynolds number,
AP the pressure drop across the filter mat,
L the filter mat thickness,
a the filter solidity,
D, the filter fiber diameter,
U, the face velocity, and
p the air viscosity.
It was also found that the dimensionless fiber
drag parameter remains constant for a face
velocity of up to 30 cm/sec. PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm
 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration 41

I
I

0001 ' ' ~ l Il 1 1 ~ 1 1 l l 1~ ~

002 01 1 2
PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm
FIGURE 5. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter FIGURE 7. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010

A ( a = 0.0168). A ( a = 0.0823).

eficiency of the filter plus the holder by E,, we The measurement results reported have all been
have corrected by means of Eq. (2).
E[=l-(l-E)(l-Eh),
In order to obtain the single-fiber eficiency q,
the following relation was used:
from which we have

E = ( E t - Eh)/(l-Eh).

FIGURE 6. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter FIGURE 8. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter
A (a = 0.0434). A (a = 0.151).

-
PARTICLE DIAMETER , prn PARTICLE DIAMETER , prn
 42 K. W. Lee andB. Y. H. Liu

D1 = 12.9 p m
a = 00963

0.1 1 2
FIGURE 9. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010

A ( a = 0.299). FIGURE 10. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter

B ( a = 0.0963).
The resulting single-fiber efficiency is plotted as a
function of particle size for various filter solidity based on the assumption that the filter is made
values, as seen in Figures 4-9. Detailed efficiency of uniform circular cylinders and the particles
values in tabular form have been reported are monodisperse. Since the present experi-
elsewhere (Lee, 1977). It is seen that in all cases mental data can meet this assumption, a series of
the curves are similar in shape: For small comparisons was made between the data and
particles, the efficiency first decreases with in-
creasing particle size, showing the predomin- FIGURE 11. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter
ance of the diffusion mechanism. After reaching B ( a = 0.175).
a minimum, the efficiency then increases with
increasing particle size, showing the increasingly
important role of the interception and impac-
tion mechanisms. These results will be discussed
further when comparison with the theories is
made.
Results for Dacron Filter B
The pressure drop characteristics from Dacron
filter B are shown in Table 1 and Figure 3. The
efficiency results covering the solidity range of
0.0964.420 are shown in Figures 1G13. For
these filters, the face velocity ranged from 1 to
300 cm/sec.
DACRON FILTER B
COMPARISON WITH EXISTING THEORIES Df = 12.9 p m
a = 0.175
A number of filtraton theories are available that
incorporate various filtration mechanisms and 0.001
0.02 0.1 1 2
various flow fields. Most of these theories are PARTICLE DIAMETER , pin
 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration 43

a3 effects of neighboring fibers. Additional results

of the comparisons that are not reported here
can be found in Lee (1977).
0.1 Figure 14 is a comparison of the experimental
results with the theory of Spielman and Goren
GZ (1968). The measurement results for filter soli-
w dities of 0.0086, 0.0434, and 0.1513 are used in
u
L this comparison. First, the pressure drop of the
L
W filter with various solidities was compared with
u
W
the theoretical predictions. The comparison
m
LL
0.01 showed that Dacron filters can be well rep-
W
resented by the result for the Spielman-Goren
-1
a two-dimensional random fiber model. The
z
V) stream function parameters as defined in the
DACRON FILTER B theory for the relevant filter solidities were found
to o 100
0 30 + 300 to be 2.479, 1.523,and 0.812, respectively. Using
these values, the theoretical efficiencies were
0 0.02 . 0
0.1 O l O
1 2 calculated. The comparison shows that the
PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm agreement between the theory and the experi-
<
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010

FIGURE 12. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter ment is very good for '13RPe''3> 1. However,
B ( a = 0.271).
FIGURE 14. Correlation of filtration data using the
the existing theories. The theories compared theory of Spielman and Goren (1968).
include those of Spieln~anand Goren (1968),
Dawson (1969), Harrop and Stenhouse (1969),
Stechkina et al. (1969), and Yeh and Liu (1974).
These theories take into account the interference

FIGURE 13. Single fiber efficiency of Dacron filter

B ( a = 0.420). {iH:i:
l o o ~ 0 4 3 4
a oooa
I 523

re o 008

DACRON FILTER B
- A 10 O 100 Df= 12.9 prn -
O 30 + 300 a = 0420

0.001
0.02
1 1 1 1111
0.1
I 1 1 111111
1 2
PARTICLE DIAMETER , pm
 44
the theory tends to predict higher efficiency
<
values for small values of - ' I3RPe' 13.
The theories of Harrop (1969) and Harrop
and Stenhouse (1969)are for filtration by impac-
tion and interception and use the Happel flow
field (Happel 1959).Figure 15 is a comparison of
these theories with the experimental data. In
order to provide experimental data in the
impaction and interception regimes, the results
for Dacron filter B with a solidity of 0.0963 and
velocities of 100 and 300 cm/sec are used. The
pressure drop predicted by the Happel flow was
compared with the measured pressure drop to
arrive at an empirical factor to account for the
inhomogeneity in fiber distribution. An in-
homogeneity factor of 1.72 was found.
Figure 15 shows that the theory overestimates
the efficiency at high Stokes numbers. At low
Stokes numbers it is not clear whether the
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
theory would still overestimate the efficiency,
FIGURE 15. Comparison of data with the theories
of Harrop (1969) (-) and Dawson (1969) (---)
in inertial impaction regime.
/-
0 001 I I I I lllll 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0.1 I 10
Stokes Number, Stk
K. W.LeeandB. Y. H. Liu
since at small Stokes numbers the experimental
data may be influenced by diffusion effects. It
should be noted that while the theory always
predicts a higher efficiency for a larger particle
size at the same Stokes number, the experi-
mental data show that smaller particles can have
a higher efficiency at the same Stokes number
under some instances. For example, the ef-
ficiency for the 0.7 pm particle with Stokes
number of 0.925 is higher than that for the 1.3
pm particle with Stokes number of 0.971. The
efficiency for the 0.5 pm particle with Stokes
number 0.509 is also higher than that for the 1.0
pm particle with Stokes number of 0.594. A
possible explanation for this would be as fol-
lows. As may be noted in Figure 15, the
Reynolds number involved in the filtration for
0.7 and 0.5 pm size particles in the example is
2.82, while that for 1.3 and 1 pm particles is 0.94.
The filtration efficiency at such a high Reynolds
number should increase as an effect of increasing
the fluid inertia, and it is possible that this is
sufficiently significant that even small particles
at a comparable Stokes number will have a
higher efficiency than large particles. The theory
of Harrop does not account for the effect of an
increasing Reynolds number. Therefore, it is
difficult to determine the quantitative Reynolds
number dependence of efficiency.
The theories of Stechkina et al. (1969)andYeh
and Liu (1974) involve calculations of the fil-
tration efficiency for all three mechanisms. A
comparison of these theories with the measure-
ments obtained in the present study is shown in
Figure 16 for Dacron filter A and a solidity of
0.151. By comparing the measured pressure
drop and the predicted pressure drop, an in-
homogeneity factor of 1.52 and an effective fiber
length factor of 2.62 were determined. The
comparisons show that the overall agreement
between the theories and the experiment is very
good. However, the theory of Stechkina et al.
(1969)shows some discrepanciesat low filtration
velocities. The inertial impaction efficiency pre-
dicted by the theory is also found to be too high.
Regarding the impaction efficiency,Stechkina et
al. (1970)later stated that the assumptions they
employed in the theory for impaction were not
 Experimental Study of Aerosol Filtration

\ Dacron Filter A U,,crn/sec i

FIGURE 16. Comparison of data with the
theories of Stechkina et al. (1969) (- - -)
and of Yeh and Liu (1974) (-) for
Dacron filter A ( a = 0.151).
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010

P a r t ~ c l e Diameter, p m

adequate. On the other hand, the agreement regime, good agreement with experiment, com-
between the experimental data and the theory of parable to that obtained with the theories of
Yeh and Liu (1974) is good at low filtration Stechkina et al. and Yeh and Liu, was obtained.
velocities. As velocity increases, the theory For comparison in the region of impaction plus
begins to underestimate the efficiency some- interception, Dacron filter B with a solidity of
what, and the discrepancy becomes larger as the
velocity is increased. It is also seen that the FIGURE 17. Comparison of data with the theory of
particle size for greatest penetration predicted Dawson (1969) for Dacron filter A ( a = 0.0434).
by the theory is in good agreement with thedata. Uo= 30 cm/sec.
Figure 17 is a comparison of the experimental
data with the theory of Dawson (1969). The
comparison is made for a Dacron filter of
solidity 0.0434 at 30 cm/sec. Dawson introduced
a model of parallel flow to account for the
nonuniformity of filter. By comparing the pre-
dicted pressure drop and measurement, the
resistivity ratio defined by the theory was found
to be 0.62 for a Dacron filter having a solidity of
0.0434. The comparison shows that the theory is
in good agreement with the result of the measur-
ement. The theory of Dawson (1969) on diffu-
sion and interception is based on the expression
of Stechkina et al. (1969), except that Dawson
used the flow field of Spielman and Goren (1968)
and employed the parallel flow model to ac-
count for nonhomogeneity of the filter. For this PARTICLE DIAMETER , p m
 46
0.0963 was chosen, and the efficiency values
measured at the face velocity of 100 and 300
cm/sec were compared with the theoretical
values. Figure 15 shows that the experimental
data are in good agreement with theory.
Compared with the efficiencies predicted by
Harrop (1969),the efficiencies given by Dawson
are generally lower for Stokes number larger
than 1. The possible effect of increasing
Reynolds number on filtration by impaction
remains unconfirmed.
CONCLUSIONS
The real-time experimental technique described
in the present study has been found useful for
measuring the filtration efficiencies of fibrous
filters. This technique makes it possible to
determine the filter efficiency quickly and ac-
Downloaded At: 09:17 24 July 2010
curately over wide ranges of particle size and
filtration flow rates.
The measurement results show clearly the
dependence of the filter efficiency on particle
size, filtration velocity and filter solidity. The
results also show that for a given filter at a fixed
velocity there is a particle size at which the filter
efficiency is a minimum and the particle penet-
ration maximum. The most occurs
at a particle size of 1 pm for a flow velocity of 1
cm/sec, decreasing to about 0.03 pm for a
velocity of 300 cm/sec. The corresponding mi-
nimum efficiency decreases with increasing
velocity.
The comparison of the experimental results
with the existing filtration theories shows that
among the theories which take into account the
interference effects of neighboring fibers, those of
Spielman and Goren (1968), Dawson (1969),
Stechkina et al. (1969), and Yeh and Liu (1974)
are generally in good agreement with measured
data.
K. W. Lee andB. Y. H.Liu
This research was financially supported by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency under Research Grant No.
R804600-01.
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