EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF LAMINAR FLOW IN A RECTANGULAR CROSS-SECTION BIFURCATION.

The geometry and flow parameters of this experiment are chosen for this parallel plate model to be comparable to the hemodynamic situation in the human terminal abdominal aorta. Thus the experimental Reynolds numbers, based on channel half-width and the average velocity, are in the range of 100 to 500 for steady flow and 50 to 250 for pulsatile flow. The rotation rate of the flow modulating valve is 10 rpm; for this frequency, the unsteadiness number characterizing the flow in this tunnel is about 10. These data are compared with the computer results obtained for steady flow in a two dimensional bifurcation having a similar area ratio. These results show that agreement between experimental and computational values is good, and that confidence may be had in the numerical analysis as well as the LDV.

Duke Scholars

Author Morton Friedman Biomedical Engineering