Numerical Study of Local Deposition Mechanisms of Nanoparticles in a Human Upper Airway Model

We carried out large-eddy simulation to study turbulent air flow and local deposition of inhaled nanoparticles with a 10nm diameter in an idealized human upper airway model for a steady inspiratory flow rate of 30l/min. We described the particles in an Eulerian framework and accounted for their Brownian motion by a diffusion coefficient calculated from the Stokes-Einstein relation. We calculated the turbulence subgrid-scale stresses and the subgrid-scale particle mass flux by a localized dynamic Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model. Predicted mean velocity and turbulent kinetic energy profiles were in good agreement with particle image velocimetry measurements and slightly superior to Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations in the same model. We further showed that the most pronounced particle deposition hot-spots are located in the vicinity of intense turbulent structures and that their shapes are strongly correlated.

ISBN:978-3-662-43488-8

Jaar van publicatie:2014

Trefwoorden:LES, Nanoparticles, Human Upper Airway Model