EFFECT OF PROGRESSIVE DEGREES OF SIDE-BRANCH BIFURCATION ANGLES ON FLOW IN ARTERY USING NUMERICAL SIMULATION

Abstract

Malfunction of the cardiovascular system is a serious disease affecting human life around the world that is caused by several factors. One of the major factors is atherosclerosis that is a disease of the artery. Atherosclerosis is a serious vascular condition, which always occurs in branch vessels such as the abdominal aortic bifurcation and the carotid artery bifurcation. Wall shear stress (WSS) and wall pressure gradient (WPG) pertaining to these vessels will dramatically change when the geometry of these vessels is varied. Computational hemodynamics, as an invasive method, can be employed to understand the blood flow characteristics. In this paper, blood flow through arteries with variable side branches is presented using a computational framework. Numerical models pertaining to the different side-branch bifurcation angles are simulated to verify this. The side-branch bifurcation angle correlates positively to the maximum WSS experienced by the artery and this has an effect on atherogenesis. The low WPG regions are found to decrease with increased values of the angles, while the high WPG regions concentrate in the same region with larger values. Such hemodynamics information can be used to understand the effect of arterial geometrical variation on hemodynamics and the causes of atherosclerosis.