Particle separation from gases is an important unit operation in manifold industrial applications, such as those conducted in environmental protection. For analysis of particle penetration and separation in fiber filters, standard dust particles (Al₂O₃) were loaded in the gas flow of a filter test facility and deposited within new and uncharged fiber filters. The loaded filters were analyzed by micro-computer tomography and scanning electron microscopy. Three-dimensional tomograms of the samples show an exponential decay of the penetration depth of the particles. This dependency is confirmed by simulations conducted using the discrete element method coupled with computational fluid dynamics within unloaded and loaded fiber structures. Microscale processes of particle separation at the fibers as well as the filtration efficiency and time-dependent filtering process are derived from the simulations. Local particle clustering in the filter medium and partial filter clogging are thus identified.

气体中的颗粒分离是多种工业应用（例如在环境保护中进行的应用）中重要的单元操作。为了分析纤维过滤器中的颗粒渗透和分离，使用标准灰尘颗粒（Al ₂ O ₃）被装入过滤器测试设备的气流中，并沉积在新的和不带电的纤维过滤器中。通过微型计算机断层摄影术和扫描电子显微镜对装载的过滤器进行分析。样品的三维断层图显示了颗粒渗透深度的指数衰减。这种依赖性通过使用离散元素方法进行的仿真以及未加载和已加载纤维结构内的计算流体动力学相结合得到了证实。从模拟中可以得出纤维上颗粒分离的微观过程，以及过滤效率和与时间有关的过滤过程。由此识别出过滤介质中的局部颗粒聚集和部分过滤器堵塞。