A multiple-scales framework for branched channel filters

Fibres shed from our clothes during a washing machine cycle constitute around 35% of the primary microplastics in our oceans. Current conventional dead-end washing machine filters clog relatively quickly and require frequent cleaning. We consider a new concept, ricochet separation, inspired by the feeding process of manta rays, to reduce the cleaning frequency. In such a device, some fluid is diverted through branched channels whilst particles ricochet off the wall structure, forcing them back into the main flow and then into the dead-end filter. In this paper, we consider a simple branched-channel filter structure beneath a high-Reynolds-number laminar flow, in the case where the branch separation is much larger than the thickness of the viscous boundary layer. We use multiple-scales techniques to derive an effective leakage boundary condition, which smooths out localised effects in the flow velocity and pressure that arise due to the discrete branched channels, and then use this boundary condition to explicitly determine the flow away from the boundary. We find that our explicit solution compares well with an analogous numerical solution containing a discrete set of branched channels. We further consider the behaviour of individual spherical particles in the device, with their trajectories determined via a simple force balance model with a wall-bounce condition. We explore the dependence of the fraction of particles that flow into the branched channels on the particle's Stokes number. The resulting combined model is able to predict the relationship between the efficiency of a ricochet filter device and the design and operating parameters, avoiding the need to conduct extensive numerically challenging simulations.