For biomedical applications with relevance to the human upper respiratory tract, the knowledge of the tissue behavior when exposed to a particular flow field would be desired. Moreover, there is of importance to quantify how the tissue properties affects the biomechanics of obstruction. Since in-vivo measurements are often not possible or inappropriate, this is assessed computationally and usually using simplified/idealized geometries.

The present work is devoted to analyze a fluid-structure interaction scenario relevant to snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). The uncertainty of the solution to the most influential parameters will be assessed, with the aim of quantifying the interplay between the most relevant parameters responsible for tissue self-excitation and obstruction dynamics. A statistical description of the behavior shall be developed. The tissue responsible for snoring in sleep apnea patients (the soft palate) is mimicked in this numerical study by a flexible thin plate anchored to an obstacle. The fluid-structure interaction problem is simulated computationally for several configurations in order to quantify the sensitivity of the investigation parameters onto the flow-field development.