On the emergence of criticality for inhalation-driven particle deposition in the anatomical upper airway
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866916422864601088 |
|---|---|
| author | Louwagie, Emma Basu, Saikat |
| author_facet | Louwagie, Emma Basu, Saikat |
| contents | Inhalation directs air through a defined pathway, initiating from nostrils, moving through the main nasal cavity, past the pharynx and trachea, and culminating in the lungs. Inhaled particles, of a range of sizes, are ferried by this incoming air but are filtered and trapped by upper airway structures to protect the delicate lower respiratory system. From an energetics perspective, the airflow physics along this convoluted tract is characterized by turbulence. The system approaches a critical stationary state over the time scales during which particles enter the airway and deposit. This stasis can be conjectured to correspond with the emergence of criticality in the complex flow domain. For such systemic criticality (i.e., sensitivity to perturbations), inhaled particle deposition impacted by the surrounding flow processes can act as signature avalanche-like events. Based on the principles of organized criticality, we have explored the emergence of power law trends in particle deposition levels at the nasopharynx, a key initial infection site for airborne pathogens. These trends are derived from numerical data from five anatomic airway geometries for 15-85 L/min inhalation rates, modeled using high-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_03036 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | On the emergence of criticality for inhalation-driven particle deposition in the anatomical upper airway Louwagie, Emma Basu, Saikat Fluid Dynamics Quantitative Methods Inhalation directs air through a defined pathway, initiating from nostrils, moving through the main nasal cavity, past the pharynx and trachea, and culminating in the lungs. Inhaled particles, of a range of sizes, are ferried by this incoming air but are filtered and trapped by upper airway structures to protect the delicate lower respiratory system. From an energetics perspective, the airflow physics along this convoluted tract is characterized by turbulence. The system approaches a critical stationary state over the time scales during which particles enter the airway and deposit. This stasis can be conjectured to correspond with the emergence of criticality in the complex flow domain. For such systemic criticality (i.e., sensitivity to perturbations), inhaled particle deposition impacted by the surrounding flow processes can act as signature avalanche-like events. Based on the principles of organized criticality, we have explored the emergence of power law trends in particle deposition levels at the nasopharynx, a key initial infection site for airborne pathogens. These trends are derived from numerical data from five anatomic airway geometries for 15-85 L/min inhalation rates, modeled using high-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations. |
| title | On the emergence of criticality for inhalation-driven particle deposition in the anatomical upper airway |
| topic | Fluid Dynamics Quantitative Methods |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.03036 |