Analysis of the volume of fluid (VOF) method for the simulation of the mucus clearance process with CFD

Paz, Carlos; Suárez, Eduardo; Vence, Jesús; Cabarcos, Adrián

doi:10.1080/10255842.2019.1569637

Cited by 12 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 55 publications

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“…Against this background, further numerical studies have been conducted on the interactions between high-speed, chaotic exhaled air and the liquid-layer lining the inner surface of the airway (i.e., the mucus layer) during the coughing episode. The two most common methods adopted are the volume of fluid (Paz et al, 2019;Rajendran & Banerjee, 2019;Pairetti et al, 2021;Yi et al, 2021) and Eulerian wall film (EWF) models (Paz, Suárez, Parga, et al, 2017;Ren et al, 2018Ren et al, , 2020Ren et al, , 2022Anzai et al, 2022). These studies This is the author's peer reviewed, accepted manuscript.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled Eulerian Wall Film–Discrete Phase model for predicting respiratory droplet generation during a coughing event

Khoa,

Kuga,

Inthavong

et al. 2023

Physics of Fluids

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Infectious respiratory diseases have long been a serious public health issue, with airborne transmission via close person-to-person contact being the main infection route. Coughing episodes are an eruptive source of virus-laden droplets that increase the infection risk of susceptible individuals. In this study, the droplet generation process during a coughing event was reproduced using the Eulerian wall film (EWF) model, and the absorption/expulsion of droplets was tracked using the discrete phase model (DPM). A realistic numerical model that included the oral cavity with teeth features and the respiratory system from the throat to the first bifurcation was developed. A coughing flow profile simulated the flow patterns of a single coughing episode. The EWF and DPM models were coupled to predict the droplet formation, generation, absorption, and exhalation processes. The results showed that a large droplet number concentration was generated at the beginning of the coughing event, with the peak concentration coinciding with the peak cough rate. Analysis of the droplet site of origin showed that large amounts of droplets were generated in the oral cavity and teeth surface, followed by the caudal region of the respiratory system. The size of the expelled droplets was 0.25–24 μm, with the peak concentration at 4–8 μm. This study significantly contributes to the realm on the site of origin and localized number concentration of droplets after a coughing episode. It can facilitate studies on infection risk assessment, droplet dispersion, and droplet generation mechanisms from other sneezing or phonation activities.

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