iSTE-CE'2019- International Conference on Innovation, Sustainability, Technology and Education in Civil Engineering 13-15 June, 2019, Iskenderun, Hatay / TURKEY Experimental measurements of head losses in filtration cartridges Stefania Evangelista 1 , Giacomo Viccione 2 1 Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy 3 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy Emails: s.evangelista@unicas.it, gviccion@unisa.it Abstract In this paper the main results of an extended campaign of laboratory experiments on the hydraulic performance of filtration cartridges are presented and discussed. The hydraulic analysis mainly focused on the evaluation of the local pressure drops induces by the cartridges themselves when introduced into the plant, thus lowing the total pressure levels until sometimes compromising the smooth operation of devices connected to the plant. After analyzing the hydraulic performance of different filter cartridges, the research focused on wire-wound filtering cartridges, the most widely used type of cartridge in domestic plants among the commercially available ones. The filtration process and particles motion through the filter were also analyzed, in order to estimate the effects of the filter obstruction on the values of the pressure drops. Experiments have been conducted in the Laboratory of Environmental and Maritime Hydraulics (LIDAM) at University of Salerno, Italy. Keyword(s): water filtration, filter cartridges, head losses, laboratory experiments, filter clogging 1. Introduction Water treatment processes have been assuming increasing importance, due to the progressive industrialization and the uncontrolled social and economic development, with consequent pollution and environmental degradation [1-3]. Among the different water treatment techniques, filtration still represents the main solution [4-5] in most plants. Almost all the domestic apparatus making use of water are equipped with filtration elements. Very few works are available in literature on the hydraulic analysis of filtering cartridges, and they focus on different features, such as water quality or efficiency of the filtration process, or removal of specific substances from drinking water. It is worth mentioning the guide on filtration systems by Sutherland [6] and a specific oriented book on wire-wound cartridges by Kanade and Bhattacharya [7]. Kanade and co-workers [8-9] defined the relation between spinning suction pressure and performance parameters of wire-wound filters. The present study is focused, instead, on the effects, in terms of head losses, produced by the installation of a filter cartridge in a drinking water plant. These effects, in fact, are not negligible and may low the pressure values under those required for a proper functioning of electro-domestic equipment (dishwashers, washing machines, boilers, etc).