Particle paths and stasis in unsteady flow through a bifurcation

In a study of the role of fluid mechanics in atherogenesis particle paths and stasis in a two-dimensional symmetric branch were examined, using the results of earlier fluid mechanical simulations of pulsatile blood flow to provide the velocity field. In regions where separation occurs, the particles trace paths which cannot be predicted by a steady flow calculation but are complex functions of the fluid velocity field. All particles examined were downstream from their starting point at the end of one pulsatile cycle, implying the absence of `perpetual' stasis. The numerical results suggest that stasis may not be a significant factor in atherogenesis as may have been thought, at least for the area ratio considered

Duke Scholars

Author Morton Friedman Biomedical Engineering