Numerical simulation of septal deviation effects in nasal flow

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of septal deviation on the aerodynamic flow pattern compared with a normal nose by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. The software MIMICS 12.0 was used to perform the image segmentation and meshed model generation from CT scans. Thereafter high resolution 3D volume meshes comprising boundary layer effect and computational domain exterior to the nose were constructed. Numerical simulations were then carried out using FLUENTS for computational fluid dynamics simulations. The overall flow was assumed to be incompressible, quasi-steady and laminar. The same oxygen (flow rate) amount with a normal nose for a deviated one was also assumed. The results were shown with the contours of velocity for exhalation and inhalation. The distribution of wall shear stress and flow partitioning were also investigated. It was found that the existence of ldquodead spacerdquo might cause turbulence due to the deviated nasal septal structures.