UCY-CompSci has joined forced with the Technical University of Denmark (Professor Arsen Krikor Melikov) to look at the effect of inlet velocity profile and electrostatic charge on environmental aerosol deposition in the extrathoracic and upper tracheobronchial airways during quiet oral breathing. Realistic inlet velocity profiles were established via Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) measurements and were found to result in enhanced deposition, mostly on the tongue, as compared to using uniform velocity profiles, an assumption of convenience often used in simulations. Overall, we report a significant interplay between particle size, electrostatic charge, and flowrate. Our results suggest that in silico models should be customized for specific applications, ensuring all relevant physical effects are accounted for in a self-consistent fashion.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929015006715