Finite Element Analysis of Active Vibrating Mesh Nebulisers and Atomisers for Respiratory Drug Delivery—A Review

Piezo-driven active vibrating mesh devices are increasingly being used across a variety of applications. These include respiratory drug delivery and inhaled vaccine delivery, as well as multiple industrial processes such as coating, improving the efficiency of chemical reactions through mixing and 3D printing in low gravity. The adoption of this technology shall continue to rise as its reliability, the scalability of manufacturing, and the functionalisation of active vibrating mesh assemblies advance. Early-stage design and development of these complex electromechanical devices can be a costly and time-consuming process. Finite element analysis (FEA) allows us to simulate these devices and analyse their input parameter interactions and design optimisation without the expense of costly prototyping, while also reducing time to market. A review of the state of the art in FEA techniques has identified piezoelectric coupling, modal analysis, harmonic response, fluid–structure interaction, acoustic–structural coupling, and thermal analysis as the recommended simulation tools for dry (no liquid present) and wet (with liquid present) state simulations. Theoretical and empirical validation techniques have given us confidence in these tools for vibrating mesh device design iterations and optimisation. This review summarises the current state of the art for the application of these techniques in the development of active vibrating mesh devices intended for use in respiratory drug delivery.