A model of pulsatile flow in a uniform deformable vessel

Area of Science:

• Fluid dynamics
• Biomedical engineering
• Computational modeling

Background:

• Simulating blood flow typically requires extensive computational resources for solving Navier-Stokes equations.
• Purely numerical solutions can obscure crucial fluid dynamics insights.
• An alternative approach is needed for simplified yet insightful blood flow analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simplified computational model for blood flow in natural and artificial conduits.
• To provide physical insight into fluid dynamics without complex numerical solutions.
• To analyze the influence of pulsatile flow and vessel wall motion on wall shear stress.

Main Methods:

• Assumed functional forms for axial pressure gradient and velocity profiles.
• Ensured conservation of mass for pulsatile flow in a deformable vessel.
• Utilized finite-difference methods for explicit solution of simplified equations.

Main Results:

• The model demonstrated good agreement with analytical solutions for rigid walls and zero pressure.
• Results showed good agreement when compared with experimental data.
• The model revealed how pulsatile flow and vessel wall motion affect flow rate and shear rate.

Conclusions:

• The simplified model provides valuable insights into blood flow dynamics, particularly wall shear stress.
• It effectively illustrates the impact of vessel wall motion amplitude and phase on flow characteristics.
• This model serves as a useful tool for experimentalists studying flow in biological conduits.