Asthma Spray Inhaler Injection Into the Lung

Asthma Spray Inhaler Injection into the Lung — ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation

Description

This project simulates the delivery of an asthma spray into human lungs using ANSYS Fluent. When a patient uses an inhaler, aerosol particles are carried on the inhaled airstream deep into the branching passages of the lung, and where those particles travel and deposit determines how effectively the medication reaches its target. The simulation captures the inhaled airflow through a lung model and tracks the aerosol particles it carries, assessing their transport and deposition. Within the DPM: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project introduces biomedical particle deposition, applying the discrete-phase method to a real respiratory drug-delivery problem.

Methodology

The 3D geometry, built in SpaceClaim, represents a simplified lung model with a 50 cm inlet diameter, meshed in ANSYS Meshing with 3,734,238 elements. Given the time-dependent nature of inhalation and particle motion, a transient solver is used. A one-way coupled Discrete Phase Model (DPM) tracks the aerosol particles moving through the continuous air phase. Air enters at 5 m/s, with gravity set to −9.81 m/s² along the z-axis, and particles of 100 µm diameter are introduced through a surface-velocity injection at the inlet. Turbulence is resolved with the realizable k–ε model, and the particle trajectories inside the lung domain are computed and visualized to assess transport and deposition behavior.

Analysis

Post-processing provides 2D and 3D contours of velocity and pressure, along with an animation of particle tracks throughout the lungs, illustrating the spray's distribution following inhalation. From these results you can see how the inhaled air carries the aerosol through the lung passages and where the particles are likely to deposit — the key measure of how well the medication is delivered. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up a transient one-way coupled DPM simulation of aerosol delivery, define a surface-velocity particle injection, resolve the carrier airflow with an appropriate turbulence model, and interpret the particle trajectories that characterize drug deposition in the lung.