FILTRATION EFFICIENCY

Filter performance is determined by the ratio of the number of certain particle size upstream and
downstream the filter. The ratio is given by dividing the amount of particles entering the filter by the
amount of particles leaving the filter.

 x = Nux / Ndx

 = Beta Ratio
x = particle size (micron)
Nu x = Number of particles of size x and greater upstream
Nd x = Number of particles of size x and greater downstream

The relationship between Beta Ratio and filter efficiency is:

Efficiency (%) = 100 – (100 / )

For example, if a filter has 1000 particle of 10 microns size and larger upstream, and 50 particles
downstream, the  is calculated by,

10 = 1000/50 = 20

Thus, the efficiency is,

Efficiency (%) = 100 – (100/20) = 95 %

The value means that 95% of all 10 microns and larger particles are removed.

Below is the table of some value of Beta ratio and the corresponding efficiency.

 Efficiency (%)
2 50
4 75
10 90
20 95
30 96.67
50 98
75 98.67
100 99
200 99.5
1000 99.9

The value of Beta ratio is determined by multi-pass test method (ISO 4572-1981), which is the industry
standard measurement for efficiency.
Above is the figure of Fleetguard hydraulic filter, written the average Beta 7 = 2, average Beta 17 = 20. In
terms of efficiency, this filter has the 50% efficiency at 7 microns particle size, and 95% at 17 microns,
means that the filter removes 50% of 7 microns particles, and 95% of 17 microns particles.