Airflow and Deposition of Nano-Particles in a Human Nasal Cavity

Abstract

A 3D computational model was developed to study the flow and the transport and deposition of nano-size particle in a realistic human nasal passage. The nasal cavity was constructed from a series of MRI images of coronal sections of a nose of a live human subject. For several breathing rates associated with low or moderate activities, the steady state flows in the nasal passage were simulated numerically. The airflow simulation results were compared with the available experimental data for the nasal passage. Despite the anatomical differences of the human subjects used in the experiments and computer model, the simulation results were in qualitative agreement with the experimental data.Deposition and transport of ultrafine particles (1 to 100 nm) in the nasal cavity for different breathing rates were also simulated using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The simulation results for the nasal capture efficiency were found to be in reasonable agreement with the available experimental data for a number of human subjects given typical anatomical differences. The computational results for the nasal capture efficiency for nano-particles and various breathing rates in the laminar regime were found to correlate well with the ratio of particle diffusivity to the breathing rate especially for the particles smaller than 20 nm. Based on the simulated results, a semi-empirical equation for the capture efficiency of the nasal passage for nano-size particles was fitted in terms of Peclet number.

Consideration of the respiratory cycle asymmetry in the numerical modeling of the submicron particles deposition in the human nasal cavity

“…In this figure, three curves reflect the results obtained for [4][5][6], the remaining four represent calculations for different original models. In four papers [4][5][6][7], the Euler approach was used to calculate particle motion, the others [8,9] and our work used the Lagrange approach. Following the authors of [4], we can recognize the comparison as quite good.…”

Ultrafine and Fine Aerosol Deposition in the Nasal Airways of a 9-Month-Old Girl, a 5-Year-Old Boy and a 53-Year-Old Male

“…Previous numerical studies have considered the transport and deposition of fine and ultrafine particles in the nasal cavity (Liu et al, 2007;Martonen et al, 2003;Schroeter et al, 2001;Shi et al, 2006;Xi and Longest 2009;Yu et al, 1998;Zamankhan et al, 2006). Similar CFD studies have also evaluated the transport and absorption of dilute chemical species in the nasal passages (Cohen Hubal et al, 1996;Scherer et al, 1994;Zhao et al, 2004).…”

Deposition of Inhaled Ultrafine Aerosols in Replicas of Nasal Airways of Infants

“…Although in vivo studies on human subjects are desirable, the invasive and hazardous nature of the employed aerosols limits the extent of such studies. Experimental measurements of deposition of ultrafine particles in physical casts of extrathoracic airways (in vitro) have been used as a substitute for in vivo studies (Cheng et al , 1993Swift et al 1992;Yamada et al 1988;Gradon and Yu 1989;Guilmette et al 1994;Kelly et al 2004).Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations have been useful for improving our understanding of deposition mechanisms correlated to flow patterns in nasal airways (Yu et al 1998;Zamankhan et al 2006;Shi et al 2006;Wang et al 2009;.…”