5/21/2017 AirfilterWikipedia

Airfilter
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aparticulateairfilterisadevicecomposedoffibrousmaterialswhichremovessolidparticulatessuchasdust,
pollen,mould,andbacteriafromtheair.Filterscontaininganabsorbentorcatalystsuchascharcoal(carbon)may
alsoremoveodorsandgaseouspollutantssuchasvolatileorganiccompoundsorozone.[1]Airfiltersareusedin
applicationswhereairqualityisimportant,notablyinbuildingventilationsystemsandinengines.

Somebuildings,aswellasaircraftandotherhumanmadeenvironments(e.g.,satellitesandspaceshuttles)use
foam,pleatedpaper,orspunfiberglassfilterelements.Anothermethod,airionisers,usefibersorelementswitha
staticelectriccharge,whichattractdustparticles.Theairintakesofinternalcombustionenginesandair
compressorstendtouseeitherpaper,foam,orcottonfilters.Oilbathfiltershavefallenoutoffavor.The
technologyofairintakefiltersofgasturbineshasimprovedsignificantlyinrecentyears,duetoimprovementsin
theaerodynamicsandfluiddynamicsoftheaircompressorpartofthegasturbines.

Contents
1 HEPAfilters
2 Automotivecabinairfilters
3 Internalcombustionengineairfilters
3.1 Paper
3.2 Foam
3.3 Cotton
3.4 Stainlesssteel
3.5 Oilbath
3.6 Waterbath
4 Filterclasses
5 Seealso
6 References
7 Externallinks

HEPAfilters
Automotivecabinairfilters
Thecabinairfilteristypicallyapleatedpaperfilterthatisplacedintheoutsideairintakeforthevehicle's
passengercompartment.Someofthesefiltersarerectangularandsimilarinshapetothecombustionairfilter.
Othersareuniquelyshapedtofittheavailablespaceofparticularvehicles'outsideairintakes.

ThefirstautomakertoincludeadisposablefiltertocleantheventilationsystemwastheNashMotors"Weather
Eye",introducedin1940.[2]

Beingarelativelyrecentadditiontoautomobileequipment,thisfilterisoftenoverlooked,andcangreatlyreduce
theeffectivenessofthevehicle'sairconditioningandheatingperformance.Cloggedordirtycabinairfilterscan
significantlyreduceairflowfromthecabinvents,aswellasintroduceallergensintothecabinairstream.Thepoor
performanceofthesefiltersisobscuredbymanufacturersbynotusingtheMERVratingsystem.Somepeople
mistakenlybelievethatsomeoftheseareHEPAfilters.
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Internalcombustionengineairfilters
Thecombustionairfilterpreventsabrasiveparticulatematterfromentering
theengine'scylinders,whereitwouldcausemechanicalwearandoil
contamination.

Mostfuelinjectedvehiclesuseapleatedpaperfilterelementintheformof
aflatpanel.Thisfilterisusuallyplacedinsideaplasticboxconnectedto
thethrottlebodywithductwork.Oldervehiclesthatusecarburetorsor
throttlebodyfuelinjectiontypicallyuseacylindricalairfilter,usuallya
fewincheshighandbetween6inches(150mm)and16inches(410mm)
indiameter.Thisispositionedabovethecarburetororthrottlebody,usually
inametalorplasticcontainerwhichmayincorporateductingtoprovide Usedautoengineairfilter,cleanside
cooland/orwarminletair,andsecuredwithametalorplasticlid.The
overallunit(filterandhousingtogether)iscalledtheaircleaner.

Paper

Pleatedpaperfilterelementsarethenearlyexclusivechoiceforautomobile
engineaircleaners,becausetheyareefficient,easytoservice,andcost
effective.The"paper"termissomewhatmisleading,asthefiltermediaare
considerablydifferentfrompapersusedforwritingorpackaging,etc.
Thereisapersistentbeliefamongsttuners,fomentedbyadvertisingfor
aftermarketnonpaperreplacementfilters,thatpaperfiltersflowpoorlyand Usedautoengineairfilter,dirtyside
thusrestrictengineperformance.Infact,aslongasapleatedpaperfilteris
sizedappropriatelyfortheairflowvolumesencounteredinaparticular
application,suchfilterspresentonlytrivialrestrictiontoflowuntilthefilter
hasbecomesignificantlycloggedwithdirt.Constructionequipment
enginesalsousethis.

Foam

Oilwettedpolyurethanefoamelementsareusedinsomeaftermarket
replacementautomobileairfilters.Foamwasinthepastwidelyusedinair
cleanersonsmallenginesonlawnmowersandotherpowerequipment,but Autoengineairfiltercloggedwith
automotivetypepaperfilterelementshavelargelysupplantedoilwetted dustandgrime
foamintheseapplications.Foamfiltersarestillcommonlyusedonair
compressorsforairtoolsupto5Hp.Dependingonthegradeandthickness
offoamemployed,anoilwettedfoamfilterelementcanofferminimalairflowrestrictionorveryhighdirt
capacity,thelatterpropertymakingfoamfiltersapopularchoiceinoffroadrallyingandothermotorsport
applicationswherehighlevelsofdustwillbeencountered.Duetothewaydustiscapturedonfoamfilters,large
amountsmaybetrappedwithoutmeasurablechangeinairflowrestriction.

Cotton

Oiledcottongauzeisemployedinagrowingnumberofaftermarketautomotiveairfiltersmarketedashigh
performanceitems.Inthepast,cottongauzesawlimiteduseinoriginalequipmentautomotiveairfilters.However,
sincetheintroductionoftheAbarthSSversions,theFiatsubsidiarysuppliescottongauzeairfiltersasOEfilters.

Stainlesssteel
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Stainlesssteelmeshisanotherexampleofmediumwhichallowmoreairto
passthrough.Stainlesssteelmeshcomeswithdifferentmeshcounts,
offeringdifferentfiltrationstandards.Inanextrememodifiedengine
lackinginspaceforaconebasedairfilter,somewillopttoinstallasimple
stainlesssteelmeshovertheturbotoensurenoparticlesentertheengine
viatheturbo.

Oilbath

Anoilbathaircleanerconsistsofasumpcontainingapoolofoil,andan
insertwhichisfilledwithfibre,mesh,foam,oranothercoarsefiltermedia. Lowtemperatureoxidationcatalyst
Whenthecleanerisassembled,themediacontainingbodyoftheinsertsits usedtoconvertcarbonmonoxideto
ashortdistanceabovethesurfaceoftheoilpool.Therimoftheinsert lesstoxiccarbondioxideatroom
overlapstherimofthesump.Thisarrangementformsalabyrinthinepath temperature.Itcanalsoremove
throughwhichtheairmusttravelinaseriesofUturns:upthroughthegap formaldehydefromtheair.
betweentherimsoftheinsertandthesump,downthroughthegapbetween
theouterwalloftheinsertandtheinnerwallofthesump,andupthrough
thefiltermediainthebodyoftheinsert.ThisUturntakestheairathighvelocityacrossthesurfaceoftheoilpool.
Largerandheavierdustanddirtparticlesintheaircannotmaketheturnduetotheirinertia,sotheyfallintotheoil
andsettletothebottomofthebasebowl.Lighterandsmallerparticlesaretrappedbythefiltrationmediainthe
insert,whichiswettedbyoildropletsaspiratedthereintobynormalairflow.

Oilbathaircleanerswereverywidelyusedinautomotiveandsmallengineapplicationsuntilthewidespread
industryadoptionofthepaperfilterintheearly1960s.Suchcleanersarestillusedinoffroadequipmentwhere
veryhighlevelsofdustareencountered,foroilbathaircleanerscansequesteragreatdealofdirtrelativetotheir
overallsizewithoutlossoffiltrationefficiencyorairflow.However,theliquidoilmakescleaningandservicing
suchaircleanersmessyandinconvenient,theymustberelativelylargetoavoidexcessiverestrictionathigh
airflowrates,andtheytendtoincreaseexhaustemissionsofunburnedhydrocarbonsduetooilaspirationwhen
usedonsparkignitionengines.

Waterbath

Intheearly20thcentury(about1900to1930),waterbathaircleanerswereusedinsomeapplications(cars,trucks,
tractors,andportableandstationaryengines).Theyworkedonroughlythesameprinciplesasoilbathaircleaners.
Forexample,theoriginalFordsontractorhadawaterbathaircleaner.Bythe1940s,oilbathdesignshaddisplaced
waterbathdesignsbecauseofbetterfilteringperformance.

Filterclasses
EuropeanNormalisationstandardsrecognisethefollowingfilterclasses:

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Particulatesize
Usage Class Performance Performancetest TestStandard
approaching100%retention
Coarsefilters G1 65% Averagevalue >5m BSEN779

(usedas G2 6580% Averagevalue >5m BSEN779

G3 8090% Averagevalue >5m BSEN779
Primary)
G4 90% Averagevalue >5m BSEN779

Finefilters M5 4060% Averagevalue >5m BSEN779

M6 6080% Averagevalue >2m BSEN779
(usedas F7 8090% Averagevalue >2m BSEN779
Secondary) F8 9095% Averagevalue >1m BSEN779
F9 95% Averagevalue >1m BSEN779
E10 85% Minimumvalue >1m BSEN1822
SemiHEPA E11 95% Minimumvalue >0.5m BSEN1822
E12 99.5% Minimumvalue >0.5m BSEN1822
H13 99.95% Minimumvalue >0.3m BSEN1822
HEPA
H14 99.995% Minimumvalue >0.3m BSEN1822
U15 99.9995% Minimumvalue >0.3m BSEN1822
ULPA U16 99.99995% Minimumvalue >0.3m BSEN1822
U17 99.999995% Minimumvalue >0.3m BSEN1822

Seealso
Airpurifier
CleanAirDeliveryRate
Cyclonicseparation
HEPA(HighEfficiencyParticulateAir)
Impingementfilter
Nosefilter
Oilfilter
Respirator
Swanneckduct
LouisPasteur

References
1."CaliforniaEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyAirCleaningDevicesfortheHome,FrequentlyAskedQuestions"(http
s://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/acdsumm.pdf)(PDF).CaliforniaEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyAirResources
Board.Retrieved20161214.
2.Nashengineeringitems(http://vwlarry.blogspot.com/2009/05/ivebeenwantingtodopieceaboutthis.html)

Externallinks
Comparativefiltrationefficacyandairflowtestsfordifferenttypesof
WikimediaCommonshas
automotiveairfilterelements(http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilte mediarelatedtoAirfilters.
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r/airtest1.htm)
EngineeredSystemsMagazine(http://www.esmagazine.com/CDA/Archives/86b24e5bd9ba8010VgnVCM1
00000f932a8c0____)FilterSelection:AStandardProcedure(June2000)MERVdesignations(Minimum
EfficiencyReportingValue)
FilterManufacturersCouncilbulletinoncleaningheavydutyairfilterelements(http://www.fleetmag.com/o
nline/fmxlibrary/Heavy_Duty_Air_Filter_Elements.pdf)

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