| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M75464/01 |
| Title: |
AIRWAY CLOSURE:SURFACE-TENSION-DRIVEN NON-AXISYMMETRIC INSTABILITIES OF LIQUID LINED ELASTIC TUBES |
| Principal Investigator: |
Heil, Professor M |
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| Department: |
Mathematics |
| Organisation: |
Victoria University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 October 1999 |
Ends: |
30 September 2002 |
Value (£): |
50,146
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Continuum Mechanics |
Fluid Dynamics |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Healthcare |
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The proposed research will investigate non-axisymmetric fluid-elastic instabilities of liquid-lined, elastic shells. The project is motivated by the physiological problem of 'airway closure', i.e. the formation of occluding liquid bridges in the airways of the lung. Previous theoretical work and physiological observations suggest that the formation of these liquid bridges is accompanied by the non-axisymmetric collapse of the airway walls but the mechanism by which this occurs is still not fully understood. Geometrically non-linear shell theory will be used to model the deformation of the elastic airway walls; the surface-tension-driven fluid flow in the liquid lining will be modelled using the lubrication theory approximation to the Stokes equations. Analytical and numerical techniques will be used to study the system's behaviour in regions of parameter space which are representative for various diseases. Starting from a configuration in which the liquid lined shell undergoes an axisymmetric fluid-elastic Rayleigh instability, the study will first investigate the time-dependent (in) stability of this configuration with respect to non-axisymmetric perturbations. In parameters regimes in which the axisymmetric state is found to be unstable, the system's non-axisymmetric evolution will be followed into the large displacement regime by means of numerical simulation.
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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