Towards a Model of Thrombus Embolization: Structural Response and Failure of Blood Clots Through Peridynamics

Despite the high mortality rates associated with thromboembolic diseases, computational modeling of the physics of thromboembolism remains underdeveloped in the literature due to the inadequacy of classical finite element methods to accommodate the growth, large deformation, and fracture of blood clots, especially under the influence of fluid dynamic forces. Accordingly, we present a meshless numerical framework, employing peridynamics (PD) that readily captures the constitutive response, damage progression, and eventual failure of a blood clot. The PD framework was validated against three benchmark test cases: tensile loading of a plate with a hole, torsional loading of a column, and tensile loading of thin structural plates both with and without notches. Comparative quantitative and qualitative analysis demonstrated excellent agreement with finite element solutions generated using the commercial software ANSYS. The validated framework was then used to calibrate the peridynamic parameters to accurately reproduce the mechanical response, the cohesive bulk fracture of blood clots under tensile loading, and the debonding of blood clots from artificial surfaces, including titanium (Ti), polyurethane (PU), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Force-displacement curves obtained using these calibrated parameters demonstrated a strong correlation with experimental data.