Airflow and Particle Transport Prediction through Stenosis Airways

Parth Singh, Vishnu Raghav, Vignesh Padhmashali, Gunther Paul, Mohammad S. Islam and Suvash C. Saha
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Parth Singh: School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Vishnu Raghav: School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Vignesh Padhmashali: School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Gunther Paul: James Cook University, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia
Mohammad S. Islam: School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Suvash C. Saha: School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: Airflow and particle transport in the human lung system is influenced by biological and other factors such as breathing pattern, particle properties, and deposition mechanisms. Most of the studies to date have analyzed airflow characterization and aerosol transport in idealized and realistic models. Precise airflow characterization for airway stenosis in a digital reference model is lacking in the literature. This study presents a numerical simulation of airflow and particle transport through a stenosis section of the airway. A realistic CT-scan-based mouth–throat and upper airway model was used for the numerical calculations. Three different models of a healthy lung and of airway stenosis of the left and right lung were used for the calculations. The ANSYS FLUENT solver, based on the finite volume discretization technique, was used as a numerical tool. Proper grid refinement and validation were performed. The numerical results show a complex-velocity flow field for airway stenosis, where airflow velocity magnitude at the stenosis section was found to be higher than that in healthy airways. Pressure drops at the mouth–throat and in the upper airways show a nonlinear trend. Comprehensive pressure analysis of stenosis airways would increase our knowledge of the safe mechanical ventilation of the lung. The turbulence intensities at the stenosis sections of the right and left lung were found to be different. Deposition efficiency (DE) increased with flow rate and particle size. The findings of the present study increase our understanding of airflow patterns in airway stenosis under various disease conditions. More comprehensive stenosis analysis is required to further improve knowledge of the field.

Keywords: airflow; airway stenosis; lung; COPD; airway particle transport; respiration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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