As the interface between the human respiratory system and the environment, the nose plays many vital roles. Not the least of which is filter. Resulting from numerous natural and anthropogenic processes, particulate matter becomes airbome. Should particulate matter reach the lower portions of the respiratory tract, a host of maladies may occur. In an attempt to further understand the physics behind particulate matter transitioning from the environment into humans a computational model has been developed to predict the efficiency with which human noses can remove particles before they reach the lungs. To this end computational fluid dynamics and Lagrangian particle tracking simulations have been run to gather information on the deposition behavior of both spherical and ellipsoidal particles. As a result the key features driving impaction in the nose have been identified. Empirical models have been proposed and shown to work for a variety of simplified and anatomical nasal geometries.
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