Donaldson does more with less: New Donaldson PowerCore intake air filters designed to provide enhanced performance in more compact package - Filtration Technology - Product Announcement

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Feb, 2002 by Mike Brezonick

Designers of today's mobile equipment are trying to do more with less. In some applications, it's the requirement to make a vehicle lighter or more streamlined. In others, the goal is greater power density in a smaller, more compact package.

As a result, component manufacturers are faced with the dual challenges of adapting to the new packaging requirements while at the same time maintaining or even improving performance.

The latest company to answer this challenge is Donaldson Co., which has developed a new engine air intake filtration technology designed to meet the stringent demands of both on-highway vehicles and off-highway equipment. The new Donaldson PowerCore filtration technology combines an advanced filter media packaged in a dense, axial-flow configuration, with the result being greater filtration efficiency with less restriction and extended service life.

"We know there is a trend, from our customer's standpoint, toward reduced space under the hood, whether it's an on-road or an off-road application," said Marty Barris, director, Applications and Development, for Donaldson's Air Filtration Business Unit. "We understood that being able to get the same job done in a smaller space has some real value to our customers."

What makes the Donaldson PowerCore design unique is both the configuration of the filter media and the media itself. Instead of the traditional pleated construction, the Donaldson PowerCore media is arranged into formed flutes, open on one end and sealed on the other. Inlet and outlet flutes are adjacent to one another and the pattern resembles corrugated box material. A similar technology was pioneered by Donaldson's Gas Turbine Systems Division, which incorporated a like design into its DZ2000 products in the 1990s.

As air enters the inlet flutes, it passes through the media to outlet flutes on either side. Unlike conventional filters, which typically require clearance space for proper airflow and have a hollow center to allow the filtered air to exit to the engine, the Donaldson PowerCore media is densely packed, resulting in greater media surface area.

"It's an axial flow filter -- in one end and out the other," noted Barris. "Typically we see a reduction in the system restriction because of that straight-through flow. Anytime you can get from the intake system inlet area to the turbocharger using as few turns as possible, it will be better for the system in terms of lower restriction.

"On average, the Donaldson PowerCore design allows us to about double the media area in a constant volume," he added. "Because we have that capability, we have more design flexibility within the system and we are able to reduce the size of the product so it fits in a smaller space, yet still meets the customer's objectives in terms of servicing intervals."

The media itself is a proprietary design engineered specifically for the Donaldson PowerCore filters. It consists of a thin, cellulose-based substrate with the company's Eon nano-fiber material applied atop the substrate. The media technology is designed to cause submicron contaminants to load on the surface rather than disperse throughout the depth of the filter, where there is less area for the air to flow. Donaldson Eon media also has smaller interfiber spaces that give the filter higher efficiency -- 99.98 percent efficiency on fine dust particles, according to company testing -- by allowing less contaminant to pass through to the engine, Donaldson said.

"We have found that the use of Eon media in combination with the Donaldson PowerCore filtering technology gives us the maximum of dust loading and soot loading in a given volume," said Barris. "The thinness of the media is an important design characteristic. Since the air is flowing in one end and out the other, the thinner the media, the less the restriction due to that axial flow configuration."

Donaldson Eon technology is used on other filter products, including the Donaldson Endurance long-life on-highway air filters. "We have applied it to other applications," said Barris, "but in conventional pleated configuration."

The Donaldson PowerCore filters feature a nonmetallic, cartridge-style design and are incinerable, reducing disposal woes. "We've seen that trend toward incinerable products become very strong in our European markets and we expect that the consideration of incinerability and metal free content will grow in North America as well," Barris said.

The units also incorporate Donaldson's RadialSeal technology, a patented, 360[degrees] sealing configuration that is widely used in both on- and off-road applications. In all, Donaldson said the Donaldson PowerCore filter technology has 27 patented features.

The Donaldson PowerCore filters can be packaged in both round and obround (racetrack) shapes, with sizes to fit application demands. Because of its shape options and smaller size, the Donaldson PowerCore air intake systems have more mounting options than conventional filters, Barris noted. An intake system designed with Donaldson PowerCore filter technology can utilize options such as a secondary seal, protective wraps, and safety filters. "It's an issue of greater design flexibility," Barris said. "In some applications, there is very little space in the desired mounting location and the enclosure of the equipment. The racetrack-shaped PowerCore design option allows us to be able to mount the filter in the flat perspective in areas where a cylindrical filter may not fit, which gives us added design flexibility."