A numerical approach for determining the resistance of fine mesh filters

Abstract

Characterizing the resistance of mesh filters, in terms of pressure drop as a function of flow velocity, is an important part of modeling any filtration process. Most commonly, filters are characterized experimentally, which can be costly and time-consuming. This motivates a generalized numerical approach for characterizing the resistance of mesh filters based on the flow through a representative segment of a filter. There is uncertainty, however, in the correct specification of boundary conditions such that the numerical results for flow through the small segment match the overall behaviour of the filter. In this work, an experimentally validated numerical approach is developed by examining the velocity and turbulence intensity experienced across the filter. It has been shown that the flow resistance results are not sensitive to the turbulence intensity, but depend greatly on the imposed flow velocity. Specifying the peak velocity as the boundary condition in the filter simulations resulted in a good match with experiments, while using the bulk velocity did not reproduce the experimental results.