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Bag Filter Calculation: Sizing Your System for Questions? Chat with an age…

Performance Neina Morocco

Support Agent

 Jun 5, 2019
Neina Morocco 23:54
Hello, would you like to talk about our products?

Visitor 23:56
thanks ..actually im looking for how to check if my
bag filter is suitable for my sytem
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F or a baghouse to function correctly, system designers need to perform a bag filter
calculation.  So how do you calculate the air-to-cloth ratio of your bag filters?
Some websites offer simple formulas to estimate the correct air-to-cloth ratio. However,
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a good system designer knows that every application and every material is a little
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System designers also do a compressed air requirement calculation for bag filters.
Because without proper cleaning, bags become covered with dust which throws off the
calculated air-to-cloth ratio. Therefore, getting these two calculations right makes sure
your baghouse runs at full efficiency.

How to Calculate Air-to-Cloth Ratio in Bag Filters

An air-to-cloth ratio compares the amount of air going through a square foot of filter
area. If you know the total CFM of the system and you know the amount of filter area
you have, you can calculate this ratio.

For example, if you have 10,000 CFM through your collector and 5,000 square feet of
filter area, your ratio is 10,000:5,000. But it’s much simpler to convert this to a ratio of
2:1. The air-to-cloth ratio can be anything from 1:1 to 3.5:1.

What makes the difference in bag filter calculation? Often, it’s the type of dust that the
system collects. Different types of material will change how you calculate the air-to-
cloth ratio in filter bags. Most companies that design baghouses know the general cloth
area of their filter bags. A filter bag calculation can also be made because filter bags are
round. If you know the diameter of the bag, multiply this diameter by 3.14 to get the
circumference. (Think back to high school math and the circumference of a circle.)

Therefore, the circumference of the bags (diameter of the bag x 3.14) multiplied by the
length of the bag will give you an approximate bag surface area. There are 144 square
inches in a square foot. Since the diameter of the bag will be measured in inches, the
bag surface area must be measured in inches too. Use this surface area in the air-to-
cloth ratio.

Ask the Manufacturer First

You may never need to know how to do these calculations. Fortunately, many filter bag
manufacturers know the general surface area of their bags. Also, a system designer
usually knows the surface area of bags that need to go in a collector. What you do need
to know is why the surface to air ratio matters. Consequently, a wrong bag filter design
calculation can result in a collector with a ratio that causes serious problems.

Importance of
Correct Air-to-Cloth
Ratio Calculations
The correct air-to-cloth ratio
determines the efficiency and
life span of your filters. Above
all, buying and replacing filters
may be the most expensive
and time-consuming part of
dust collector maintenance.
The correct bag filter
calculation extends the life
span of your filters and keeps
them working efficiently. Not
having enough cloth for the air
in your system results in low
filter life and damaged or
overloaded filters.

Different materials will require

different air-to-cloth ratios.
Similarly, different applications
also demand changes to the
air-to-cloth ratio. An ambient
system usually filters the air
with a low overall amount of
particulate. In contrast, a
source capture on plasma
cutting collects much more
material. Wood, fiberglass, and
other materials affect filters
differently. Therefore, you should consult with someone who has experience in air-to-
cloth ratio calculations for your type of material.

Compressed Air Requirement Calculation for Bag Filters

Even if a system has the correct air-to-cloth ratio, it still needs to clean the filters
correctly. For instance, some baghouses are cleaned with airflow from a fan. The fan
sizing will be part of the overall system design. Other baghouses use pulses of
compressed air to clean the filters. For these, the calculation of compressed air
requirements is important.

Compressed air requirement for bag filters determines how long the bags will last and
how efficient they will be. Some compressed air cleaning systems are timer operated.
This means that pulses of compressed air clean the bag filters at a designed time. Dust
collectors can also have differential pressure pulse control. In this case, a rise in the
differential pressure triggers a sensor to activate a pulse. The compressed air only
pulses when the filters need it. This means that the compressed air requirement for the
baghouse is lower.

The size of the piping and valves used can also affect the compressed air. A baghouse
should be operated with the bag filters, valves, and other equipment that came with the
system, or an appropriate replacement from the manufacturer.

Valves and other parts of the compressed air system can develop leaks and waste
compressed air. As a result, there will be less efficient pulsing. Therefore, systems
should be checked regularly for any leaks or failing valves. The compressed air
requirement calculation for bag filters is only accurate if the entire system operates as
designed.

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