Diesel particulate filters are gradually making their way into series production – most car manufacturers build them into their diesel vehicles during the manufacturing process to keep emissions of fine dust to a minimum. But which filters are most efficient at extracting the noxious particles? How do the geometrical details of the filter materials affect the filter properties? Until now, researchers and developers have had to conduct a series of tests to answer questions like these: They build a prototype of each filter, which then has to prove its abilities in a practical test. This involves using a huge number of test filters – possibly as many as several hundred.