Dr. Thomas Caesar
Vice President Global Filter Engineering
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, Germany
New Test Methods Enable Optimized Water Retention in Turbomachinery Air Intake Systems
Speaker Bio
Dr. Thomas Caesar is a renowned air filtration expert with over 25 years of experience in the global filtration industry. He received a diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe and his doctorate degree in thermodynamics and fluid dynamics from the University of Aachen (RWTH). Since 1999, Dr. Caesar has been employed by Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, a globally leading manufacturer of filtration solutions, where he has held various positions in sales and engineering. As Vice President Global Filter Engineering Industrial, he is currently responsible for the global technical product management and filter engineering in industrial filtration.
Dr. Caesar is actively contributing to industry guidelines at VDI, VDMA, and Eurovent. He co-authors various European standards at CEN and international standards at ISO. In ISO, he serves as Convenor of WG12 “Sustainability” and was as project leader of part 1, intensely involved in the development of ISO 16890. Dr. Caesar is Chairman of the Product Committee “Air Filters” at Eurovent Certita Certification and Vice Chairman of the Product Group “Air Filter” at Eurovent Association.
Presentation time
December 8, 2026
10:40 am - 11:50 am EST
Abstract
Air intake filtration systems for gas turbines and compressors are required to operate under challenging environmental conditions, including high humidity, fog, rain, and salt-laden coastal air. In such environments, insufficient water management can lead to elevated pressure drop, reduced equipment performance, corrosion, and increased maintenance requirements. Consequently, the ability of filtration systems to retain and separate water has become a critical performance parameter. ISO 29461-2 provides a standardized method for evaluating water penetration and pressure drop behaviour of filter elements under wet operating conditions, while the recently published ISO 29461-4 extends performance assessment to coastal and offshore applications by combining salt aerosol exposure, humidity cycling, and water challenges under controlled laboratory conditions.
This presentation demonstrates how the introduction of these standardized test methods has significantly improved the ability to characterize and compare the water handling capabilities of turbomachinery intake filters. Beyond supporting product qualification, the new methodologies provide valuable design feedback by revealing the influence of filter media properties, hydrophobic treatments, pleat geometry, drainage behaviour, and overall system configuration on water retention performance. Laboratory investigations performed according to the latest ISO 29461 test procedures are presented and correlated with the development of advanced intake filtration concepts. Particular attention is given to the optimization of water-retaining filtration systems, which were developed using insights gained from the new testing approaches.
The results confirm that the new ISO 29461 test methods provide a more realistic and application-oriented assessment of filtration performance in humid and marine environments. They not only improve comparability between filter technologies but also accelerate the development of next-generation air intake filtration systems capable of delivering enhanced protection and operational reliability for turbomachinery operating under demanding environmental conditions.