Comparison of a Convective Mixing Model's Predictions to Empirical Results for Aerosol Dispersion in the Human Lung

Abstract

Recent modelling work has attempted to use axial diffusion to explain the observed dispersion of an aerosol bolus in transit through the lung (Edwards, 1994). This type of modelling attempts to derive from first principles the underlying mechanism of aerosol dispersion. An alternative approach has used mixing theory derived from reactor vessels to surmount problems encountered in small-scale mixing (McCaw- ley et al., 1988). Noting that Ultman (1985) had used an approach that is mathematically similar in applying network theory to this problem, it was decided to try to relate the number of vessels in series to the number of bifurcated generations In the lung.