Blood flow through an axisymmetric stenosis

Area of Science:

• Fluid dynamics
• Biomedical engineering
• Rheology

Background:

• Understanding blood flow in constricted vessels is crucial for diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases.
• Blood exhibits non-Newtonian properties, particularly shear-thinning behavior, which affects flow dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate steady axisymmetric flow of a shear-thinning fluid in a constricted rigid tube.
• To analyze the impact of deformation-dependent viscosity on blood flow characteristics.
• To compare the results with the Newtonian fluid model.

Main Methods:

• Developed a shear-thinning fluid model to represent blood's viscosity.
• Utilized a vorticity-streamfunction formulation for the motion equation.
• Employed a finite difference scheme for numerical solution.
• Computed flow patterns, pressure distributions, and wall shear stress.

Main Results:

• Characterized the flow patterns in the constricted tube.
• Determined the pressure and wall shear stress distributions.
• Investigated the influence of dimensionless parameters on the flow.
• Highlighted differences between shear-thinning and Newtonian fluid flow.

Conclusions:

• The shear-thinning model provides a more realistic representation of blood flow in constricted tubes.
• Flow patterns and wall shear stress are significantly influenced by the non-Newtonian properties of blood.
• This study offers insights into hemodynamics in stenotic conditions.