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Investigation of flow characteristics in regions of intermittent formation of flow separation inside the nasal cavity

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Abstract

We used computational fluid dynamics to study airflow characteristics in the space between the bulla and the middle turbinate (Region P1) and the superior meatus (Region P2) of the human upper airway, which exhibit intermittent flow separation. For comparison, we examined airflow passage in the inferior meatus (Region N), where large-scale flow separation develops. We assessed six different flow rates, based on realistic human respiration data representing one full period of respiration, in an anatomically correct numerical model. The simulation results showed that airflow in regions P1 and P2 had a relatively smaller separation bubble with a larger variation of bubble size with time, whereas region N exhibited a more gradually changing, two-dimensional rotation-like motion. Distinctive features of flow characteristics in regions P1 and P2 were relatively low Reynolds number, higher curvature of streamlines of the local main flow, with the existence of locations exhibiting intermittent occurrence of relatively quite high level of wall shear during inspiration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Korea

    Gyehwan Jo & Yang Na

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  1. Gyehwan Jo
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  2. Yang Na
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Correspondence to Yang Na.

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Recommended by Associate Editor Simon Song

Gyehwan Jo received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Konkuk University, Korea. His research interest is in computational fluid dynamics and biomechanics.

Yang Na received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University, Korea and Ph.D. degree from Stanford University, U.S.A. His research interest is in computational fluid dynamics and biomechanics.

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Jo, G., Na, Y. Investigation of flow characteristics in regions of intermittent formation of flow separation inside the nasal cavity. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 2351–2357 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0431-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0431-7

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