Experimental and computational modelling of flow of fibres in human airways

abstract

en

The ability of fibres to align with the flow has been identified as a reason for higher penetration of fibres into the lungs compared to spherical particles by many studies. However, prediction of the fate of inhaled fibres by computational methods is complicated due to the necessary mathematical apparatus and the lack of experimental data for validation. It is common to apply coefficients accounting for the preferential orientation of the fibre flowing through the airways. A new experimental rig has been built to visualize the flow of micron-sized fibres and record the angles of their rotation upstream and downstream of a single bifurcation. The recorded angles are statistically analysed and improved coefficients of fibre orientation will be calculated. The experimental rig consists of a dielectrophoretic classifier of fibres, the model of human trachea and first bronchi, a breathing simulator and a high-speed camera with appropriate illumination. These experiments are supplemented with computational simulations and experimental measurement of deposition of fibres in a replica of human lungs comprising of the upper airways and first seven generations of tracheobronchial tree branching

The ability of fibres to align with the flow has been identified as a reason for higher penetration of fibres into the lungs compared to spherical particles by many studies. However, prediction of the fate of inhaled fibres by computational methods is complicated due to the necessary mathematical apparatus and the lack of experimental data for validation. It is common to apply coefficients accounting for the preferential orientation of the fibre flowing through the airways. A new experimental rig has been built to visualize the flow of micron-sized fibres and record the angles of their rotation upstream and downstream of a single bifurcation. The recorded angles are statistically analysed and improved coefficients of fibre orientation will be calculated. The experimental rig consists of a dielectrophoretic classifier of fibres, the model of human trachea and first bronchi, a breathing simulator and a high-speed camera with appropriate illumination. These experiments are supplemented with computational simulations and experimental measurement of deposition of fibres in a replica of human lungs comprising of the upper airways and first seven generations of tracheobronchial tree branching

human airways, lung flow, fiber flow, fiber modelling, experimental modelling

01.06.2019

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC

22nd Congress of International Society for Aerosols in Medicine e.V., Montreux, Switzerland

1941-2711

32

3

1–1

1