NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE-DROP IN SE PARATOR TYPE FILTER AND ESTIMATION OF ITS OPTIMUM SEPARATOR HEIGHT

Separator-type HEPA filters are composed of elements which have square cross section bounded by two separator walls and partitioned by a fil ler medium. Therefore, it is possible to characterize pressure drop of a separator type air filter unit by studying the pressure drop of the se filter elements. In the present work, the similarity law for the fl ow channels including a porous media was discussed and the dimensionle ss parameters which determine the pressure drop were derived. The dime nsionless pressure drop was presented as a generalized-pressure drop d iagram in terms of dimensionless parameters. Furthermore, the results of numerical analysis for the two-dimensional model filler were compar ed with those of experiments with two- and three- dimensional model fi lters. The prediction equation for optimum separator height, which is the most important factor for designing the filter unit, was presented as a function of filter media resistance and filter depth.