Filtration Model of Aerosol Particles by Fibrous Filters

Abstract

Aerosol filtration by fibrous filters is one of the most common methods of separating and removing particles in micro and sub-micro size ranges. The statistical genesis of this process can be regarded as the interactions and the resulting equilibrium among particle and fiber cells that comprise the system. Therefore a statistical mechanics approach, the Ising’s model, combined with Monte Carlo simulation, is employed in studying the process of the aerosol filtration through fibrous filters. The process is modeled as consisting of numerous cell state exchanges driven by the difference of system energy after and before a particle moves from one cell to the other and/or deposits on a fiber cell. With the use of a simpler binary algorithm, this approach is capable of realistically simulating the complicated mechanisms involved in the filtration process. For verification, simulations are carried out for the behaviors of aerosol particles of different sizes through isotropic fiber filters with various volume fractions. Simulation results are in good agreements with reported experimental data.