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The prediction of viscous losses and pressure drop in models of the human airways
Author(s) -
Wells Andrew K.,
Jones Ian P.,
Hamill Ian S.,
Bordas Rafel
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in biomedical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.741
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 2040-7947
pISSN - 2040-7939
DOI - 10.1002/cnm.2898
Subject(s) - hagen–poiseuille equation , mechanics , pressure drop , flow resistance , viscous flow , viscous liquid , drop (telecommunication) , computational fluid dynamics , flow (mathematics) , mathematics , physics , engineering , mechanical engineering
This paper examines the viscous flow resistance in branching tubes as applied to simplified models of the lungs and compares the results of computational fluid dynamics simulations for a range of conditions with measurement data. The results are in good agreement with the available measurement data for both inspiration and expiration. A detailed sensitivity analysis of the dissipation and viscous resistance in a branch then examines the ratio of the viscous resistance to that for a fully developed Poiseuille flow, Z . As other researchers have noted, the calculated resistances give lower values than those from the standard correlation of Pedley et al. The results demonstrate that the resistance is sensitive to the velocity profile upstream of the bifurcations and explain from fluid dynamical considerations the apparent sensitivity of the resistance to the generation number of the branch. The paper also suggests a revised value for the calibration constant in the expression for Z . Finally, a limited set of results are presented for junction losses, and for expiration.