Transient Numerical Simulation of Airflow Characteristics in the Mouth-Throat 3D Model

Abstract

Air pollution is a public health problem that has a serious effect on human health, as it leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Each year, more than 3 million people die from air pollution, while many more have higher risks of stroke, heart attack, and lung diseases as a result of the pollution. The available epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to particulate matter in the air can have a toxic effect on the cardiovascular system, and increase the death risk from cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease and heart failure. In this study, we have reconstructed the upper respiratory tract model from the CT images in order to analyze airflow patterns during the inhalation part of the breathing cycle and to track NO2 particles inhaled through the mouth or nose. The numerical analysis has been performed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and the discrete particle method (DPM). The continuous phase flow was solved using the k-ω Shear Stress Transport model with low Reynolds number corrections.

Keywords

• airflow characteristics
• computational fluid dynamics
• discrete phase model
• mouth-throat model
• NO2 particles