You are here:
MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICLE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION IN HUMAN LUNGS
Citation:
Kim, C. S. AND J. I. Choi. MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICLE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION IN HUMAN LUNGS. Presented at American Assoc. for Aerosol Research Conference, Los Angeles, CA, October 20-24, 2003.
Description:
MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF PARTICLE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION IN HUMAN LUNGS. Jung-il Choi*, Center for Environmental Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; C. S. Kim, USEPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab. RTP, NC 27711
Particulate matter is recognized as a serious health problem causing an increased morbidity and mortality in certain population groups, particularly in children and subjects with cardiorespiratory illness. In order to better assess the risk of adverse health effects associated with PM exposure, internal dose of inhaled particles in the lung needs to be obtained.
Although experimental data lay the foundation of the dose assessment, a variety of mathematical models have been proposed and frequently used as a tool to generate deposition data suitable for use in health risk assessment. In the present study, a dynamic mathematical model based on Weibel's lung morphology has been examined including the parametric sensitivity and numerical stability. One dimensional trumpet structure was used as a basic lung structure, and detailed transport processes were evaluated numerically by using both the Implicit Method and Crank-Nicholson Method. The grid structure and time steps were varied to minimize numerical dispersions and instability.
The tests produced a series of results: 1) continuous concentration profiles for wash-in and wash-out phase of aerosol inhalation, 2) concentration profiles for single breath inhalation, 3) bolus aerosol dispersion profiles and 4) regional deposition profile for each airway generation under various breathing conditions. The results were compared with human experimental data and an excellent agreement was found. The multipath and variable geometry model will also be presented. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.