Effects of uvula morphology on the fluid dynamics in human snoring*

The vibrations of uvula play important roles in human snoring. Clinically, it is found that human uvula is commonly in different shapes and sizes, which may significantly affect the air flows in the pharynx and the generation of the snoring sound. In this work, a combined experimental and computational approach was conducted to study the effects of uvula morphology on the fluid dynamics in the human airway. Both anatomically and kinematically accurate human pharynx model was modeled from magnetic resonance images and high-speed photography videos. An immersed-boundary-method-based incompressible flow solver was used to compute the unsteady flows associated with a range of uvula shapes and sizes. Results have shown noticeable changes in vortex formation, pressure oscillation, and wall pressure forces in the human airway. Results from this work are expected to bring more comprehensive understandings on the snoring sound production and provide guidance for future surgical interventions.