CFD modeling the disintegration of an intranasal spray jet in the human upper respiratory tract using the VOF-to-DPM model

Investigating the dynamics of intranasal spray represents an important aspect in the field of improving drug delivery for more effective treatment of nasal diseases. In this paper, a numerical simulation of the nasal spray nebulization process was carried out using the VOF-to-DPM model. This model allows us to describe the breakdown of a liquid flow in air into tiny droplets. The study also took into account the influence of breathing velocity and frequency on the spread of particles in the upper respiratory tract. To study the inertial motion of particles, a numerical model was developed for modeling the hydrodynamics of the respiratory air flow and the transfer of drops in the nasal cavity. This model makes it possible to describe a spray stream as a continuous flow of liquid in an air stream, which then turns into discrete droplets. The model also took into account various aspects of the behavior of droplets upon impact with the wall of the nasal cavity, including rebound, disintegration, adhesion and spreading. The results showed little effect of air flow rate on wall film mass distribution, droplet size, and particle spray atomization characteristics. A new approach using the VOF-to-DPM model is proposed to numerically simulate the process of liquid spray atomization in the human nasal cavity.