Convective water transport within the human larynx during phonation.

Abstract

Proper hydration is known to be important in human phonation. Vocal fold tissue includes a significant amount of water. Sustained inhalation of partly dry air may result in convective water mass transport ultimately contributing to changes in tissue mechanical behavior, voice fatigue, and possibly trauma. In this study, numerical models were used to estimate the net amount of water mass transported from the vocal folds during various types of phonation. The commercially available code FLUENT was used for the mass transport analysis. Experiments were performed in a simple water channel to validate the approach. The convective transport coefficient for one type of hydrogel material was measured and used to approximately characterize that of real tissue. Efforts were made to estimate mass transport from numerical analysis and a number of ad hoc assumptions relative to respiratory patterns and ambient air humidity. The possible consequences of convective dehydration for voice production will be discussed. [Work supported by NIH.]