Effect of valve orientation on flow development past aortic valve prostheses in a model human aorta

The effect of valve orientation on flow development in a model human aorta was studied by means of a qualitative flow visualization technique. The model replicated the geometry of the human aorta and the experiment simulated a physiologically realistic pulsatile flow. The following valves were studied: Starr-Edwards Stellite, Starr-Edwards silicone, Björk-Shiley spherical disc, Björk-Shiley convexo-concave disc, and Hall-Kaster tilting disc. All the valves had a tissue anulus diameter of 27 mm. With the ball-in-cage valves, the flow in the ascending aorta was predominantly axial and uniform throughout systole, while vortex formation was observed downstream from the ball. With the tilting disc valves, the flow development in the aorta was a function of the orientation of the valves. With the major flow orifice directed toward the commissure between the right and noncoronary cusps, the fluid motion was predominantly in the axial direction through early systole. A vortex developed along the wall of lesser curvature of the aorta with the progression of systole. In early diastole, a well-defined flow reversal was observed along the lesser curvature of the aorta. With the major flow orifice directed toward the left coronary cusp, the fluid motion, although predominantly axial, was not uniform in the ascending aorta. Regions of relative stasis present near the wall of greater curvature subsequently developed into a trapped vortex throughout the cardiac cycle. With the major flow orifice directed more posteriorly, an improved fluid dynamic characteristic was observed, and there was no trapped vortex present near the wall of greater curvature. The flow visualization study in the model human aorta suggests that, from a fluid dynamic point of view, orientation of the major flow orifice of the tilting disc valve toward the wall of lesser curvature is not advisable.