Meeting Abstract
Mammals such as dogs are known for their keen sense of smell and have been relied upon for their ability to find odor sources. A key component to the mammalian sense of smell is the dynamic sniff cycle. We find the rate at which mammals sniff scales at approximately the same rate as their maximum possible sniff frequency. We rationalize this trend due to the limits of their respiratory anatomy and physiology. Lungs of all mammals are constrained to approximately the same pressure whereas the geometry of the system increases with body size. This scaling argument and other literature suggests that mammals sniff as quickly as possible. Conversely, we find through oscillatory wind tunnel experiments and computational simulations that lower sniffing frequencies provide better odor collection in straight, rectangular channels. We proceed from rectangular channels to investigating the effect of biological nasal cavity shapes helping to mitigate odor collection. We apply insights gleaned from our biological and experimental results to design an electronic nose pre-concentrator for improved chemical sensing.
