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In this study, a pressure drop model was developed through numerical simulation and experimentation for optimizing the design of the pleated structure of the filter media to extend the service life of the filter and reduce the ventilation energy consumption. The effect of the Stokes number on the dust deposition on the pleated filter media was revealed through numerical simulation. On this basis, a pressure drop model during dust loading was developed. The model suggests that under the same mass of dust deposition per unit area (W), the greater the pleat ratio (α), the greater the dust cake thickness and the effective filtration velocity in the effective filtration area. In addition, for V-shaped and U-shaped filters, the relative mean deviations between experimental and modeling total pressure drops are 3.68% and 4.82%, respectively. In other words, the proposed model accurately predicts pressure drop during dust loading. Furthermore, under the same α and $$W$$ W , the total pressure drop of the U-shaped filter is lower than that of the V-shaped filter, demonstrating the superior filtration performance of the U-shaped filter.

Pressure drop is an important indicator that affects the filtration performance of the pleated filter, and the deposition of dust particles within the pleats is crucial to the evolution of the pressure drop. In this study, the pressure drop during PM10 loading process was investigated for a series of V-shaped and U-shaped filters with a pleat height of 20 mm and different pleat ratios (the ratio of pleat height to pleat width: α = 0.71–3.57). In the numerical simulations, numerical models suitable for different pleated geometries were obtained through experimental verification on the local air velocity. Then, assuming that the dust cake thickness is proportional to the normal air velocity of the filters, the variation of the pressure drop with the dust deposition is derived by means of successive numerical simulations. This simulation method saved a significant amount of CPU time required for the growth of dust cake. It was found that the relative average deviations between experimental and simulated pressure drops were 3.12% and 1.19% for V-shaped and U-shaped filters, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that under the same pleat ratio and the mass of dust deposition per unit area, both the pressure drop and unevenness of normal air velocity of the U-shaped filter were lower than the V-shaped filter. Therefore, the U-shaped filter is recommended due to its better filtration performance.

In the hope of reducing the air supply flow of the powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) and extending the service life of the filter, a breath-following powered air-purifying respirator (BF-PAPR) that can dynamically adjust the air supply flow according to the breathing flow is proposed. The BF-PAPR changes the air supply flow by adjusting the speed of the variable-frequency centrifugal fan according to the air velocity at the half mask outlet (vhm) monitored by the modular wind speed transmitter. In the study, the air supply flow adjustment model of the BF-PAPR is developed. It is found that the filtration resistance barely influences vhm. In addition, under the same mean inhalation flow, the minimum outlet air velocity increases first and then decreases with the increase of the duty cycle variation coefficient (λ), while the maximum outlet air velocity decreases first and then increases. Moreover, the minimum air supply flow of the BF-PAPR is achieved when the standard value of the air velocity is 13.4 m/s and the value of λ is 1. The BF-PAPR can reduce the air supply flow by 6.5%-8.6% and the energy consumption by approximately 20% compared with the PAPR, which is beneficial for reducing the usage cost and extending the continuous working time.

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