Development of a Computational Fluid Dynamics Model of a Jet Nebulizer Device for Aerosol Drug Delivery

雾化器是一种药物输送装置，它以气雾剂的形式提供药物，气雾剂可以被吸入肺部，并被血液吸收。它们通常用于治疗呼吸系统疾病，如慢性阻塞性肺疾病和哮喘。雾化器的工作原理是以液体形式服用药物，将其转化为特定大小的小气雾剂液滴，并将这些气雾剂液滴送到患者嘴里供吸入。有几种不同类型的雾化器，其中最常见的是喷射雾化器，这将在拟议的项目中进行研究。这是通过使用压缩气体的高速喷射来实现的，压缩气体携带液体并将其转化为气雾剂，通常是通过将液滴与挡板碰撞来实现的。该项目旨在从流体力学的角度更好地了解喷射雾化器的工作原理。为了提供这一理解，将开发一个计算流体动力学(CFD)模型来模拟装置中的流动模式，以及它们在气溶胶颗粒形成和输送中的作用。这将允许优化雾化器设备，从而可以更好地利用药物并缩短患者的治疗时间。最终，通过改进治疗呼吸系统疾病的医疗设备，患者的病情可以得到更好的管理，使他们能够过上更好的生活。

A nebulizer is a type of drug delivery device that provides medication in the form of an aerosol that can beinhaled into the lungs and absorbed into the bloodstream. They are typically used to treat respiratory illnessessuch as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and asthma. Nebulizers operate by taking a medication inliquid form, transforming it into small aerosol droplets of a particular size, and delivering those droplets to themouth of the patient for inhalation. There are several different types of nebulizer, the most common of which isthe jet nebulizer, which will be studied during the proposed project. These operate through the use of ahigh-speed jet of compressed gas, which entrains the liquid and converts it to an aerosol, typically by collidingthe liquid droplets with a baffle.This project seeks to provide a better understanding of the operation of jet nebulizers from a fluid mechanicsperspective. To provide this understanding, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model will be developed tomodel the flow patterns in the device, and their role in the formation and delivery of aerosol particles. This willallow for optimization of nebulizer devices, which can lead to better utilization of the drug and shortertreatment times for patients. Ultimately, by improving the medical devices that treat respiratory illnesses, thepatients' conditions can be better managed, allowing them to lead better lives.