The adverse health effects of inhaled particulate matter from the environment depend on its dispersion, transport, and deposition in the human airways. Similarly, precise targeting of deposition sites by pulmonary drug delivery systems also relies on characterizing the dispersion and transport of therapeutic aerosols in the respiratory tract. A variety of mechanisms may contribute to convective dispersion in the lung; simple axial streaming, augmented dispersion, and steady streaming are investigated in this effort. Flow visualization of a bolus during inhalation and exhalation, and dispersion measurements were conducted during steady flow in a three-generational, anatomically accurate in vitro model of the conducting airways to support this goal. Control variables included Reynolds number, flow direction, generation, and branch. Experiments illustrate transport patterns in the lumen cross section and map their relation to dispersion metrics. These results indicate that simple axial streaming, rather than augmented dispersion, is the dominant steady convective dispersion mechanism in symmetric Weibel generations 7–13 during normal respiration. Experimental evidence supports the branching nature of the airways as a possible contributor to steady streaming in the lung.
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e-mail: fresconi@udel.edu
e-mail: prasad@udel.edu
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February 2008
Research Papers
Convective Dispersion During Steady Flow in the Conducting Airways of the Human Lung
Frank E. Fresconi,
Frank E. Fresconi
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: fresconi@udel.edu
University of Delaware
, Newark, DE 19716
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Ajay K. Prasad
Ajay K. Prasad
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: prasad@udel.edu
University of Delaware
, Newark, DE 19716
Search for other works by this author on:
Frank E. Fresconi
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Delaware
, Newark, DE 19716e-mail: fresconi@udel.edu
Ajay K. Prasad
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Delaware
, Newark, DE 19716e-mail: prasad@udel.edu
J Biomech Eng. Feb 2008, 130(1): 011015 (9 pages)
Published Online: February 20, 2008
Article history
Received:
March 5, 2007
Revised:
June 11, 2007
Published:
February 20, 2008
Citation
Fresconi, F. E., and Prasad, A. K. (February 20, 2008). "Convective Dispersion During Steady Flow in the Conducting Airways of the Human Lung." ASME. J Biomech Eng. February 2008; 130(1): 011015. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2838042
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