A quasi-realistic computational model development and flow field study of the human upper and central airways.

Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7704869 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1741-0444 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01400118 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Med Biol Eng Comput Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: New York, NY : Springer
Original Publication: Stevenage, Eng., Peregrinus.

Computer Simulation* ; Hydrodynamics* ; Models, Biological*; Respiratory System/diagnostic imaging ; Respiratory System/anatomy & histology ; Lung/physiology ; Lung/diagnostic imaging ; Trachea/physiology ; Trachea/diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Algorithms

The impact of drug delivery and particulate matter exposure on the human respiratory tract is influenced by various anatomical and physiological factors, particularly the structure of the respiratory tract and its fluid dynamics. This study employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate airflow in two 3D models of the human air conducting zone. The first model uses a combination of CT-scan images and geometrical data from human cadaver to extract the upper and central airways down to the ninth generation, while the second model develops the lung airways from the first Carina to the end of the ninth generation using Kitaoka's deterministic algorithm. The study examines the differences in geometrical characteristics, airflow rates, velocity, Reynolds number, and pressure drops of both models in the inhalation and exhalation phases for different lobes and generations of the airways. From trachea to the ninth generation, the average air flowrates and Reynolds numbers exponentially decay in both models during inhalation and exhalation. The steady drop is the case for the average air velocity in Kitaoka's model, while that experiences a maximum in the 3rd or 4th generation in the quasi-realistic model. Besides, it is shown that the flow field remains laminar in the upper and central airways up to the total flow rate of 15 l/min. The results of this work can contribute to the understanding of flow behavior in upper respiratory tract.
(© 2024. International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.)

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Keywords: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD); Inhalation and Exhalation; Kitaoka’s algorithm; Lung generations; Respiratory tract

Date Created: 20240517 Date Completed: 20240906 Latest Revision: 20240906

20260130

10.1007/s11517-024-03117-9

38758518