Abstract
Computational modeling of air filtration is possible by replicating nonwoven nanofibrous meltblown or electrospun filter media with digital representative geometry. This article presents a methodology to create and modify randomly generated fiber geometry intended as a digital twin replica of fibrous filtration media. Digital twin replicas of meltblown and electrospun filter media are created using Python scripting and Ansys SpaceClaim. The effect of fiber stiffness, represented by a fiber relaxation slope, is analyzed in relation to resulting filter solid volume fraction and thickness. Contemporary air filtration media may also be effectively modeled analytically and tested experimentally in order to yield valuable information on critical characteristics, such as overall resistance to airflow and particle capture efficiency. An application of the Single Fiber Efficiency model is incorporated in this work to illustrate the estimation of performance for the generated media with an analytical model. The resulting digital twin fibrous geometry compares well with SEM imagery of fibrous filter materials. This article concludes by suggesting adaptation of the methodology to replicate digital twins of other nonwoven fiber mesh applications for computational modeling, such as fiber reinforced additive manufacturing and composite materials.
Highlights
Our health and livelihood depend heavily upon clean breathable air, as illustrated most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic
The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for constructing digital twin geometry for nonwoven fibrous air filtration media, intended for use with computational modeling tools such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Method (FEM) software
This article presents a simple method for constructing digital twins for nonwoven fibrous air filtration media using a Python script and geometry software package
Summary
Our health and livelihood depend heavily upon clean breathable air, as illustrated most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort to combat the airborne spread of COVID-19 through technologies such as personal protective filter masks and HVAC filters emphasizes the importance of continued research in air filtration media [1]. Continuous improvement of filter materials regarding characteristics such as the resistance to airflow and particle capture efficiency is important for personal protection from COVID-19 as well as high capacity HEPA filters. As our understanding of the mechanics of filtration and particle capture increases, it becomes possible to engineer filtration mediums for specific purposes. This tailored approach would have the benefit of providing high performing filtration media in one instance, which may perform poorly in another instead of a generalized medium that performs only adequately in all situations
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