Numerical and experimental study of expiratory flow in the case of major upper airway obstructions with fluid-structure interaction

Franz Chouly (1) , Annemie van Hirtum (2) , Pierre-Yves Lagrée (3) , Xavier Pelorson (2) , Yohan Payan (4)

1 TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications, Grenoble - UMR 5525
2 GIPSA-AABC - GIPSA - Acoustique, Aéroacoustique, Biomécanique et Contrôle
3 LMM - Laboratoire de modélisation en mécanique
4 TIMC-IMAG-GMCAO - Gestes Medico-chirurgicaux Assistés par Ordinateur

The presented study deals with the numerical prediction and the experimental description of the flow-induced deformation in a rapidly convergent-divergent geometry which stands for a simplified tongue, in interaction with an expiratory airflow. An original in-vitro experimental model is proposed, that allows measurement of the deformation of the artificial tongue, in condition of major initial airway obstruction. Expiratory flow limitation is predicted in this configuration. As a result, both the physical and numerical models could be useful to understand this phenomenon reported in heavy snorers and apneic patients during sleep.

Mots clés: Snoring; Expiratory flow limitation; In vitro experiment; Boundary layer theory; Numerical simulation; Upper airway; Fluid–structure interaction; Finite element modelling; Obstructive sleep apnea

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Ingénierie biomédicale

Franz Chouly, Annemie van Hirtum, Pierre-Yves Lagrée, Xavier Pelorson, Yohan Payan. Numerical and experimental study of expiratory flow in the case of major upper airway obstructions with fluid-structure interaction. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 2008, 24 (2), pp.250-269. ⟨10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2007.08.004⟩. ⟨hal-00260972⟩