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The choice of a time integration scheme is a crucial aspect of any transient fluid simulation, and Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is no exception. The influence of the time integration scheme on energy balance is here addressed. To do so, explicit expressions allowing to compute the deviations from the energy balance, induced by the time integration scheme, are provided. These expressions, computed \textit{a posteriori}, are valid for different integration methods. Such formulation is tested with the simulation of a two-dimensional non-viscous impact of two jets, with no artificial dissipation terms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first stable simulation of a non-dissipative system with a weakly-compressible SPH method. A viscous case, the Taylor-Green vortex, has also been simulated. Results show that an implicit time integration scheme also behaves better in a viscous context., Comment: 46 pages, 15 figures

The magnitude and distribution of strain imposed on the peripheral airspaces by mechanical ventilation at the microscopic level and the consequent deformations are unknown despite their importance for understanding the mechanisms occurring at the onset of ventilator-induced lung injury. Here a 4-Dimensional (3D + time) image acquisition and processing technique is developed to assess pulmonary acinar biomechanics at microscopic resolution. Synchrotron radiation phase contrast CT with an isotropic voxel size of 6 µm3 is applied in live anesthetized rats under controlled mechanical ventilation. Video animations of regional acinar and vascular strain are acquired in vivo. Maps of strain distribution due to positive-pressure breaths and cardiovascular activity in lung acini and blood vessels are derived based on CT images. Regional strain within the lung peripheral airspaces takes average values of 0.09 ± 0.02. Fitting the expression S = kVn, to the changes in peripheral airspace area (S) and volume (V) during a positive pressure breath yields an exponent n = 0.82 ± 0.03, suggesting predominant alveolar expansion rather than ductal expansion or alveolar recruitment. We conclude that this methodology can be used to assess acinar conformational changes during positive pressure breaths in intact peripheral lung airspaces.

Reconstructing the human airways begins with image acquisition which involves the procurement of medical images typically from computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. This produces a 3D matrix of a series of 2D cross-sections, that contains information about tissues and anatomic structures. Reconstructing the airway from the medical scans involves segmentation of the region of interest. The segmentation step extracts a contiguous airway region which is ready for 3D model processing. This chapter discusses CT and MR scan imaging, followed by some common segmentation algorithms based on thresholding, edge detection, and region characteristics.