Southern Felt possesses a very well equipped laboratory which we believe is truly state of the art.

The scanning electron microscope allows us to examine filter media at magnifications well into the thousands so every fiber and dust particle can be imaged. This allows examination of media cross sections to assess dust penetration, chemical treatments can be evaluated, fiber deniers measured and felt structures evaluated.

Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy is a technique for analyzing the chemical bonds inside an organic substance such as a synthetic fiber. Our laboratory has an extensive range of traces stored in a searchable library to allow rapid identification of fiber and treatment type, to evaluate new fibers and to study felts to determine their composition.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry is a technique to evaluate materials based on their thermal behavior. For example, nylon 6 and nylon 6, 6 have quite different melting temperatures and so can be positively identified using this technique. Bi-component fibers show two separate melting peaks, and so can be identified. Low grade resins used in some needle felts show different behavior to the high grade systems we use.

Tensile testing is invaluable to assess correct manufacture of needle felt and to assist in determining the degree of fiber degradation in used filter bags. We test at both room and elevated temperatures as we have learned that certain material properties change dramatically when the material is exposed to operating temperatures.

Preferably, evaluation of filter media should occur in conditions as close as possible to the intended environment; significant investment in our advanced in-house test rig (VDI3926) included elevated temperature capability to better demonstrate the performance of our products in application.