Gas Transport During Oscillatory Flow in a Network of Branching Tubes

A transport coefficient was measured for a range of oscillatory flow conditions in a branching network of tubes. Measurements were made both across the first generation of a three-generation network and the second generation of a four-generation network. The results for these two series of tests were similar, indicating that there was no significant effect due to the system boundaries. The results are cast in terms of an effective axial diffusion coefficient of the form where ϰ is the molecular diffusivity, V_t is the local stroke volume (cc), and f is the oscillation frequency (Hz). These results are compared to those obtained by other investigators in branching systems of similar geometry. At low frequency, this result is found to be in approximate agreement with the steady flow result of Scherer, et al. [15]. This expression differs from the oscillatory flow results of Tarbell, et al. [19] for liquids, primarily in terms of the effects of oscillation frequency.