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This paper presents the results of numerical simulation of airflow with suspended particles through a human nasal cavity. The stationary and nonstationary problem statements were considered. Within the nonstationary case, two variants were studied: for the first variant, the breath cycle is taken with symmetric inhale/exhale, and for the second variant, we modelled a real asymmetric breath cycle. The solution was based on Navier-Stokes equations for laminar flow of incompressible gas. Particle flow is described using the Lagrangean approach with account for Brownian motion. Numerical simulation results were compared with experimental and simulation data from other authors. Results for different variants of problem statement were compared. Asymmetry of breath cycle should be accounted in calculation of particle deposition efficiency. A simple rule was found that replaces the computation-consuming nonstationary calculation with three stationary flow calculations.

The air flow in the human nasal cavity is numerically modeled with the use of the clinical method of measuring of the nasal cavity capacity. Results obtained in this study offer an explanation for the contradiction between the computed data and data obtained during clinical measurements.

A mathematical model of the air flow in the human nasal cavity is developed under the assumption of a turbulent viscous air flow. The shape of the nasal cavity is modeled with the use of the Gambit graphical software system and tomography data. A numerical solution is obtained by using the Fluent commercial software system. Calculations are performed for various variants of construction of the human nasal cavity.

The problem of an axisymmetric gas flow in a supersonic nozzle and in the jet escaping from the nozzle to a quiescent gas is solved within the framework of Navier-Stokes equations. The calculated pressure distribution is compared with that measured in the jet by a Pitot tube. The influence of the jet pressure ratio, Reynolds number, and half-angle of the supersonic part of the nozzle on nozzle flow and jet flow parameters is studied. It is shown that the distributions of gas-dynamic parameters at the nozzle exit are nonuniform, which affects the jet flow. The flow pattern for an overexpanded jet shows that jet formation begins inside the nozzle because of boundary-layer displacement from the nozzle walls. This result cannot be obtained with the inviscid formulation of the problem.

The ideal gas exhaustion from an infinite volume into a gas at rest through a supersonic conical Laval nozzle is considered. The problem was solved numerically by steadying in time in a unified formulation for the regions inside the nozzle and in the ambient environment. In such a statement, the nozzle outlet section is no internal boundary of the region under consideration, and there is no need of specifying the boundary conditions here. Local subsonic zones arising in the flow lie inside the region under consideration, which eliminates the possibility of using a marching technique along one of the coordinates. The numerical solution is constructed by a unified algorithm for the entire flow region, which gives a possibility of obtaining a higher accuracy. The computations are carried out in the jet initial interval, where, according to monograph [1], the wave phenomena predominate over the viscous effects.

The evolution of air flow field in the human nasal cavity has studied during the respiratory cycle. Real tomographic scans of the adult without abnormalities in the upper airway have been used to construct the geometric model. Quiet breathing mode is selected: the duration of the respiratory cycle is 4.3 sec and the depth of breathing is 600 ml, which provides pulmonary ventilation at 8.4 liters of air per minute. The system of Navier - Stokes equations was used to describe the flow. Laminar flow regime was postulated. The Lagrange approach was used for calculation of submicron particles motion. The numerical solution was built on the basis of gas-dynamic solver FLUENT of software package ANSYS 12. Calculations were made for two cases in which the same value of the integral characteristic (the depth of breathing) was reached, but which had different kind of boundary conditions on the exit. In the first case, the velocity was assumed symmetrical with respect to inhalation - exhalation and was approximated ...

Inhalation of air-dispersed sub-micrometre and nano-sized particles presents a risk factor for animal and human health. Here, we show that nasal aerodynamics plays a pivotal role in the protection of the subterranean mole vole Ellobius talpinus from an increased exposure to nano-aerosols. Quantitative simulation of particle flow has shown that their deposition on the total surface of the nasal cavity is higher in the mole vole than in a terrestrial rodent Mus musculus (mouse), but lower on the olfactory epithelium. In agreement with simulation results, we found a reduced accumulation of manganese in olfactory bulbs of mole voles in comparison with mice after the inhalation of nano-sized MnCl2 aerosols. We ruled out the possibility that this reduction is owing to a lower transportation from epithelium to brain in the mole vole as intranasal instillations of MnCl2 solution and hydrated nanoparticles of manganese oxide MnO · (H2O)x revealed similar uptake rates for both species. Together, we conclude that nasal geometry contributes to the protection of brain and lung from accumulation of air-dispersed particles in mole voles.

A two-phase flow with high Reynolds numbers in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic parts of the nozzle is considered within the framework of the Prandtl model, i.e., the flow is divided into an inviscid core and a thin boundary layer. Mutual influence of the gas and solid particles is taken into account. The Euler equations are solved for the gas in the flow core, and the boundary-layer equations are used in the near-wall region. The particle motion in the inviscid region is described by the Lagrangian approach, and trajectories and temperatures of particle packets are tracked. The behavior of particles in the boundary layer is described by the Euler equations for volume-averaged parameters of particles. The computed particle-velocity distributions are compared with experiments in a plane nozzle. It is noted that particles inserted in the subsonic part of the nozzle are focused at the nozzle centerline, which leads to substantial flow deceleration in the supersonic part of the nozzle. The effect of various boundary conditions for the flow of particles in the inviscid region is considered. For an axisymmetric nozzle, the influence of the contour of the subsonic part of the nozzle, the loading ratio, and the particle diameter on the particle-flow parameters in the inviscid region and in the boundary layer is studied.

A mathematical model of the gasdynamic channel of a chemical reactor for hydrocarbon chlorolysis is presented. The flow in the reactor channel is described by various systems of equations: algebraic, differential, and the “thin channel” and Navier-Stokes equations. A mixture of 27 substances participating in 42 reactions is fed to the reactor inlet. Solutions are sought by numerical methods. The calculation results are described by graphical distributions of temperature and mass concentrations along the reactor channel.

The direct problem of viscous gas flow in a hypersonic nozzle of given geometry is solved on the basis of simplified Navier-Stokes equations. At a stagnation pressure of the order of several thousands of atmospheres, a compressibility factor is introduced into the equation of state. The gasdynamic parameter profiles and the Mach number distribution along the nozzle axis are obtained. The results of earlier calculations of profiled nozzles are revised.

Simplified Navier-Stokes equations have found application as an alternative to the complete Navier-Stokes equations for the simulation of viscous gas flows in regions of large dimensions, when there is a predominant direction of the flow [1–4]. In the present paper, flows in wind tunnel nozzles are investigated on the basis of this model. Flows in conical and profiled axisymmetric hypersonic nozzles are calculated in a wide range of Mach and Reynolds numbers. Good agreement with the experiment is obtained. The important role of viscous-inviscid interaction in nozzles for large hypersonic Mach numbers is shown.

The adaptation of subterranean rodents, which dig passages with their front teeth, to underground life presumes the formation of protection mechanisms against inhaling dust particles of different size when digging. One such mechanism can be a specific pattern of air-flow organization in the nasal cavity. To verify this assumption, we conducted a comparative study of the geometry and aerodynamics of nasal passages of a typical representative of subterranean rodents, the mole vole, and a representative of ground rodents, the house mouse. Numerical modeling of air flows and the deposition of micro- and nanoparticle aerosols indicate that sedimentation of model particles over the whole surface of the nasal cavity is higher in the mole vole than in the house mouse, while, on the contrary, particle deposition on the surface of the olfactory epithelium is much less in the burrowing rodent as compared to the ground rodent. The adaptive significance of the latter was substantiated by an experimental study on the inflow of hydrated manganese oxide MnO · (H2O)x and Mn ion nanoparticles from the nasal cavity into brain. It has been shown with use of magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) that there is no difference between the studied species with respect to the inflow of particles or ions by the olfactory bulb when they are introduced intranasally. Meanwhile, when inhaling a nanoparticle aerosol of MnCl2, the Mn deposition in the house mouse’s olfactory bulbs significantly exceeds that in the mole vole’s bulbs. Thus, the morphology of nasal passages as a factor determining the aerodynamics of upper respiratory tract ensures more efficient protection of both the lungs and brain against inhaled aerosols for burrowing rodents than for ground ones.