A mechanical model of soft biological tissue--an application to lung parenchyma

This paper presents a fractal mechanical model for branching systems, with application to the respiratory system. Assuming a dichotomously branching tree, each airway tube is modeled by a Kelvin-Voigt model (a spring in parallel with a dashpot) using morphological values. The model allows investigations on the viscoelastic properties within the context of inter-connections between levels of the respiratory tree. The results are in agreement with physiological expectancy. The model presented in this paper can also serve to derive a mechanical model for other branching systems, i.e. the circulatory system.