In vitro experiments and numerical simulations of airflow in realistic nasal airway geometry

Pressure-flow relationships measured in human plastinated specimen of both nasal cavities and maxillary sinuses were compared to those obtained by numerical airflow simulations in a numerical three-dimensional reconstruction issued from CT scans of the plastinated specimen. For experiments, flow rates up to 1,500 ml/s were tested using three different gases: HeO(2), Air, and SF(6). Numerical inspiratory airflow simulations were performed for flow rates up to 353 ml/s in both the nostrils using a finite-volume-based method under steady-state conditions with CFD software using a laminar model. The good agreement between measured and numerically computed total pressure drops observed up to a flow rate of 250 ml/s is an important step to validate the ability of CFD software to describe flow in a physiologically realistic binasal model. The major total pressure drop was localized in the nasal valve region. Airflow was found to be predominant in the inferior median part of nasal cavities. Two main vortices were observed downstream from the nasal valve and toward the olfactory region. In the future, CFD software will be a useful tool for the clinician by providing a better understanding of the complexity of three-dimensional breathing flow in the nasal cavities allowing more appropriate management of the patient's symptoms.