This study will investigate the clearance of liquid obstructions from pulmonary airways through the use of mathematical models. This will be done by investigating the relationship between airway lining- fluid characteristics and airway structural properties on the pressures and stresses associated with the clearance of pulmonary obstructions. The study also will determine how insoluble surfactant and applied pressure influence wall stresses during the clearance of obstructed airways. Finally, the project will evaluate how the transport of surfactant from the bulk-phase to the surface-phase within the obstruction influence the applied pressures and resulting wall stresses during the clearance of obstructed airways. The research may lead to improve methods to clear pulmonary airway obstructions. The innovative methods applied in this study also may be useful in investigating interfacial phenomena and transport processes in other areas.
