Objective
All respiratory care represents some risk of becoming an aerosol‐generating procedure (AGP) during COVID‐19 patient management. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and environmental control/engineering is advised. High velocity nasal insufflation (HVNI) and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) deliver high flow oxygen (HFO) therapy, established as a competent means of supporting oxygenation for acute respiratory distress patients, including that precipitated by COVID‐19. Although unlikely to present a disproportionate particle dispersal risk, AGP from HFO continues to be a concern. Previously, we published a preliminary model. Here, we present a subsequent highresolution simulation (higher complexity/reliability) to provide a more accurate and precise particle characterization on the effect of surgical masks on patients during HVNI, low‐flow oxygen therapy (LFO2), and tidal breathing.
Methods
This in silico modeling study of HVNI, LFO2, and tidal breathing presents ANSYS fluent computational fluid dynamics simulations that evaluate the effect of Type I surgical mask use over patient face on particle/droplet behavior.
Results
This in silico modeling simulation study of HVNI (40 L min−1) with a simulated surgical mask suggests 88.8% capture of exhaled particulate mass in the mask, compared to 77.4% in LFO2 (6 L min−1) capture, with particle distribution escaping to the room (> 1 m from face) lower for HVNI+Mask versus LFO2+Mask (8.23% vs 17.2%). The overwhelming proportion of particulate escape was associated with mask‐fit designed model gaps. Particle dispersion was associated with lower velocity.
Conclusions
These simulations suggest employing a surgical mask over the HVNI interface may be useful in reduction of particulate mass distribution associated with AGPs.
Due to the greater viscosity and density of water compared to air, the maximum speed of underwater travel is severely limited compared to other methods of transportation. However, a technology called supercavitation — which uses a disk-shaped cavitator to envelop a vehicle in a bubble of steam — promises to greatly decrease skin friction drag. While a large cavitator enables the occurrence of supercavitation at low velocities, it adds substantial drag at higher speeds. Based on CFD results, we propose a new relationship between drag coefficient and disk cavitator radius, and we predict the optimum cavitator radius for a particular torpedo design.
In this paper, we use a CFD analysis of a simplified, 2D geometry to study the ability of mako shark denticles to mitigate flow separation. We represent the viscous sublayer below a turbulent boundary layer streak as a Couette flow. Incipient separation is simulated by balancing upper wall velocity and adverse pressure gradient to achieve zero net mass flow, and we add various denticle geometries to study their effects. Each modeled denticle protrudes at an angle from 15° to 85° and sublayer blockage ratio from 0.05 to 0.85. Through variation of fluid properties and boundary conditions, we show that the anti-flow-reversal abilities of a single, bristled shark denticle are independent of Reynolds number, and we investigate the effect of the denticle at cases other than zero net mass flux. Based on these results, we create a new relationship to predict separation inhibition. These conclusions are highly generalizable and represent previously undiscovered universal behavior.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.