Numerical modelling of airflow dynamics and particle deposition in human lungs

Abstract

Research into airflow dynamics and particle transport in human lungs is receiving considerable attention from many researchers because of its significance for human health. Drug delivery through inhalation of air into the human lung is important to prevent/cure respiratory diseases. Many researchers have investigated the process of particle transport and deposition (TD) in the respiratory airway through analytical as well as numerical methods, during the last century. Nowadays, numerical methods are used to model various biomechanical engineering problems, including particle flow in the respiratory system. The greatest challenge in numerical modelling of particle TD is the complexity of human lungs. This thesis mainly focuses on developing numerical models and investigating the effectiveness of aerosol particle inhalation as drug delivery. Particle inhalation and deposition in human lungs is affected by the lung anatomy, breathing pattern and particle properties (Rissler et al. 2017). Therefore, airflow dynamics and inhaled aerosol particle transport in the lung airways are significant for human health; thus it is important to measure both the efficiency of inhaled drug therapy and the health implications of air pollution (Deng et al. 2018). Further, the lung airways become larger as people grow into adults, and the shape of the airway structure and breathing habits change. Therefore, aging is an important factor in respiratory health. Hence, a comprehensive age-specified particle TD study is necessary to better predict drug delivery to the targeted position in a human lung. This study aims to develop an advanced and efficient three-dimensional (3D) numerical model to analyse airflow characteristics and aerosol particle TD in human lungs. The model is used to analyse the contribution of fundamental impaction and diffusion mechanisms for nanoand microscale particle TD in age-specific terminal bronchiole airways. The outcomes of this study will help improve the effectiveness of delivery of drug aerosols into human lungs to treat obstructive lung diseases including asthma, lung cancer and COPD. In addition, the inhalation of different types of pollutant particles into human lungs is investigated further to understand the consequence of the pollution particle on lung health.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English