Flow characteristics of the nasal cavity

In the human nasal cavity the flow reciprocates carrying oxygen, carbon dioxide, humidity, internal energy and particles. Thus the nose is a multi functional organ of a very complex structure. In order to understand the flow as the basis of all functions two different measurements may be considered....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forschung im Ingenieurwesen 2012-06, Vol.76 (1-2), p.33-39
Main Authors: Peters, F., Groß, T. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
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Summary:In the human nasal cavity the flow reciprocates carrying oxygen, carbon dioxide, humidity, internal energy and particles. Thus the nose is a multi functional organ of a very complex structure. In order to understand the flow as the basis of all functions two different measurements may be considered. One is local inside the cavity, the other is integral between inlet and outlet of the cavity. This work focuses on the integral pressure/flow rate relationship as function of time. We collect data from test persons and also data from 1:1 models which are build by rapid prototyping in a new segmented fashion. It is shown that the pressure/flow rate relationship follows always a polynomial of second order which is physically justifiable. The flexibility of the nasal cavity is demonstrated by using spray and strips. We find considerable effects on the pressure/flow rate relationship. The new technique of segmented models allows to see how the pressure loss distributes over the cavity. Working with model and physiological reality teaches the engineer a lesson: reproducibility is not reality.
ISSN:0015-7899
1434-0860
DOI:10.1007/s10010-012-0152-0