Ma Jiawei, Dong Jingliang, Shang Yidan, Inthavong Kiao, Tu Jiyuan, Frank-Ito Dennis O
School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia.
School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia.
Med Eng Phys. 2018 Jul;57:19-28. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2018.04.010. Epub 2018 Apr 27.
A major functional role of the nasal cavity is air conditioning of the inspired environmental air to near alveolar conditions. It is well known that the anatomical disparities among nasal passages can change airflow patterns to a great extent. However, its effect on nasal air conditioning performance remains largely unexplored. This research investigated the nasal air conditioning performance among nasal models with distinct vestibule phenotypes, including subjects with and without vestibule notches. For the mass transfer, we used a two-film theory model to determine the species transport. Airflow patterns, heat and mass transfer between the inhaled airflow and the nasal mucosa were analysed and compared. Results showed that the nasal air conditioning performance is closely related to nasal passage structures. The anatomical variations, especially the geometry changes in the anterior vestibule region, can increase both heat and mass transfer rate between nasal mucous and respiratory air at the vicinity of the notched regions, while for other regions such as the anterior superior nasal cavity, the heat transfer is greatly reduced to even zero heat flux due to lack of active airflow passing.
鼻腔的一个主要功能是将吸入的环境空气调节至接近肺泡的状态。众所周知，鼻道之间的解剖差异会在很大程度上改变气流模式。然而，其对鼻腔空气调节性能的影响在很大程度上仍未得到探索。本研究调查了具有不同前庭表型的鼻腔模型的鼻腔空气调节性能，包括有和无前庭切迹的受试者。对于传质，我们使用双膜理论模型来确定物质传输。分析并比较了气流模式、吸入气流与鼻黏膜之间的热量和质量传递。结果表明，鼻腔空气调节性能与鼻道结构密切相关。解剖学变异，尤其是前庭前部区域的几何形状变化，可增加切迹区域附近鼻黏液与呼吸空气之间的热量和质量传递速率，而对于其他区域，如鼻腔前上部，由于缺乏活跃气流通过，热传递大大降低甚至热通量为零。
