Effect of off-plane bifurcation angles of primary bronchi on expiratory flows in the human trachea
- Authors
- Suh, Youngjoon; Park, Joong Yull
- Issue Date
- Apr-2018
- Publisher
- PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
- Keywords
- Off-plane bifurcation; Patient-specific expiratory flow pattern; Rotating airflow in trachea; Three-dimensional human airway geometry
- Citation
- COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE, v.95, pp 63 - 74
- Pages
- 12
- Journal Title
- COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
- Volume
- 95
- Start Page
- 63
- End Page
- 74
- URI
- https://scholarworks.bwise.kr/cau/handle/2019.sw.cau/985
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2018.01.014
- ISSN
- 0010-4825
1879-0534
- Abstract
- Background: The human airway is exposed to the development of diverse flow patterns based on differences in its morphological/geometrical parameters across individuals. Although effects of the asymmetry between the right and left main bronchi on airway flows have been investigated in the past, there exists a paucity in terms of studies that focus on the role of stronger physiological asymmetric features, such as off-plane bifurcation angles of primary bronchi, in expiratory flows. Method: Computational fluid dynamic techniques have been used to demonstrate presence of Dean-type secondary flows and vortices in the bifurcation region. Formation of a distinctive pattern was observed corresponding to an increase in the off-plane branching angle. An experiment involving 3D printed airways and smoke was also performed to visualize flow patterns and verify simulation results. Results: Good agreement was observed between computational and experimental results. Furthermore, it was revealed that the predicted wall shear stress distribution demonstrated significant changes (with a maximum shear stress increase of 30.7%) compared to conventional airway models that adopt symmetric bifurcation angles. The overall flow demonstrated a swerving motion, which was characterized by tracking the vortex cores (maximum accumulated radial movement of 72.6 degrees) when they ascended towards the trachea inlet in off-plane airway models. Conclusions: It was confirmed that off-plane bifurcations in human trachea significantly alter the flow characteristics in expiratory flows. It is expected that the results of this study will provide useful information regarding increasingly advanced patient-specific treatments for respiratory diseases in the trachea.
- Files in This Item
- There are no files associated with this item.
- Appears in
Collections - College of Engineering > School of Mechanical Engineering > 1. Journal Articles
Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.