@article{bhatta_tafreshi_pourdeyhimi_2024, title={Toward formulating coalescence filtration: Characterizing wetting saturation via centrifugal force}, volume={170}, ISSN={["1879-3533"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2023.104641}, DOI={10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2023.104641}, abstractNote={Coalescence filtration is the removal of dispersed droplets from a gas or from an immiscible liquid using a fibrous filter. Coalescing filters operate under a partially-saturated condition where some of the filter pores are filled with accumulated droplets. To date, there exists no theory that can predict the filtration efficiency of a coalescing filter and this is due to the complicated coupling between the aerodynamic field inside the filter and the capillarity of the fibers. This paper presents a new approach to study coalescence filtration by replacing the aerodynamic field inside the filter with a centrifugal force field and to thereby decouple the role of fiber properties from that of the airflow in fluid accumulation in a filter. This paper is only the first step towards developing the above mathematical theory for coalescence filtration. In the current study, we use numerical simulation and experiment to compare desaturation of a liquid-saturated fibrous media via centrifugal force (new) and via compressed air (traditional). For the simulations, we used the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method implemented in ANSYS software, and for the experiments, we used a Porometer for the pressure-driven desaturation, and a custom-made setup inside a swing-bucket centrifuge for the centrifugal desaturation. The experiments were conducted using a nonwoven fabric infused with mineral oil. Pressure-driven and centrifugal desaturation processes were compared with one another, and the advantages of the latter were discussed in detail.}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPHASE FLOW}, author={Bhatta, Nishant and Tafreshi, Hooman V. and Pourdeyhimi, Behnam}, year={2024}, month={Jan} }