Pressure and Gas Flow Distribution Inside the Filter of a Non-Filter Ventilated Lit Cigarette During Puffing

Establishing a realistic gas flow velocity distribution inside a cigarette filter during smoking is important to understand filtration mechanisms of different mainstream smoke species and the overall effect of filter designs on mainstream smoke composition. In this paper, an experimental method is described which directly measures the gas pressure field inside a cellulose acetate filter during cigarette smoking. This was demonstrated by using 3R4F research reference cigarettes smoked under a 35 mL puff of 6 s duration. In addition, filter temperature measurements were also carried out at multiple locations within the filter. Both the temperature and pressure sensing locations were selected to match the radial and longitudinal directions of the cigarette filter. The temperature and pressure measurements were then used to calculate the velocity according to Darcy’s Law along the mainstream flow direction in the cigarette filter at each puff. The spatially resolved maps of temperature, pressure and flow velocity on a puff-by-puff basis provide useful insights into the dynamic filtration of smoke aerosol under the influence of the approaching burning coal and progressive accumulation of smoke particulate matter.