A MODEL FOR PARTICLE DEPOSITION DURING IMPREGNATION OF FIBROUS POROUS MEDIA

Filtration of particles in porous media is used for many applications, including desalination and water treatment, food manufacturing, paper making, and composites processing. In this paper, the deposition of thermoplastic particles is used to deliver matrix material within a composite textile. A constitutive model to describe the filtration behavior within the porous fabric with respect to time is proposed. The model requires characterization of a filtration coefficient that is a function of suspension concentration and shear rate. Experiments with different concentrations and shear rates are designed and conducted to measure the constants needed to characterize the filtration coefficient through regression analysis. The model is then compared with experimental data for a wide range of particle concentrations and fluid velocities. Although there is a difference between the model and the experimental results, the trends of the model are encouraging.