On the application of the lattice Boltzmann method to the investigation of glottal flow

The production of voice is directly related to the vibration of the vocal folds, which is generated by the interaction between the glottal flow and the tissue of the vocal folds. In the current study, the aerodynamics of the symmetric glottis is investigated numerically for a number of static configurations. The numerical investigation is based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which is an alternative approach within computational fluid dynamics. Compared to the traditional Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics methods, the LBM is relatively easy to implement and can deal with complex geometries without requiring a dedicated grid generator. The multiple relaxation time model was used to improve the numerical stability. The results obtained with LBM were compared to the results provided by a traditional Navier-Stokes solver and experimental data. It was shown that LBM results are satisfactory for all the investigated cases.