Design and simulation of mechanical ventilators

Abdellah El-Hadj; Mohamed Kezrane; Hijaz Ahmad; Houari Ameur; S Zamree Bin Abd Rahim; Abdelhakime Younsi; Hanaa Abu-Zinadah

doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2021.111169

Design and simulation of mechanical ventilators

Chaos Solitons Fractals. 2021 Sep:150:111169. doi: 10.1016/j.chaos.2021.111169. Epub 2021 Jun 25.

Authors

Abdellah El-Hadj¹, Mohamed Kezrane¹, Hijaz Ahmad², Houari Ameur³, S Zamree Bin Abd Rahim^{4

5}, Abdelhakime Younsi¹, Hanaa Abu-Zinadah⁶

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Mechanics, Physics, Mathematical modeling (LMP2M), University of Medea, Medea, Algeria.
² Department of Basic Sciences,University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan.
³ Department of Technology, University Centre of Naama - Ahmed Salhi, P.O. Box 66, Naama 45000, Algeria.
⁴ School of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Main Campus Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
⁵ Green Design and Manufacture Research Group, Center of Excellence Geopolymer and Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 01000 Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia.
⁶ University of Jeddah, College of Science, Department of Statistics, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

During this period of COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of medical equipment (like ventilators) leads to complications arising in the medical field. A low-cost ventilator seems to be an alternative substitute to fill the lacking. This paper presents a numerical analysis for predicting the delivered parameters of a low-cost mechanical ventilator. Based on several manufactured mechanical ventilators, two proposed designs are investigated in this study. Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis is used for solving any problems with the first design, and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis with moving boundary is used for solving any issues with the second design. For this purpose, ANSYS Workbench platform is used to solve the set of equations. The results showed that the Ambu-bag-based mechanical ventilator exhibited difficulties in controlling ventilation variables, which certainly will cause serious health problems such as barotrauma. The mechanical ventilator based on piston-cylinder is more satisfactory with regards to delivered parameters to the patient. The ways to obtain pressure control mode (PCM) and volume control mode (VCM) are identified. Finally, the ventilator output is highly affected by inlet flow, length of the cylinder, and piston diameter.

Keywords: CFD, COVID-19; Fluid-structure interaction; Mechanical ventilator.