A Fluid-Porous Structure Interaction Framework for Vocal Folds

Flow-induced vibrations of the vocal folds produce a pulsatile jet that is the basic source of voiced speech. This study is focused on the computational investigation of interstitial fluid flow in the interaction between turbulent glottal airflow in the larynx and vibrating vocal fold during phonation, using a biphasic description of vocal fold tissue. This is necessary to accurately represent the true nature of vocal folds and investigate the effects of poroelasticity of the tissue on its liquid distribution and systemic hydration. The vocal folds deformation is modeled using the Biot system of equations for a poroelastic medium which defines the porous fluid flow by the Darcy equation. The computational model for the permeable vocal fold tissue is incorporated in fluid-structure interaction (FSI) methodology to compute the spatiotemporal interstitial liquid velocity as well as the pore pressure within the porous structure at multiple time points of the phonation cycle. Results are also compared for a range of lung pressures and tissue permeability values.