Direct numerical simulation of permeation of particles through a realistic fibrous filter obtained from X-ray computed tomography images utilizing signed distance function

In this study, we investigated the permeation behavior of particles through a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fibrous filter using a numerical simulation approach. To represent realistic flow inside the filter during simulation, voxel data obtained from X-ray computed tomography (CT) images of the PPS filter microstructure were used. To calculate the contact force between the particle and the fiber surface, we propose a new method to create a signed distance function (SDF) of the PPS filter structure by utilizing the phase-field model and the level set method. Our method successfully constructs SDF from the complex filter microstructures created from the X-ray CT images. As a demonstration of the application of this method, the permeation of four particles through a realistic filter microstructure was simulated. The effect of the filter microstructure, such as the fiber orientation and porosity, on the permeation behavior of the particles was investigated using several filter domains. Our simulations demonstrate that the behavior of the particles in contact with the fiber surface can be reasonably described by applying SDF. The particles tend to contact the fibers oriented perpendicularly to the main flow direction rather than the fibers oriented parallelly. In addition, particles remain inside lower porous filter domains for longer durations because of an increase in the probability of contact with the fiber surfaces.