CFD SIMULATIONS AND ANALYSES OF ASYMPTOMATIC AND SYMPTOMATIC NASAL AIRWAY OBSTRUCTIONS

Mataraci F., Karimov U., Özdemir İ. B., YILDIRIM D., Altindag A.

JOURNAL OF MECHANICS IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY, cilt.22, sa.01, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 22 Sayı: 01
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1142/s0219519422500051
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MECHANICS IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Nasal airflow, inhalation, CFD, OpenFOAM, COMPUTATIONAL FLUID-DYNAMICS, DOMAIN DECOMPOSITION METHOD, ODORANT TRANSPORT, FLOW, RELEVANCE, MODEL
  • İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The numerical simulations of the flow in nasal airways were performed for two different clinical cases. The results comprised the distributions of scalars at five different sections and included contours of pressure, velocity magnitude, turbulent kinetic energy and vorticity magnitude. Simulations showed the air branching occurring at the inferior meatus is unaffected by the variations in the volumetric flow rate or the changes in the flow regime through the olfactory cleft. However, the contractions and the following rapid change in the cross-section of the nasopharynx preclude the upward penetration of the vacuum field set by the lungs during the inhalation process. As a result, considerably low velocities and significant cross-sectional nonuniformities are observed, which lead to the appearances of the secondary flow structures and strong unsteadiness. Increased interactions between the airflow and the walls of the nasal cavity resulted in an increase in the vorticity on the right middle meatus and upper inferior meatus. The vorticity was also very high in the nostrils, where the flow was not fully developed.