Modelling dusty air flow in the human resperatory tract

The paper focuses on studying non-stationary flow and deposit of dusty air (multiphase mixture of gases and solid particles) in the large lower airways within the frameworks of developing a mathematical model for the human respiratory system. The authors examine weighted particulates of aluminum oxide (with diameter of particles less than 10 µm) content in inhaled air, at "maximum permissible average daily concentrations" level. The carrier phase is described with a viscous liquid model; solid particles are individual particles with different sizes with specific equations given for them; solid particles are thought to be spherical. Flow parameters are calculated with ANSYS CFX software package. We obtain parameters for flow of gas mixture with solid particles; the paper contains velocities fields and tracks of solid particles with different sizes during an inhalation at various time moments. Results obtained due to a submodel describing air movement in the human large lower airways are initial data for modeling gas suspension flow in the human lungs. Besides, the obtained results can be applied to solve tasks on assessing human health risks caused by impacts exerted by weighted particulates deposited in the human lower airways. Further model development should involve combined solution to issues of gas dynamics in the human airways and air filtration in the elastostrained saturated porous medium of the human lungs.