Research Topic

Adaptronics in Surface Filtration: Investigation of the Filtration and Regeneration Behavior of Reversibly Stretchable Filter Media

Surface filters are used in numerous industrial processes—such as flue gas cleaning or product extraction—to remove particles from gas streams. During the filtration process, particles deposit on the surface of the filter medium and form a filter cake. As the filter cake layer thickens, the separation efficiency increases, but so do the pressure drop and, consequently, the filter’s energy consumption. To ensure economical operation, the filter must therefore be regenerated regularly. To do this, the filter cake is typically dislodged from the filter medium using pulses of compressed air. However, the cleaning process causes a brief drop in separation efficiency and, consequently, increased particle emissions on the clean gas side.

One way to reduce pressure drop while minimizing the impact on separation efficiency could be the introduction of adaptronics into gas-particle filtration technology. Adaptronics deals with materials and systems that can specifically adapt their properties to changing operating conditions. To this end, reversibly stretchable filter media are to be used, whose structure can be specifically altered during the filtration process. Uniaxial stretching of the filter medium introduces mechanical stresses into the filter cake, leading to its breakdown and detachment. Previous studies on stretchable individual fibers and fiber arrays have already shown that stretching leads to the detachment of deposited particle structures. Building on these findings, the filtration and regeneration behavior of a complete filter medium is being experimentally investigated.