A three-dimensional model of fine particle retention during percolation through a fiber mat

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Fine particles are usually retained in fiber mats by sieving. To date, no theory has combined fiber and mat characteristics into a predictive retention model. A multilayer analytical retention model developed during this study predicts retention within a thick fiber mat by modeling retention as particles pass through a series of very thin fiber mats. A suspension of 5-75 μm toner particles was percolated through rayon fiber mats. The model’s prediction approached the experimental data only when the ratio of particle diameter to fiber diameter increased toward 2.0, the upper limit within the rayon fiber mat data set. Retention was also experimentally determined on the macroscale with simulated fiber mats, through which 4-20 mm beads were dropped. The particle diameter was at least 2.2 times the fiber diameter for all of the macroscale experimental data, explaining the much better fit of the data from those experiments to the model’s predictions.