A fractional approach to 3D artery simulation under a regular pulse load.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Materials Science
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Arterial mechanical behavior is crucial for diagnosing and treating vascular pathologies.
• Existing multi-layer Fung models for arterial walls present computational challenges due to material stability and convergence issues.
• Prony series and relaxation functions in traditional models increase computational cost.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a computationally efficient 3D simulation model for the aorta artery.
• To investigate the stress-strain distribution within a multi-layered aorta model under flow pressure.
• To introduce a fractional linear-standard viscoelastic constitutive model for enhanced arterial simulation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a vectorized 3D geometry of the aorta from medical tomography images.
• Created and validated a fractional linear-standard viscoelastic constitutive model for solids.
• Adjusted the model using creep-relaxation experimental data and frequency domain parameters.

Main Results:

• The 3D simulation effectively identified stress-strain distribution in the multi-layered aorta.
• The fractional viscoelastic model demonstrated accurate representation of the simulated mechanical behavior.
• The proposed model achieved a lower convergence time compared to conventional methods.

Conclusions:

• Fractional viscoelastic models offer an accurate and computationally efficient approach for simulating arterial mechanics.
• This research provides a valuable tool for understanding aorta stress-strain states and improving diagnostic/treatment strategies.
• The validated model can be applied to further studies in vascular biomechanics and medical device design.