https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202429901022
The flow of micrometre-sized glass fibres in a replica of the first bifurcation in human airways
1 Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Energy Institute, Technicka 2896/2 Brno, 616 60, the Czech Republic
2 Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology Technicka 2896/2 Brno, 616 60, the Czech Republic
* Corresponding author: lizal@fme.vutbr.cz
Published online: 4 July 2024
Prediction of the fate of inhaled fibres in human airways represents a significant challenge in comparison with spherical particles. There are several ways of computation ranging from a simplified approach assuming equivalent spheres with empirical corrections to sophisticated numerical solutions of momentum and rotations in three-dimensional flow. Each of these mathematical approaches has its area of application. However, their precision is still insufficient namely because of the lack of experimental data for validation. Especially data on the behaviour of fibres under transient flow in bifurcating channels is missing. This paper presents a description of the experimental setup for such measurement and statistically evaluated characteristics of the rotation and flips of micrometre-sized glass fibres. The results proved that there are significant differences in the rotations of fibres when compared to previously measured stationary flows.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2024
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
