The Applied Chemicals and Materials Division (ACMD) of the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) performs numerical modeling to advance laboratory measurements of exhaled breath compounds using breath devices. Breath devices can provide quantitative evidence of exhaled species that can be in the state of vapor or small aerosols. The species state and concentration per exhalation, as well as human factors (e.g., exhalation rate) and breath device design, are important for forensic and health metrology. Breath sampling and species collection protocols targeting new exhaled compounds (e.g., biomarkers, metabolites) must be evaluated using digital twins of breath device prototypes. Our digital twins are based on simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational fluid and particle dynamics (CFPD), a fluid-particulate coupled algorithm, to (i) quantify breath device operation (i.e., species deposition, complex fluid flow) [1], (ii) guide experimental breath species collection in our Division [2], (iii) elucidate the effects of test variables, and (iv) critically comment on new breath device geometries. 

 

References

[1] Malavé et al. 2024 J. Breath Res. 18 016002.

[2] Jeerage et al 2023 J. Breath Res. 17 037103

key words

Digital twin; exhaled breath; breath devices; breathalyzer; computational fluid dynamics; computational fluid and particle dynamics; discrete element; discrete phase.

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants