Dead Area

Dead area is the portion of a filter’s active footprint that does not contribute effectively to flow or separation. Causes include gasket lands, clamping zones, channel shadows, damaged or blinded sections and poor distribution that starves regions of the medium. Dead area lowers effective throughput per unit cloth, skews cake thickness and washing uniformity, and raises energy use as the remaining area carries more load. Minimising dead area is a design and operations task: use uniform feed distribution and manifolds with balanced pressure losses; select drainage layers that prevent local collapse into support holes; ensure precise tracking and tensioning on belts; and maintain seals and clamps so they compress without over‑covering the medium. During commissioning, ∆p mapping, filtrate sampling across the width and infrared imaging (for drying) reveal dead zones. Addressing dead area increases yield, reduces wash consumption and extends media life through more even loading.