Fluid Mechanics Of Respiratory System

We live because we breathe. Inhaled breath brings lifesustaining oxygen into our body. Oxygen is the fuel that makes our body function. Every minute we breathe in about 13 pints of air. Our lungs are essentially 2500 km of airways, through which oxygen is delivered to all parts of the body from the lungs, and carbon dioxide exhaled from the lungs is sent out into the atmosphere. Air has a long journey to the lungs: past the windpipe, the vocal cords, to the lower ribs that meet in the center of our chest. From there, the windpipe branches off into the left lung and the right lung. Inside the lung, bronchi connect with tiny air sacs called alveoli. If spread out flat, all the air sacs in our lungs would cover about a third of a regular tennis court. Inhaled oxygen goes into the alveoli, through the lungs capillaries and into the bodys arteries for delivering oxygen to all parts of the body. On the way, the carbon dioxide-filled blood releases into the alveoli and begins the journey back through our chest cavity, larynx, diaphragm, trachea, nose and mouth, and out into the air.When our lungs diaphragm expand, oxygen is pulled in.When our lungs contract, carbon dioxide is released from the lungs. The red blood cells are the conductors of this air exchange. Breathing is automatic for this highly intricate system.

Fluid Mechanics of Human Physiology

The two principal fluid mechanical systems of the human body are the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. The first is a closedsystem in which the fluid (blood) circulates repeatedly within closed loops. The pulmonary system, on the other hand, is an open system in which the fluid (air) flows in and out of the lungs in a cyclical manner. Mechanical assistance to either system may be provided during acute medical care.

The cardiovascular flow is generated by the heart, a pump of two stages arranged in series. Oxygenated blood is pumped by the left ventricle and distributed to all parts of the body through a branching system of arteries and capillaries, and then returned through veins to the heart, having reduced oxygen content and enhanced carbon dioxide content. The right ventricle then pumps the blood through the lungs, where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide evolved, and back to the left side of the heart for recirculation. The left heart must supply more pumping work than the right because the blood travels much greater distances in circulating throughout the body than through the lungs. Under normal conditions, the heart beats times per minute, delivering about liters per minute, but its flow can be five times greater under extreme conditions. The peak blood pressure in the heart is about one-sixth of an atmosphere, and the heart develops about two Watts of mechanical power. Since the volume of blood in the cardiovascular system is about six liters, the average time for the blood to circulate through the system is about a minute. Through a complex control system, oxygenated blood is distributed in different amounts to different parts of the body, with preferential dispatch to the brain and heart. During open heart surgery, a heart-lung machine bypasses the heart and lungs, substituting temporarily for these organs. Despite the seeming simplicity of the heart as a pump, permanent artificial heart machines have not yet proved successful. Most of the exchanges of oxygen, nutrients and waste products between the cells of the body and the the blood takes place in the capillaries, tubes of diameter micrometers. The blood flows quite slowly in the capillaries, but there are millions of them connected in parallel so as to reach all the body cells. Humans respire at a normal rate of breaths per minute, inhaling a volume of about liters per breath, or liters per hour. The normal uptake of oxygen in the lungs is about liters per hour of oxygen (about per day), only % of the oxygen available in the air in the lungs. But this uptake rate decreases when the oxygen partial pressure in the lung is reduced, which happens at high altitudes, and when carbon monoxide present in the lung air decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Like the cardiovascular system, the lung volume branches into many small passages, called alveoli. The total lung surface area exposed to the air is about square meters. The lungs are particularly susceptible to damage caused by even small amounts of toxic air pollutants that are easily deposited on the surfaces of the lung. The mechanical power needed to ensure respiration is provided by the muscles surrounding the lungs. They can provide greater pressure than is ordinarily needed, such as when we cough or blow up a balloon. When inhaling, lung pressure falls below atmospheric. The lung passages must be elastic enough to spring open during inhalation, just like a squeezed-out sponge absorbing water. Emphysema is a degenerative disease that destroys this elasticity and the ability to inhale. These human fluid mechanical systems are very complex compared to most engineering systems, yet they are very resilient. The human heart beats several billion times during a lifetime, and the

lungs cycle about a sixth as many times. In recent years, our increased understanding of the fluid mechanical aspects of these flows has aided medical research.

FLUID DYNAMICS OF LUNGS

Deep in the lung there are millions of alveoli. These grape-shaped cavities are where gasexchange occurs. The air flow itself can be viewed as an incompressible Newtonian fluid. This 'fluid' can carry many differently sized particles. Fine particles (such as pollutants and inhaled therapeutic drugs) can penetrate into the alveolar cavities. Although these particles have little inertia, low diffusivity and are approximately neutrally buoyant, their motion in this region of the lung is kinematically irreversible. Some of this complex behaviour has been modelled physically, and can manifest from a basic recirculation pattern. The image on the right shows a recirculation region within a single alveolus (the bar represents 100 microns). This recirculation has been induced by half a breath - further breathing has been shown to disrupt such regular patterns into chaos. Here at Surrey, we collaborate with members of Harvard University to understand how this can happen. In particular, we are interested in the differences between adult and postnatal lungs as, comparatively, the latter do not have many alveoli at the early stages of childhood.

Airflow through Tubes (laminar Flow):

Measuring the flow of liquids is a critical need in many industrial plants. In some operations, the ability to conduct accurate flow measurements is so important that it can make the difference between making a profit or taking a loss. In other cases, inaccurate flow measurements or failure to take measurements can cause serious (or even disastrous) results. With most liquid flow measurement instruments, the flow rate is determined inferentially by measuring the liquid's velocity or the change in kinetic energy. Velocity depends on the pressure differential that is forcing the liquid through a pipe or conduit. Because the pipe's cross-sectional area is known and remains constant, the average velocity is an indication of the flow rate. The basic relationship for determining the liquid's flow rate in such cases is: Q=VxA Q = liquid flow through the pipe V = average velocity of the flow A = cross-sectional area of the pipe Other factors that affect liquid flow rate include the liquid's viscosity and density, and the friction of the liquid in contact with the pipe.

Direct measurements of liquid flows can be made with positive-displacement flow meters. These units divide the liquid into specific increments and move it on. The total flow is an accumulation of the measured increments, which can be counted by mechanical or electronic techniques.

Reynolds Numbers
The performance of flowmeters is also influenced by a dimensionless unit called the Reynolds Number. It is defined as the ratio of the liquid's inertial forces to its drag forces.

The Equation is : R = 3160 x Q x Gt Dx where: R = Reynolds number Q = liquid's flow rate, gpm Gt = liquid's specific gravity D = inside pipe diameter, in. = liquid's viscosity, cp The flow rate and the specific gravity are inertia forces, and the pipe diameter and viscosity are drag forces. The pipe diameter and the specific gravity remain constant for most liquid applications. At very low velocities or high viscosities, R is low, and the liquid flows in smooth layers with the highest velocity at the center of the pipe and low velocities at the pipe wall where

the viscous forces restrain it. This type of flow is called laminar flow. R values are below approximately 2000. A characteristic of laminar flow is the parabolic shape of its velocity profile, Fig. 1. However, most applications involve turbulent flow, with R values above 3000. Turbulent flow occurs at high velocities or low viscosities. The flow breaks up into turbulent eddies that flow through the pipe with the same average velocity. Fluid velocity is less significant, and the velocity profile is much more uniform in shape. A transition zone exists between turbulent and laminar flows. Depending on the piping configuration and other installation conditions, the flow may be either turbulent or laminar in this zone.

Bernoulli effect on respiration:

Measurement of airway pressure is essential in the study of respiratory mechanics, and is usually done via a lateral tap in the conduit (e.g., endotracheal tube, cannula, or mouthpiece) leading into the subject's airway. Such pressure measurements, however, may be severely affected by the Bernoulli effect if the diameter of the conduit is small and the gas flow through it sufficiently high. We present in this note a simple method of assessing whether or not the Bernoulli effect is important in any particular situation. The technique involves comparing the pressure-flow relationships of the conduit obtained both by blowing air through it from one end and sucking air in the reverse direction by applying negative pressure at the same end. If the resistance of the conduit is the same for gas flow in both directions, then half the magnitude of the difference between the two pressure-flow relationships gives the magnitude of the Bernoulli effect pressure. We give results of an experimental situation in which this was the case. We also show that those conditions under which the Bernoulli effect is likely to be a problem are also those under which the velocity profile is likely to be approximately flat, thereby permitting the magnitude of the Bernoulli effect to be easily calculated.