National & International Standards of Air Filters for Engines and Compressors
China：GB/T 28949-2012《Inlet air cleaning equipment for internal combustion engines and compressors — Performance testing》
This standard is based on the ISO international standard: ISO 5011:2000. It’s the official national standard in China for testing the performance of intake air filters for internal combustion engines and air compressors.
This standard lays down the steps, requirements, tools, and organization of results for testing how well intake air filters work in internal combustion engines and air compressors, so that we can compare how similar filters perform in the lab.
This standard is for the air filters used in cars and industrial machinery. Just keep in mind that it’s based on an older version of the ISO 5011:2000. However, ISO 5011 standard was updated in 2020, so there may be some differences in certain details compared to the latest ISO 5011:2020 version. In practical applications, it is advisable to refer to the latest version of the standard to ensure accuracy and compliance.
International：ISO 5011:2020《Inlet air cleaning equipment for internal combustion engines and compressors — Performance testing》
This is a super important global standard that’s specifically designed to assess and test how good air filters are for internal combustion engines (like car and construction equipment engines).
It is applicable to air filters used in internal combustion engines commonly found in cars and industrial applications.
This standard includes test methods for the air filter’s dust blocking capability, filtration efficiency, flow characteristics, and durability.
America：SAE J726_200206《Air Cleaner Test Code》
Although SAE J726 is a standard developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International), it is widely considered to be one of the important standards for testing the performance of automotive air filters.
It includes testing parameters such as dust holding capacity, efficiency, and pressure drop of the air filters.
The standard was released on June 27, 2002, but it got axed in June 2002. This standard was all about testing how different air cleaners work in labs, like the ones with oil baths, wet oil, dry ones, and those fancy multi-stage air cleaners.
But since it got canceled, SAE International might not have any fresh and active standards in this area right now.
Europe: EN 779《Particulate air filters for general ventilation - Determination of the filtration performance》
This is a European standard, primarily used for air filters in ventilation and air conditioning systems, but certain aspects are also applicable to air filters in automobiles and construction machinery.
The latest version of the EN 779 standard was the 2012 version, named EN 779:2012. However, this standard was superseded in 2018 by the ISO 16890 standard.
The ISO 16890 standard introduces new methods for testing and evaluating air filters, aligning closely with the assessment parameters used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other environmental authorities.
Prior to being replaced by ISO 16890, EN 779:2012 had been the European standard for testing and classifying air filters. In contrast, the ISO 16890 standard differs in its testing processes and classification system, involving the efficiency evaluation of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 particulate matter, as well as the classification of coarse dust.
Therefore, if you are looking for the current applicable international standard for air filters, you should refer to the ISO 16890 standard.
Germany: DIN 71460: 《Road Vehicles - Air Filters For Passenger Compartments》
The German industrial standard provides detailed guidance on performance testing of automotive air filters.
The latest version is DIN 71460-3:2020, a national standard of Germany (Deutsches Institut fur Normung E.V. (DIN)), specifically for air filters in passenger compartments of road vehicles.
This third part of the standard focuses on testing methods for filtration efficiency based on particulate matter (PMx), designated as eff (PMx). It offers methods to calculate the particulate matter-based filtration efficiency tests, allowing for comparative evaluation of filter elements in a laboratory setting.
Additionally, DIN 71460-2:2020-10 is another significant part of the standard, focusing on gaseous filtration tests for passenger compartment air filters.
