Particle Transfer and Deposition Using an Integrated CFD Model of the Respiratory System

The present work describes an integrated CFD model of the respiratory system from the nasal cavity down to the bronchioli. The model is comprised of nine sequential computational blocks corresponding to the nasal cavity, the pharyngo-trachea, and a series of branches in the pulmonary system. Steady-state turbulent flow is employed to describe the inspiration flow and deposition of particles of different sizes. Local deposition efficiency is found to increase with particle size and flow rate. The deposition profiles are in accordance to experimental and computational results available in the literature. The proposed integrated respiratory model describes the flow, penetration, and deposition of particles in the respiratory system accounting for the influence of the nasal cavity and the pulmonary branches.