A Discrete DPF Filtration Model Considering Realistic Pore Size Distribution

Yujun  Wang, Cummins Inc.

Filtration via porous medium is a ubiquitous process where high-fidelity physical models are needed. The classical cell model oversimplifies the filtration medium and results in biased and inaccurate predictions of the filter performance. This paper presents a discrete framework of polydisperse cell model that can incorporate any measured pore size distribution. A new equation connecting the polydisperse cell efficiencies and the medium efficiency is derived from first principles. For ceramic filters, the discrete model demonstrates a generic prediction capability of the filtration efficiency with a root-mean-squared differences of 5.4%, while the counterpart of the classical cell model is 26.4%. In addition, the discrete model eliminates the biased predictions of the classical cell model on sub-100 nm particles.