Modeling Inspiratory Flow in a Porcine Lung Airway

Inspiratory flow in a multigeneration pig lung airways was numerically studied at a steady inlet flow rate of 3.2 × 10-4 m3/s corresponding to a Reynolds number of 1150 in the trachea. The model was validated by comparing velocity distributions with previous measurements and simulations in simplified airway geometries. Simulation results provided detailed maps of the axial and secondary flow patterns at different cross sections of the airway tree. The vortex core regions in the airways were visualized using absolute helicity values and suggested the presence of secondary flow vortices where two counter-rotating vortices were observed at the main bifurcation and in many other bifurcations. Both laminar and turbulent flows were considered. Results showed that axial and secondary flows were comparable in the laminar and turbulent cases. Turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) vanished in the more distal airways, which indicates that the flow in these airways approaches laminar flow conditions. The simulation results suggested viscous pressure drop values comparable to earlier studies. The monopodial asymmetric nature of airway branching in pigs resulted in airflow patterns that are different from the less asymmetric human airways. The major daughters of the pig airways tended to have high airflow ratios, which may lead to different particle distribution and sound generation patterns. These differences need to be taken into consideration when interpreting the results of animal studies involving pigs before generalizing these results to humans.