scholarly journals Aerosol bolus dispersion in acinar airways—influence of gravity and airway asymmetry

2012 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baoshun Ma ◽  
Chantal Darquenne

The aerosol bolus technique can be used to estimate the degree of convective mixing in the lung; however, contributions of different lung compartments to measured dispersion cannot be differentiated unambiguously. To estimate dispersion in the distal lung, we studied the effect of gravity and airway asymmetry on the dispersion of 1 μm-diameter particle boluses in three-dimensional computational models of the lung periphery, ranging from a single alveolar sac to four-generation (g4) structures of bifurcating airways that deformed homogeneously during breathing. Boluses were introduced at the beginning of a 2-s inhalation, immediately followed by a 3-s exhalation. Dispersion was estimated by the half-width of the exhaled bolus. Dispersion was significantly affected by the spatial orientation of the models in normal gravity and was less in zero gravity than in normal gravity. Dispersion was strongly correlated with model volume in both normal and zero gravity. Predicted pulmonary dispersion based on a symmetric g4 acinar model was 391 ml and 238 ml under normal and zero gravity, respectively. These results accounted for a significant amount of dispersion measured experimentally. In zero gravity, predicted dispersion in a highly asymmetric model accounted for ∼20% of that obtained in a symmetric model with comparable volume and number of alveolated branches, whereas normal gravity dispersions were comparable in both models. These results suggest that gravitational sedimentation and not geometrical asymmetry is the dominant factor in aerosol dispersion in the lung periphery.

Author(s):  
P.G Young ◽  
T.B.H Beresford-West ◽  
S.R.L Coward ◽  
B Notarberardino ◽  
B Walker ◽  
...  

Image-based meshing is opening up exciting new possibilities for the application of computational continuum mechanics methods (finite-element and computational fluid dynamics) to a wide range of biomechanical and biomedical problems that were previously intractable owing to the difficulty in obtaining suitably realistic models. Innovative surface and volume mesh generation techniques have recently been developed, which convert three-dimensional imaging data, as obtained from magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, micro-CT and ultrasound, for example, directly into meshes suitable for use in physics-based simulations. These techniques have several key advantages, including the ability to robustly generate meshes for topologies of arbitrary complexity (such as bioscaffolds or composite micro-architectures) and with any number of constituent materials (multi-part modelling), providing meshes in which the geometric accuracy of mesh domains is only dependent on the image accuracy (image-based accuracy) and the ability for certain problems to model material inhomogeneity by assigning the properties based on image signal strength. Commonly used mesh generation techniques will be compared with the proposed enhanced volumetric marching cubes (EVoMaCs) approach and some issues specific to simulations based on three-dimensional image data will be discussed. A number of case studies will be presented to illustrate how these techniques can be used effectively across a wide range of problems from characterization of micro-scaffolds through to head impact modelling.


Author(s):  
Yuping Wang ◽  
Mark Pellerin ◽  
Pravansu Mohanty ◽  
Subrata Sengupta

This paper focuses on the gas flow study of an ejector used in applications where moist gases are being entrained. Two parts of work are presented. In the first part, characteristics of gas flow inside an ejector, as well as the ejector's performance under various operating and geometric configurations, were studied with a three-dimensional computational model. Measurements were also performed for validation of the model. In the second part, focus was given to the potential condensation or desublimation phenomena that may occur inside an ejector when water vapor is included in the entrained stream. Experiments using light-attenuation method were performed to verify the presence of a second phase; then, the onset of phase change and the phase distribution were obtained numerically. A two-dimensional axis-symmetric model was developed based on the model used in the first part. User-defined functions were used to implement the phase-change criteria and particle prediction. A series of simulations were performed with various amounts of water vapor added into the entrained flow. It was found that both frost particles and water condensate could form inside the mixing tube depending on the operating conditions and water vapor concentrations. When the concentration exceeds 3% by mass, water vapor could condense throughout the mixing tube. Some preliminary results of the second phase particles formed, e.g., critical sizes and distributions, were also obtained to assist with the design and optimization of gas ejectors used in similar applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 05030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoly Krutov ◽  
Dilshod Bazarov ◽  
Begzod Norkulov ◽  
Bakhtiyar Obidov ◽  
Bobur Nazarov

The purpose of the article is to develop the required and sufficient conditions under which numerical methods can be used for engineering calculations and for scientific research of hydrodynamic processes in solving practical problems related to predicting the spread of pollutants in water bodies and streams. The conducted studies consisted in comparing the results of laboratory experiments and mathematical modelling, in particular the distribution of heat in a stream with different temperature in water layers was studied. To check the adequacy of the proposed numerical models, calculations were performed and comparisons were made with the results of experimental data. The obtained results allowed to determine the boundaries of the qualitative difference in the flow behaviour for different numbers of Froude and Reynolds. The accuracy of the method was also studied. A number of additional requirements for numerical models were proposed in addition to approcsimation and stability, such as requirements of conservativeness (divergence), existence of trivial solutions on grids, possibility to calculate highly unsteady, quasi-stable, pulsating and stationary flows, requirement of invariance of linearized equations, as well as the requirement of a one-dimensional scheme to be a consequence of a two-dimensional scheme. Distribution of velocities of wind currents using a three-dimensional and two-dimensional model was studied for a real object. A shallow-water bay of the Aral Sea was chosen as the object for the research. Comparison of the calculation results for both models showed that the flow velocity fields, as well as the distribution of pollutants in shallow waters, can be performed using a two-dimensional model.


Author(s):  
Boris Gordeychik ◽  
Tatiana Churikova ◽  
Thomas Shea ◽  
Andreas Kronz ◽  
Alexander Simakin ◽  
...  

Abstract Nickel is a strongly compatible element in olivine, and thus fractional crystallization of olivine typically results in a concave-up trend on a Fo–Ni diagram. ‘Ni-enriched’ olivine compositions are considered those that fall above such a crystallization trend. To explain Ni-enriched olivine crystals, we develop a set of theoretical and computational models to describe how primitive olivine phenocrysts from a parent (high-Mg, high-Ni) basalt re-equilibrate with an evolved (low-Mg, low-Ni) melt through diffusion. These models describe the progressive loss of Fo and Ni in olivine cores during protracted diffusion for various crystal shapes and different relative diffusivities for Ni and Fe–Mg. In the case when the diffusivity of Ni is lower than that for Fe–Mg interdiffusion, then olivine phenocrysts affected by protracted diffusion form a concave-down trend that contrasts with the concave-up crystallization trend. Models for different simple geometries show that the concavity of the diffusion trend does not depend on the size of the crystals and only weakly depends on their shape. We also find that the effect of diffusion anisotropy on trend concavity is of the same magnitude as the effect of crystal shape. Thus, both diffusion anisotropy and crystal shape do not significantly change the concave-down diffusion trend. Three-dimensional numerical diffusion models using a range of more complex, realistic olivine morphologies with anisotropy corroborate this conclusion. Thus, the curvature of the concave-down diffusion trend is mainly determined by the ratio of Ni and Fe–Mg diffusion coefficients. The initial and final points of the diffusion trend are in turn determined by the compositional contrast between mafic and more evolved melts that have mixed to cause disequilibrium between olivine cores and surrounding melt. We present several examples of measurements on olivine from arc basalts from Kamchatka, and published olivine datasets from mafic magmas from non-subduction settings (lamproites and kimberlites) that are consistent with diffusion-controlled Fo–Ni behaviour. In each case the ratio of Ni and Fe–Mg diffusion coefficients is indicated to be <1. These examples show that crystallization and diffusion can be distinguished by concave-up and concave-down trends in Fo–Ni diagrams.


1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed K. Noor ◽  
W. Scott Burton ◽  
Charles W. Bert

The focus of this review is on the hierarchy of computational models for sandwich plates and shells, predictor-corrector procedures, and the sensitivity of the sandwich response to variations in the different geometric and material parameters. The literature reviewed is devoted to the following application areas: heat transfer problems; thermal and mechanical stresses (including boundary layer and edge stresses); free vibrations and damping; transient dynamic response; bifurcation buckling, local buckling, face-sheet wrinkling and core crimping; large deflection and postbuckling problems; effects of discontinuities (eg, cutouts and stiffeners), and geometric changes (eg, tapered thickness); damage and failure of sandwich structures; experimental studies; optimization and design studies. Over 800 relevant references are cited in this review, and another 559 references are included in a supplemental bibliography for completeness. Extensive numerical results are presented for thermally stressed sandwich panels with composite face sheets showing the effects of variation in their geometric and material parameters on the accuracy of the free vibration response, and the sensitivity coefficients predicted by eight different modeling approaches (based on two-dimensional theories). The standard of comparison is taken to be the analytic three-dimensional thermoelasticity solutions. Some future directions for research on the modeling of sandwich plates and shells are outlined.


2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Campos-Amezcua ◽  
Zdzislaw Mazur-Czerwiec ◽  
Armando Gallegos-Muñoz

This paper presents a thermomechanical analysis of a first stage bucket during a gas turbine startup. This analysis uses two simulation techniques, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the conjugate heat transfer and flow analysis, and finite element analysis (FEA) for the thermostructural analysis. Computational three-dimensional models were developed using two commercial codes, including all elements of the real bucket to avoid geometric simplifications. An interface was developed to transfer the three-dimensional behavior of bucket temperatures during turbine startup from CFD analysis to subsequent FEA analysis, imposing them as a thermal load. This interface virtually integrates the computational models, although they have different grids. The results of this analysis include temperature evolution and related stresses, as well as the thermomechanical stresses and zones where they are present. These stresses are dominated by thermal mechanisms, so a new temperature startup curve is proposed where the maximum calculated stress decline around 100 MPa, and almost all stresses are lower throughout the transient analysis. The results are compared with experimental data reported in the literature obtaining acceptable approximation.


Author(s):  
Harshil Patel ◽  
Gerald O’Neill ◽  
Panagiotis Artemiadis

Humans have the inherent ability of performing highly dexterous and skillful tasks with their arms, involving maintenance of posture, movement, and interaction with the environment. The latter requires the human to control the dynamic characteristics of the upper limb musculoskeletal system. These characteristics are quantitatively represented by inertia, damping, and stiffness, which are measures of mechanical impedance. Many previous studies have shown that arm posture is a dominant factor in determining the end point impedance on a horizontal (transverse) plane. This paper presents the characterization of the end point impedance of the human arm in three-dimensional space. Moreover, it models the regulation of the arm impedance with respect to various levels of muscle co-contraction. The characterization is made by route of experimental trials where human subjects maintained arm posture while their arms were perturbed by a robot arm. Furthermore, the subjects were asked to control the level of their arm muscles’ co-contraction, using visual feedback of their muscles’ activation, in order to investigate the effect of this muscle co-contraction on the arm impedance. The results of this study show a very interesting, anisotropic increase of arm stiffness due to muscle co-contraction. These results could lead to very useful conclusions about the human’s arm biomechanics, as well as many implications for human motor control-specifically the control of arm impedance through muscle co-contraction.


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