Simulation of transient blood flows in the artery with an asymmetric stenosis

Abstract

This article focuses on the transient behaviour of blood flow in stenotic arteries. Human blood is modelled as an incompressible non-Newtonian fluid. A numerical technique based on the finite element method is developed to simulate the blood flow taking into account of the transient periodic behaviour of the blood flow in cardiac cycles. The flow pattern, the distribution of pressure and the wall shear stresses, are computed. The results show that the pulsatile pressure and the time variation of wall shear rate have patterns similar to that for the pulsatile velocity during the cardiac cycles. On the back toe of the stenosis there exists a small recirculation region which causes the direction of the wall shear stress in some part to oscillate, likely leading to atherosclerotic disease. The back toe is thus an ideal location for applying a clot dissolving drug. References

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