Highly Resolved Determination of Structure and Particle Deposition in Fibrous Filters by MRI

A new method for the quantitative three‐dimensional structure determination of a coarse filter medium as well as the particle deposition inside this medium is described. The filter structure was imaged at a voxel resolution of 59 μm which is close to the mean fiber diameter, therefore allowing individual fibers and their position to be determined. The data processing method for determining the filter structure as well as the quantification of the mass deposited in the filter are explained in detail. For particle deposition investigations the spatial resolution used was 235 μm. Hereby, a linear correlation between deposited mass and signal intensity was observed. A new method for quantifying the filter structure and the amount of deposited mass in fibrous filter media by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been developed. The potential of this method is demonstrated using a commercial coarse filter medium, where the structure is determined with a voxel resolution of 59 μm.