Modeling the Lung: Computational Analysis of 3D Viscous Airflow Through Bifurcating Tubular Networks

该项目旨在探索和量化控制全局肺运输和局部细胞机械应变的复杂流体动力。从实验工作中我们了解到，肺的几何设计引起了特定的流动效应，如不对称流动分布、混沌混合和变压区。直到最近，科学界一直认为肺气道和血管被动导管是一个相对简单的气体交换表。然而，在包含这些分支网络的细胞中，有证据表明它们积极参与局部血流调节和机械信号转录（细胞释放次生信使、离子通量改变、细胞骨架变化和转录爆发）。所施加的力和细胞应变是未知的，并在分岔中施加。我们已经开始大规模地将航空计算流体动力学和超级计算机技术转移到生物科学。与美国国家科学基金会赞助的计算场模拟ERC一起，该项目将启动对小气道内流体动力的探索。之所以选择这个区域进行初步勘探，是因为已有的数据可用于交叉检查早期模型开发。

This project is designed to explore and quantitate the complex fluid dynamic forces governing global pulmonary transport and local cellular mechanical strain. From experimental work we have learned that the geometric design of the lung induces specific flow effects such as asymmetric flow distribution, chaotic mixing and variable pressure zones. Until recently the scientific community has considered the pulmonary airways and vascular passive conduits to a relatively simple gas exchange sheet. In the cells comprising these branching networks however, evidence now points to an active participation in local flow regulation as well as mechanical signal transcription (cellular release of secondary messengers, altered ion fluxes, cytoskeletal changes and transcription bursts). The applied forces and cellular strains are unknown and imposed within bifurcations we have initiated a large scale transfer of aeronautic computational fluid dynamic and supercomputer techniques to the biological sciences. In conjunction with the NSF sponsored ERC for Computational Field Simulation this project will initiate an exploration of the fluid dynamic forces within small airways. This region has been chosen for initial exploration because pre- existing data is available to cross check early model development.