Compressed air generation and treatment systems can be found in almost every production-oriented company, hospital, pharmaceutical company or food processing plant. Every compressed air generation and treatment system includes compressed air filters. The filters remove mechanical impurities from the compressed air which could otherwise damage the machines and equipment driven by the compressed air. Particles in the compressed air can also contaminate the process where the compressed air comes into contact with the product. When the compressed air passes through the filter, losses occur in the form of a pressure drop, resulting in higher energy consumption, higher operating costs and a larger ecological footprint. In this diploma thesis we focused on the design of filters with lower pressure drop while maintaining the same filtration properties. We optimized the geometry of pleated filter paper, which is an integral part of filter elements. Different geometries were analysed by means of testing and computer simulations. We also tested the impact of humidity on the pressure drop. We found that the pressure drop decreases with the increase of filtration surface at first, but then starts increasing at some point. This point represents optimal geometry of pleated paper. In the diploma thesis we have defined an equation that provides the optimal number of wrinkles for filter elements of any dimensions and gave recommendations about the folding height.
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