Flow and pressure drop in systems of repeatedly branching tubes

Abstract

The airways of the lung form a rapidly diverging system of branched tubes, and any discussion of their mechanics requires an understanding of the effects of the bifurcations on the flow downstream of them. Experiments have been carried out in models containing up to two generations of symmetrical junctions with fixed branching angle and diameter ratio, typical of the human lung. Flow visualization studies and velocity measurements in the daughter tubes of the first junction verified that secondary motions are set up, with peak axial velocities just outside the boundary layer on the inner wall of the junction, and that they decay slowly downstream. Axial velocity profiles were measured downstream of all junctions at a range of Reynolds numbers for which the flow was laminar.In each case these velocity profiles were used to estimate the viscous dissipation in the daughter tubes, so that the mean pressure drop associated with each junction and its daughter tubes could be inferred. The dependence of the dissipation on the dimensional variables is expected to be the same as in the early part of a simple entrance region, because most of the dissipation will occur in the boundary layers. This is supported by the experimental results, and the ratio Z of the dissipation in a tube downstream of a bifurcation to the dissipation which would exist in the same tube if Poiseuille flow were present is given by \[ Z = (C/4\surd{2})(Re\,d/L)^{\frac{1}{2}}, \] where L and d are the length and diameter of the tube, Re is the Reynolds number in it, and the constant C (equal to one for simple entry flow) is equal to 1·85 (the average value from our experiments). In general, C is expected to depend on the branching angles and diameter ratios of the junctions used. No experiments were performed in which the flow was turbulent, but it is argued that turbulence will not greatly affect the above results at Reynolds numbers less than and of the order of 10000. Many more experiments are required to consolidate this approach, but predictions based upon it agree well with the limited number of physiological experiments available.