Influence of the Configuration of Polypropylene-Based Dust Filters on the Pressure Drop in Filter Respirators

Abstract:

The study is devoted to solving the actual problem of determining optimal filter configuration parameters that ensure the maximum protective service life of dust filters—specifically, the time of use before reaching the critical point when breathing through the filter becomes impossible.The purpose of the work is to determine the configuration coefficient of dust filters (surface area, fold pitch, and fold height), enabling the calculation of the initial pressure drop across the filters.To identify the correlation between the configuration parameters of dust filters, a 3D model of a filter cartridge with overall dimensions of 100×50×15 mm – matching the standard sizes of most commonly used filter box designs – has been fabricated. Polypropylene filtering material with a fiber packing density of 50 g/m² and fiber diameters ranging from 1 to 3 µm has been used; the thickness of the filtering layer was 2 mm. Sets of five filter samples have been produced with varying filtration areas, which depended on the number of folds, ranging from 5 to 30. To measure the pressure drop across the filters, a specialized test stand complying with EN 13274-3:2001 «Respiratory protective devices – Methods of test – Part 3: Determination of breathing resistance» has been employed, under constant airflow rates of 30 dm3/min and 95 dm³/min.The relationship between the pressure drop across pleated filters and parameters such as filtration area, pleat channel width, and filter height has been established, allowing the determination of a configuration coefficient that ensures minimal resistance to airflow. For rectangular filters from polypropylene material with a fiber packing density of 50 g/m² and a filtering layer thickness of 0.6 mm, a pleat height of 10 mm, the optimal spacing between pleats has been found to lie within the range of 3–4 mm, corresponding to 2.5–3.3 pleats per cm. For calculating the configuration coefficient of filters made from materials with varying fiber packing densities the algorithm has been proposed. The algorithm includes determining the initial pressure drop of a flat filter, calculating the filter area based on specified pleat spacing (W) and height, defining the configuration coefficient, and comparing it with the recommended optimal value.The scientific novelty lies in establishing an experimental relationship between the pressure drop and the configuration coefficient of pleated filters. This relationship enables the identification of optimal parameters for filtration area and the ratio of the distance between pleats to their height.The value of this research consists in the development of an algorithm for determining the configuration coefficient of pleated filters, which allows for a more accurate estimation of the initial pressure drop.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1162)
• Pages: 27-38
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-0DfXjC
• Online since: October 2025
• Authors: Serhii Cheberyachko, Dmitro Radchuk, Oleg Mukha, Olena Sharovatova*
• Keywords: Breathing Resistance, Filter, Filtration Velocity, Pressure Drop, Respirator

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