Effect of pulsatile frequency on wall shear in a compliant cast of a human aortic bifurcation

A realistically compliant flow-through cast of a human aortic bifurcation was perfused with two almost identical physiological flow waves differing in pulsatile frequency. Near-wall fluid velocities were measured with a laser Doppler velocimeter at 14 wall sites in the plane of the bifurcation. The wall position at each site was tracked using a linescan camera. The temporal wall shear rate at each site was then calculated from the near-wall velocity profile and the instantaneous wall position. Increasing the frequency reduced the shear rate maxima at sites where the maximum shear rate was greater than average, and increased those that were less. Pulsatile frequency had no significant effect on the mean shear rates along the lateral walls of the cast.

Duke Scholars

Author Morton Friedman Biomedical Engineering