Electrowriting-based polycaprolactone (PCL) particle thin-fiber grid can filter and separate aerosols by capturing particles or droplets. Previous studies have mainly focused on experimental optimization of electrowriting fiber and pore sizes to enhance filtration and separation efficiency. This study combines numerical simulations and experiments to investigate the particle filtration process of electrowriting thin-fiber grids with varying fiber spacings, distribution patterns, and diameters. Experimental results show that detecting the flow field around the collector and fibers is challenging due to the three orders of magnitude difference in length scales. Additionally, the size of clogging particles dynamically changes over time, complicating the evaluation of their impact on the filtration efficiency of electrospun meshes. In contrast, numerical methods have proven highly effective for simulating the fiber grid and surrounding flow field, allowing precise control over particle size and mechanical parameters by adjusting modeling settings. Based on the modeling results, membranes designed with different preset parameters can be used to filter and separate particles of various sizes, achieving a particle retention rate of up to 95.5%. This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential of electrowriting-based filters, providing new opportunities for the design and development of high-performance filtration and separation materials tailored to different types of particulate matter.
Hidalgo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.