An improved model for particle deposition in porous foams

Porous foam provides an inexpensive, light-weight and effective medium to capture physiologically-relevant aerosol fractions. It can be manufactured to have a wide range of properties relevant to aerosol deposition. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to measure particle penetration though porous foam media of varying pore size and foam length. Both solid and liquid aerosols (0.01–10 μm diameter) were tested using a Sequenzial Mobility Particle Sizer or Aerodynamic Particle Sizer to count and size particles penetrating the foam. With this data, an existing semi-empirical model was improved upon to predict particle penetration through a foam of a given fiber diameter, and thickness. The model is based on three dimensionless parameters (St, Ng, Pe) that account for inertial, gravitational, and diffusive modes of deposition, respectively.