Oscillatory flow distribution at a bifurcation

Abstract

Flow-distribution in a 90 degrees bifurcated airway during high-frequency oscillation is analyzed by numerical simulation. The parent and two daughter branches are of equal length and diameter, describing a T-junction rotated by 90 degrees . The flow is considered laminar and incompressible, which is reasonable for small tidal volumes. The solution has been limited to two-dimensional channels, merely by the constraint of computational time. The equations are solved using a finite-difference formulation. Depending on the Reynolds and Strouhal numbers, it was possible to direct larger fractions of the tidal volume to either of the daughter ducts.<>