Speaker
Sarita Singh
Description
Transport and deposition of asbestos-fibers are strongly affected by their diameter and aspect ratio, airflow condition, and the airway morphology. Very few prior works resolved the full motion of nano-scale fibers where the Brownian diffusion is dominant. In this work, the transport and deposition of nano-fibers were numerically simulated in a physiologically realistic lung bifurcation model. Detailed motion of the in haled nano-fibers and their interactions with the surrounding environment were reproduced by solving a system of coupled non-linear equations governing the translational and rotational motions. The study uncovered the very important role of Brownian dynamics in the motion of the nano-fibers in human trachea bronchial airways, which can help explain many of the earlier experimental findings. The simulation results were compared with the experimental measurements, and the carcinogenicity of these fibers in human airways was discussed.
