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.