Abstract
The bending stiffness of the alveolar wall is theoretically analyzed in this study through analytical modeling. First, the alveolar wall facet and its characteristics were geometrically simplified and then modeled using known physical laws. Bending stiffness is shown to be dependent on alveolar wall thickness, density, Poisson’s ratio and speed of the longitudinal wave. The normal bending stiffness of the alveolar wall was further determined. For the adult human, the normal bending stiffness is calculated to be 71.0–414.7 nNm, while for the adult mouse it is 1.9–30.0 nNm. The results of this study can be used as a reference for future pulmonary emphysema and fibrosis studies, as the bending stiffness of alveolar wall will be lower and higher, respectively; than the theoretically determined normal values.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by a USM PGRS grant and the UniKL Financial Assistance Scheme. D. J. J. thanks his father S. Devadason in many ways for many things.
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Jabaraj, D.J., Jaafar, M.S. Theoretical Calculation of Bending Stiffness of Alveolar Wall. J Membrane Biol 246, 981–984 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-013-9602-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-013-9602-3