Study on the effect of steady, simple pulsatile and physiological pulsatile flows through a stenosed artery

Abstract

In the present paper, the comparison of steady, simple pulsatile flow and physiological pulsatile flow on flow reversal zone and hemodynamic wall parameters [wall shear stress (WSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI)] for the progression of the disease, atherosclerosis has been investigated numerically. The governing equations have been solved by finite volume method. For the numerical analysis, Womersley number, Reynolds number and percentage of restriction are taken as 10, 100 and 50 % respectively. From this study it is revealed that the separated flow from the stenosis strongly depends on inlet flow situations, the maximum chance of deposition of plaque material due to streamline contour is higher at time step t* = 0.75 for simple pulsatile flow and at time step t* = 0 for physiological pulsatile flow and this chance is lower in case of steady flow. The effect of WSS on the disease is higher in physiological pulsatile flow compared to steady as well as simple pulsatile flow. The maximum possibility of initiation as well as progression for atherosclerosis in arterial wall due to high WSS takes place at t* = 0.25 for physiological pulsatile flow. OSI indicates same length of separation for two cases of transient flow, but the rate of cyclic departure of WSS is higher in case of physiological pulsatile flow.