Airway closure: occluding liquid bridges in strongly buckled elastic tubes.

Minimal Liquid Bridges in Non-Axisymmetrically Buckled Elastic Tubes

This study investigates the existence and stability of static liquid bridges in non-axisymmetrically buckled elastic tubes. The liquid bridge which occludes the tube is formed by two menisci which meet the tube wall at a given contact angle along a contact line whose position is initially unknown. Geometrically non-linear shell theory is used to describe the deformation of the linearly elastic ...

Three-dimensional instabilities of liquid-lined elastic tubes: A thin-film fluid-structure interaction model

We develop a theoretical model of surface-tension-driven, three-dimensional instabilities of liquid-lined elastic tubes—a model for pulmonary airway closure. The model is based on large-displacement shell theory, coupled to the equations of lubrication theory, modified to ensure the exact representation of the system’s equilibrium configurations. The liquid film that lines the initially uniform...

Non-Newtonian fluid flow in elastic tubes

The knowledge on the non-Newtonian fluid flow behavior in inflatable and collapsible elastic tubes is important to applications such as biofluid mechanics in human body and the transport of food and liquids in pharynx (throat), esophagus and intestines. The ultrasound Doppler based velocity profiles are measured at a fixed position from the outlet of a horizontal collapsible elastic tube immers...

Closure of Small Patent Ductus Arteriosus by Occluding Detachable Coil

Effects of surface tension and intraluminal fluid on mechanics of small airways.

Airway constriction is accompanied by folding of the mucosa to form ridges that run axially along the inner surface of the airways. The mucosa has been modeled (R. K. Lambert. J. Appl. Physiol. 71:666-673, 1991) as a thin elastic layer with a finite bending stiffness, and the contribution of its bending stiffness to airway elastance has been computed. In this study, we extend that work by inclu...