Flow Rate

The flow rate (volume flow) refers to the quantity of fluid that flows through a cross-section per unit of time. It is typically specified in units such as liters per minute (L/min) or cubic meters per hour (m³/h).

In the context of filters and meshes, the flow rate indicates how much liquid or gas a filter medium allows to pass through per time at a given pressure. This value depends on the open area and pore size of the mesh, the viscosity of the medium and the pressure gradient applied. A higher flow rate with the same filter fineness is often desirable in order to achieve a high process performance. However, an increased flow rate may require a higher differential pressure and lead to faster clogging as the fluid spends less time in the filter. When designing filtration systems, required flow rates are taken into account to determine the size and number of filter elements. In architectural contexts, the flow rate of metal mesh plays little role except in specialized applications such as water curtains or irrigation systems where flow is controlled by mesh.