Flow characteristics in models of arterial stenoses. II. Unsteady flow.

Flow through a converging-diverging tube and its implications in occlusive vascular disease — I

A large-scale model of the coronary circulation, instrumented to permit detailed pressure and velocity measurements, has been used to study flow through isolated stenotic elements in large coronary arteries. Pulsatile aortic and instantaneous peripheral resistance were stimulated with servovalves. A variety of axisymmetric and asymmetric stenoses were studied and flow separation was found to occur for all but very mild stenoses. Pressure recovery downstream of the stenosis throat was limited and, in some cases, no recovery was observed. Pressure drop was primarily dependent upon the minimum area of the stenosis and relatively independent of stenosis geometry. Flow was quasi-steady at normal heart rates, and simple steady flow theory proved adequate to describe the pressure drop through the stenosis. The theory yielded results that agreed well with published data for dogs and appears promising for predicting effects of hemodynamic variables on a given stenotic lesion. Thus, principal findings of the study are that a relatively severe stenosis behaves essentially like an orifice and that a simple quasi-steady theory appears adequate to predict effects of a stenosis on coronary flow.

Fluid dynamics of coronary artery stenosis.

A micropolar model for axisymmetric blood flow through an axially nonsymmetreic but radially symmetric mild stenosis tapered artery is presented. To estimate the effect of the stenosis shape, a suitable geometry has been considered such that the axial shape of the stenosis can be changed easily just by varying a parameter (referred to as the shape parameter). The model is also used to study the effect of the taper angle $${\phi}$$
 . Flow parameters such as the velocity, the resistance to flow (the resistance impedance), the wall shear stress distribution in the stenotic region and its magnitude at the maximum height of the stenosis (stenosis throat) have been computed for different values of the shape parameter n, the taper angle $${\phi}$$
 , the coupling number N and the micropolar parameter m. It is shown that the resistance to flow decreases with increasing the shape parameter n and the micropolar parameter m while it increases with increasing the coupling number N. So, the magnitude of the resistance impedance is higher for a micropolar fluid than that for a Newtonian fluid model. Finally, the velocity profile, the wall shear stress distribution in the stenotic region and its magnitude at the maximum height of the stenosis are discussed for different values of the parameters involved on the problem.

D. F. Young

Papers

Effect of a Time-Dependent Stenosis on Flow Through a Tube