Understanding the influence of operating conditions on fouling is a great challenge in crossflow membrane filtration since it is determined by a complex interplay between the shear force of the crossflow and the drag toward the membrane arising from the applied trans-membrane pressure. This study uses a coupled CFD-DEM approach to simulate the motion and deposition behavior of monodisperse spherical particles within a membrane-mimicking geometry. Trans-membrane pressure and crossflow velocity are varied to reveal their respective influence on different aspects of fouling at a pore scale. A visual analysis of the simulation results demonstrates distinct behavior regarding the initial deposition of particles and the resulting filter cake morphology, which can be attributed to defined phenomena. Additionally, quantitative data reveals that the dynamic fouling behavior is dominated by the applied crossflow velocity, while the resistance to the removal of particles by crossflow and the level of flux decline is mainly influenced by the trans-membrane pressure. This study links visual pore-scale phenomena to macroscopic filtration quantities, not only underlining the importance of pore-scale investigations but also narrowing the gap between pore-scale events and the filtration process.

了解操作条件对结垢的影响是横流膜过滤中的一个巨大挑战，因为它是由横流剪切力与施加的跨膜压力产生的膜阻力之间复杂的相互作用决定的。本研究使用耦合 CFD-DEM 方法来模拟膜模拟几何结构内单分散球形颗粒的运动和沉积行为。改变跨膜压力和横流​​速度，以揭示它们各自对孔隙尺度污垢不同方面的影响。模拟结果的可视化分析表明了颗粒初始沉积和所得滤饼形态的不同行为，这可归因于定义的现象。此外，定量数据表明，动态污垢行为主要由所施加的横流速度决定，而横流去除颗粒的阻力和通量下降水平主要受跨膜压力影响。这项研究将视觉孔隙尺度现象与宏观过滤量联系起来，不仅强调了孔隙尺度研究的重要性，而且缩小了孔隙尺度事件和过滤过程之间的差距。