  Studies of flow through the human airway have shown that inhalation time (IT)
and secondary flow structures can play important roles in particle deposition.
However, the effects of varying IT in conjunction with respiratory rate (RR) on
airway flow remain unknown. Using 3D numerical simulations of oscillatory flow
through an idealized airway model consisting of a mouth inlet, glottis, trachea
and symmetric double bifurcation at trachea Reynolds number ($Re$) of 4,200, we
investigated how varying the ratio of IT to breathing time (BT) from 25% to 50%
and RR from 10 breaths per minute (bpm) corresponding to Womersley number
($Wo$) of 2.37 to 1,000 bpm ($Wo$=23.7) impacts airway flow characteristics.
Irrespective of IT/BT, axial flow during inhalation at tracheal cross-sections
was non-uniform for $Wo$=2.37 as compared to centrally concentrated
distribution for $Wo$=23.7. For a given $Wo$ and IT/BT, both axial and
secondary (lateral) flow components unevenly split between left and right
branches of a bifurcation. Irrespective of $Wo$, IT/BT and airway generation,
lateral dispersion was stronger than axial flow streaming. Despite left-right
symmetry of the lower airway in our model, the right-sided mouth-to-glottis
portion generated turbulence in the upper airway. Varying IT/BT for a given
$Wo$ did not noticeably change flow characteristics. Discrepancy in the
oscillatory flow relation $Re$/$Wo^2$=2$L$/$D$ ($L$=stroke length; $D$=trachea
diameter) was observed for IT/BT$\neq$50%, as $L$ changed with IT/BT. We
developed a modified dimensionless stroke length term including IT/BT. While
viscous forces and convective acceleration were dominant for lower $Wo$,
unsteady acceleration was dominant for higher $Wo$.
