Assessment of PIV performance in validating CFD models from nasal cavity CBCT scans

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate how well Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements could serve Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model validation for nasal airflow.

Material and methods: For the PIV measurements, a silicone model of the nose based on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of a patient was made. Corresponding CFD calculations were conducted with laminar and two turbulent models (k-ω and k-ω SST).

Results: CFD and PIV results corresponded well in our study. Especially, the correspondence of CFD calculations between the laminar and turbulent models was found to be even stronger. When comparing CFD with PIV, we found that the results were most convergent in the wider parts of the nasal cavities.

Conclusion: PIV measurements in realistically modelled nasal cavities succeed acceptably and CFD calculations produce corresponding results with PIV measurements. Greater model scaling is, however, necessary for better validations with PIV and comparisons of competing CFD models.