Numerical Simulation of Transient Air Flow and Particle Deposition in a Lung and Bronchus of a Human Respiratory System

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

2 Mechanical Engineering Group, Pardis College, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

In the present study, the realistic model of the human trachea with five generations that are obtained from computerized tomography scan images is considered. Due to the complexity of lung geometry, many researchers have used simple models. Therefore in the present study realistic model with all geometrical details are considered. The airflow behavior, particle transport and deposition in various conditions such as steady flow, transient flow, light breathing and heavy breathing condition for various micro-particles diameters are investigated. Governing equations are solved and obtained results show that the flow patterns in the realistic model are much more complicated than those of symmetrical models. Also, the particle deposition pattern in the realistic condition is very different from that of the symmetrical model and the details of the trachea are very important and affect the deposition fractions in the small airways. Also, results show that the turbulent effect should be counted properly since the particle deposition in turbulent flow is 30 percent greater than the laminar flow and the dominant mechanism of micro-particle deposition is impaction and increasing of particles diameter, particle density, and the airflow rate leads to an increase of particle deposition.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

[1] P. Gehr, J. Heyder, Particle-lung interactions, CRC Press, 2000.
[2] J.Y. Park, S. Park, T.S. Lee, Y.H. Hwang, J.Y. Kim, W.J. Kang, J. Key, Biodegradable micro-sized discoidal polymeric particles for lung-targeted delivery system, Biomaterials, 218 (2019) 119331.
[3] H. Calmet, G. Houzeaux, M. Vázquez, B. Eguzkitza, A. Gambaruto, A. Bates, D. Doorly, Flow features and micro-particle deposition in a human respiratory system during sniffing, Journal of Aerosol Science, 123 (2018) 171-184.
[4] J. Watanabe, M. Watanabe, Anatomical factors of human respiratory tract influencing volume flow rate and number of particles arriving at each bronchus, Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, 39(2) (2019) 526-535.
[5] M. Rahimi-Gorji, O. Pourmehran, M. Gorji-Bandpy, T. Gorji, CFD simulation of airflow behavior and particle transport and deposition in different breathing conditions through the realistic model of human airways, Journal of Molecular Liquids, 209 (2015) 121-133.
[6] Y. Kim, Z. Tong, H. Chan, R. Yang, CFD modelling of air and particle flows in different airway models, Journal of Aerosol Science, 134 (2019) 14-28.
[7] A. Li, G. Ahmadi, Computer simulation of particle deposition in the upper tracheobronchial tree, Aerosol science and technology, 23(2) (1995) 201-223.
[8] S. Kecorius, L. Madueño, J. Löndahl, E. Vallar, M.C. Galvez, L.F. Idolor, M. Gonzaga-Cayetano, T. Müller, W. Birmili, A. Wiedensohler, Respiratory tract deposition of inhaled roadside ultrafine refractory particles in a polluted megacity of South-East Asia, Science of the Total Environment, 663 (2019) 265-274.
[9] W. Yan, C. Tang, Y. Liu, G. Li, Numerical study on abnormal airflow patterns and particle deposition characteristics in the realistic HUA model with pharyngeal obstruction, Powder Technology, 356 (2019) 148-161.
[10] E.R. Weibel, Geometry and dimensions of airways of conductive and transitory zones, in:  Morphometry of the human lung, Springer, 1963, pp. 110-135.
[11] H. Luo, Y. Liu, X. Yang, Particle deposition in obstructed airways, Journal of Biomechanics, 40(14) (2007) 3096-3104.
[12] Y. Feng, C. Kleinstreuer, Micron-particle transport, interactions and deposition in triple lung-airway bifurcations using a novel modeling approach, Journal of Aerosol Science, 71 (2014) 1-15.
[13] R.K. Freitas, W. Schröder, Numerical investigation of the three-dimensional flow in a human lung model, Journal of Biomechanics, 41(11) (2008) 2446-2457.
[14] T. Gemci, V. Ponyavin, Y. Chen, H. Chen, R. Collins, Computational model of airflow in upper 17 generations of human respiratory tract, Journal of Biomechanics, 41(9) (2008) 2047-2054.
[15] P.W. Longest, S. Vinchurkar, Validating CFD predictions of respiratory aerosol deposition: effects of upstream transition and turbulence, Journal of biomechanics, 40(2) (2007) 305-316.
[16] H.-C. Yeh, G. Schum, Models of human lung airways and their application to inhaled particle deposition, Bulletin of mathematical biology, 42(3) (1980) 461-480.
[17] Z. Li, C. Kleinstreuer, Z. Zhang, Particle deposition in the human tracheobronchial airways due to transient inspiratory flow patterns, Journal of aerosol science, 38(6) (2007) 625-644.
[18] Z. Li, C. Kleinstreuer, Z. Zhang, Simulation of airflow fields and microparticle deposition in realistic human lung airway models. Part I: Airflow patterns, European Journal of Mechanics-B/Fluids, 26(5) (2007) 632-649.
[19] H. Jin, J. Fan, M. Zeng, K. Cen, Large eddy simulation of inhaled particle deposition within the human upper respiratory tract, Journal of Aerosol Science, 38(3) (2007) 257-268.
[20] K. Horsfield, G. Cumming, Morphology of the bronchial tree in man, Journal of applied physiology, 24(3) (1968) 373-383.
[21] Z. Zhang, C. Kleinstreuer, C. Kim, Cyclic micron-size particle inhalation and deposition in a triple bifurcation lung airway model, Journal of Aerosol Science, 33(2) (2002) 257-281.
[22] Z. Zhang, C. Kleinstreuer, Airflow structures and nano-particle deposition in a human upper airway model, Journal of computational physics, 198(1) (2004) 178-210.
[23] Z. Zhang, C. Kleinstreuer, Computational analysis of airflow and nanoparticle deposition in a combined nasal–oral–tracheobronchial airway model, Journal of Aerosol Science, 42(3) (2011) 174-194.
[24] A.R. Tahavvor, P. Zarrinchang, S. Heidari, Numerical simulation of turbulent airflow in a human upper respiratory system, Modares Mechanical Engineering, 14(15) (2015) 267-272.
[25] P.W. Longest, C. Kleinstreuer, J.R. Buchanan, Efficient computation of micro-particle dynamics including wall effects, Computers & Fluids, 33(4) (2004) 577-601.
[26] C.S. Kim, L. Garcia, Particle deposition in cyclic bifurcating tube flow, Aerosol Science and Technology, 14(3) (1991) 302-315.
[27] H. Lu, L.-z. Zhang, Particle Deposition Characteristics and Efficiency in Duct Air Flow over a Backward-Facing Step: Analysis of Influencing Factors, Sustainability, 11(3) (2019) 751.
[28] Y. Zhao, B.B. Lieber, Steady inspiratory flow in a model symmetric bifurcation, Journal of biomechanical engineering, 116(4) (1994) 488-496.
AUT Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 4, Issue 3
September 2020
Pages 347-362

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics