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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Investigating the Three-dimensional Flow Separation Induced by a Model Vocal Fold Polyp
Published on: February 3, 2014
Breaking symmetry in non-planar bifurcations: distribution of flow and wall shear stress
Yiling Lu1, Xiyun Lu, Lixian Zhuang
1Department of Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, PR China.
Abstract:
Non-planarity in blood vessels is known to influence arterial flows and wall shear stress. To gain insight, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to investigate effects of curvature and out-of-plane geometry on the distribution of fluid flows and wall shear stresses in a hypothetical non-planar bifurcation. Three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for a steady state Newtonian fluid were solved numerically using a finite element method. Non-planarity in one of the two daughter vessels is found to deflect flow from the inner wall of the vessel to the outer wall and to cause changes in the distribution of wall shear stresses. Results from this study agree to experimental observations and CFD simulations in the literature, and support the view that non-planarity in blood vessels is a factor with important haemodynamic significance and may play a key role in vascular biology and pathophysiology.
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