Multiphase non‐Newtonian effects on pulsatile hemodynamics in a coronary artery

Hemodynamic stresses are involved in the development and progression of vascular diseases. This study investigates the influence of mechanical factors on the hemodynamics of the curved coronary artery in an attempt to identify critical factors of non‐Newtonian models. Multiphase non‐Newtonian fluid simulations of pulsatile flow were performed and compared with the standard Newtonian fluid models. Different inlet hematocrit levels were used with the simulations to analyze the relationship that hematocrit levels have with red blood cell (RBC) viscosity, shear stress, velocity, and secondary flow. Our results demonstrated that high hematocrit levels induce secondary flow on the inside curvature of the vessel. In addition, RBC viscosity and wall shear stress (WSS) vary as a function of hematocrit level. Low WSS was found to be associated with areas of high hematocrit. These results describe how RBCs interact with the curvature of artery walls. It is concluded that although all models have a good approximation in blood behavior, the multiphase non‐Newtonian viscosity model is optimal to demonstrate effects of changes in hematocrit. They provide a better stimulation of realistic blood flow analysis. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pulsatile blood flow in large arteries: comparative study of Burton’s and McDonald’s models

To get a clear picture of the pulsatile nature of blood flow and its role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, a comparative study of blood flow in large arteries is carried out using the two widely used models, McDonald＇s and Burton＇s models, for the pressure gradient. For both models, the blood velocity in the lumen is obtained analytically. Elaborate investigations on the wall shear stress （WSS） and oscillatory shear index （OSI） are carried out. The results are in good agreement with the available data in the literature. The superiority of McDonald＇s model in capturing the pulsatile nature of blood flow, especially the OSI, is highlighted. The present investigation supports the hypothesis that not only WSS but also OSI are the essential features determining the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Finally, by reviewing the limitations of the present investigation, the possibility of improvement is explored.     

冠状动脉对称双路移植管中脉动血流的数值模拟

冠状动脉旁路移植管搭桥术后，常会产生血管再狭窄，导致手术失败，。这与移植管的几何结构及血流动力学是密切相关的。作为改进措施，作者提出了采用对称双路搭桥的设想。本文利用有限元分析方法，对冠状动脉搭桥术中对称双路移植管内的生理流动进行了数值仿真。计算了缝合区附近的流场、壁面切应力、压力等血流动力学因素在心动周期内的时空分布情况。计算结果表明，对称双路搭桥具有较好的血流动力学，可以改善血管流场状况和减轻再狭窄发生。这对临床手术计划是很有帮助和指导意义的。     

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

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.     

中等严重程度冠状动脉病变模型的血流动力学参数分析

基于中等严重程度冠状动脉病变模型,应用流固耦合方法数值研究了中等严重程度面积狭窄率(AS=50%,65%,75%)和病变长度(LL= 0 mm,15 mm,20 mm) 对血流动力学参数的影响.研究发现:随着AS与LL的增大,病变血管分支的壁面剪应力变化愈加剧烈,狭窄段下游的壁面剪应力值逐渐降低,狭窄段下游回流区的长度呈"S"型增长,模型最大剪切速率呈抛物线型增长, 压力分布曲线显著下降.血流动力学参数结果表明, 中等严重程度面积狭窄率和病变长度均是可能引发血栓的因素,临床上应予以重视.      

动脉中非平稳流动壁面剪切力及其Hilbert-Huang变换

本文通过数值方法求解均匀动脉中的非平稳脉动流,给出了通过测量非平稳脉动血流量确定壁面切应力的方法.作为算例,采用实测的大鼠颈总动脉流量信号,求出了均匀动脉壁面切应力波形.进一步对求得的切应力波形进行经验模态分解(EMD),得到了切应力波形的各内在模态(IMF),以及Hilbert幅值谱.从切应力波形经Hilbert-Huang变换得到的IMF和Hilbert谱图可以明显地看出切应力各频率成分的物理意义.所得结果为进一步深入研究非平稳脉动切应力与血管重建的关系提供了一种方法学基础.     

Numerical simulation of the haemodynamics in end‐to‐side anastomoses

In this paper, the commercial CFD package Ansys workbench 11 was used to analyse the three‐dimensional haemodynamics of a typical stenotic Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG). Two end‐to‐side CABG configurations with anastomosis angle of 20^° and 40^° and graft–artery diameter ratios of 1/0.6, 1/1 and 1/1.6 were examined. The flow measurements from in vitro Doppler guide wire technique acquired in left interior mammary artery (LIMA) and grafted to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) were used to impose the physiologically flow conditions at proximal and distal CABG inlet and outlet, respectively. The blood flow was considered to be incompressible, pulsatile, Newtonian, and laminar rheology. The main objective was to determine the effect of anastomosis angle and graft–artery diameter ratio on the flow patterns and the long‐term functionality of the graft. In analysing the results, the distributions of temporal and spatial wall shear stress (WSS) gradient and oscillating shear index (OSI) in the critical regions of CABG such as heel, toe and the centre of the junction were presented and the vortex motions and the occurrence of recirculation zones were examined. The findings showed asymmetrically disturbed flows in the localized regions of the proximal and distal host artery for all models considered and the movement of the recirculation zones from heel to toe was found to depend on the time at the cardiac cycle. These regions are known as susceptible sites to thrombosis and re‐stenosis due to their association with low values of WSS. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同心排出量下主动脉瓣血流动力学的PIV实验研究

主动脉瓣发生病变时导致心排出量(cardiac output, CO)减少,而心排出量减少与主动脉瓣血流动力学耦合作用, 引发瓣膜继发性疾病.本文基于医学影像数据三维重构带有冠状动脉的主动脉根部,制备高度光滑和透明的主动脉根部实验模型, 构建体外脉动循环模拟系统,利用粒子图像测速技术(particle image velocimetry,PIV)研究冠状动脉存在时心排出量对主动脉瓣速度分布、黏性剪应力(viscous shear stress, VSS)和雷诺剪应力(Reynolds shear stress, RSS)等血流动力学的影响.研究结果表明: 冠状动脉的存在改变了主动脉窦中的涡旋运动和涡度,冠状动脉存在时流体经由冠状动脉流出, 主动脉窦中的涡旋运动逐渐消失,涡度较早开始减小. 峰值期, 中心对称流动两侧区域存在正、负高黏性剪切区域,存在冠状动脉一侧的升主动脉下游存在高雷诺剪应力区域.心排出量显著影响主动脉瓣的速度分布、VSS和RSS等血液流动和受力状况.随着心排出量增大, 冠状动脉存在时峰值期的最大速度、VSS和RSS增大, 即$CO=2.1$, 2.8, 3.5和4.2 l/min时, 最大速度分别为0.98, 1.13, 1.21和1.37 m/s, 最大VSS分别为0.87, 0.95, 0.96和1.02 N/m$^{2}$, 最大RSS分别为103.76, 116.25, 138.68和146.55 N/m$^{2}$. 心排出量较低时,主动脉瓣较低的跨瓣流动速度和黏性剪应力易导致血栓形成,研究结果可为主动脉瓣置换术提供理论参考.      

Non‐Newtonian blood flow study in a model cavopulmonary vascular system

A transient haemodynamic study in a model cavopulmonary vascular system has been carried out for a typical range of parameters using a finite element‐based Navier–Stokes solver. The focus of this study is to investigate the influence of non‐Newtonian behaviour of the blood on the haemodynamic quantities, such as wall shear stress (WSS) and flow pattern. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is based on an artificial compressibility characteristic‐based split (AC‐CBS) scheme, which has been adopted to solve the Navier–Stokes equations in space–time domain. A power law model has been implemented to characterize the shear thinning nature of the blood depending on the local strain rate. Using the computational model, numerical investigations have been performed for Newtonian and non‐Newtonian flows for different frequencies and input pulse forms. The haemodynamic quantities observed in total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) for the above conditions suggest that there are considerable differences in average (about 25–40%) and peak (about 50%) WSS distributions, when the non‐Newtonian behaviour of the blood is taken into account. The lower WSS levels observed for non‐Newtonian cases point to the higher risk of lesion formation, especially at higher pulsation frequencies. A realistic pulse form is relatively safer than a sinusoidal pulse as it has more energy distributed in the higher harmonics, which results in higher average WSS values. The present study highlights the importance of including non‐Newtonian shear thinning behaviour for modelling blood flow in the vicinity of repaired arterial connections. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hemodynamic analysis of intracranial aneurysms using phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging and computational fluid dynamics

Additional hemodynamic parameters are highly desirable in the clinical management of intracranial aneurysm rupture as static medical images cannot demonstrate the blood flow within aneurysms. There are two ways of obtaining the hemodynamic information—by phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging(PCMRI) and computational fluid dynamics(CFD). In this paper, we compared PCMRI and CFD in the analysis of a stable patient's specific aneurysm.The results showed that PCMRI and CFD are in good agreement with each other. An additional CFD study of two stable and two ruptured aneurysms revealed that ruptured aneurysms have a higher statistical average blood velocity,wall shear stress, and oscillatory shear index(OSI) within the aneurysm sac compared to those of stable aneurysms.Furthermore, for ruptured aneurysms, the OSI divides the positive and negative wall shear stress divergence at the aneurysm sac.     

A carbon nanotube sensor for wall shear stress measurement

A novel carbon nanotube (CNT) sensor is being developed to measure the mean and fluctuating wall shear stress (WSS) in a turbulent boundary layer. The CNT WSS sensor is based on the thermal principle and featured by high spatial and temporal resolutions (in the order of nm and kHz, respectively), low power consumption (in the order of μW), and a compact fabrication process compared with traditional WSS measurement sensors. The CNT WSS-sensing element was characterized in detail before its calibration. The CNT sensor was operated under a constant temperature (CT) operation mode and an overheat ratio range of −0.15 to −0.19 and calibrated in a fully developed turbulent channel flow. It has been observed for the first time in a macroscopic flow that the sensor output power is approximately proportional to the 1/3 powered WSS, as expected for a thermal-principle-based WSS sensor, and the wall shear stress measurement is demonstrated for a low Reynolds number flow.     

Blood flow dynamics and fluid–structure interaction in patient‐specific bifurcating cerebral aneurysms

Hemodynamics plays an important role in the progression and rupture of cerebral aneurysms. The current work describes the blood flow dynamics and fluid–structure interaction in seven patient‐specific models of bifurcating cerebral aneurysms located in the anterior and posterior circulation regions of the circle of Willis. The models were obtained from 3D rotational angiography image data, and blood flow dynamics and fluid–structure interaction were studied under physiologically representative waveform of inflow. The arterial wall was assumed to be elastic, isotropic and homogeneous. The flow was assumed to be laminar, non‐Newtonian and incompressible. In one case, the effects of different model suppositions and boundary conditions were reported in detail. The fully coupled fluid and structure models were solved with the finite elements package ADINA. The vortex structure, pressure, wall shear stress (WSS), effective stress and displacement of the aneurysm wall showed large variations, depending on the morphology of the artery, aneurysm size and position. The time‐averaged WSS, effective stress and displacement at the aneurysm fundus vary between 0.17 and 4.86 Pa, 4.35 and 170.2 kPa and 0.16 and 0.74 mm, respectively, for the seven patient‐specific models of bifurcating cerebral aneurysms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

血流动力学数值模拟与动脉粥样硬化研究进展

血流动力学因素被认为与动脉粥样硬化等病理改变密切相关。目前血流动力学数值模拟的对象,主要集中于分支动脉、弯曲动脉以及因血管内膜增生而导致的局部狭窄动脉,这些都是动脉粥样硬化多发的病灶部位。精确的血流动力学数值模拟,必须依赖于解剖精确的血管几何模型和生理真实的血流与管壁有限变形的非线性瞬态流－固耦合。只有在“虚拟血液流动”的基础上,综合考虑血管内的壁面剪应力、粒子滞留时间和氧气的跨血管壁传输等多种因素,血流动力学的数值模拟才能真正有助于人们理解动脉粥样硬化的血流动力学机理,才有可能应用于有关动脉疾病的外科手术规划中。      

Advantageous swirling flow in 45° end-to-side anastomosis

The effects of swirling flow on the flow field in 45° end-to-side anastomosis are experimentally investigated using a particle image velocimetry technique to reveal fluid dynamic advantages of swirling flow in the vascular graft. Non-swirling Poiseuille inlet flow unnecessarily induces pathological hemodynamic features, such as high wall shear stress (WSS) at the ‘bed’ side and large flow separation at the ‘toe’ side. The introduction of swirling flow is found to equalize the asymmetric WSS distribution and reduces the peak magnitude of WSS. In particular, the intermediate swirling intensity of S = 0.45 induces the most uniform axial velocity and WSS distributions compared with weaker or stronger swirling flows, which addresses the importance of proper selection of swirling intensity in the vascular graft to obtain optimum flow fields at the host vessel. In addition, swirling flow reduces the size of flow separation because it disturbs the formation of Dean-type vortices in secondary flow and inhibits secondary flow collision. The beneficial fluid dynamic features of swirling flow obtained in this study are helpful for designing better vascular graft suppressing pathological hemodynamic features in the recipient host vessel.     

Study on hemodynamics in patient-specific thoracic aortic aneurysm

The objective of this study is to investigate the hemodynamics in patient-specific thoracic aortic aneurysm and discuss the reason for formation of aortic plaque. A 3-Dimensional pulsatile blood flow in thoracic aorta with a fusiform aneurysm and 3 main branched vessels was studied numerically with the average Reynolds number of 1399 and the Womersley number of 19.2. Based on the clinical 2-Dimensional CT slice data, the patient-specific geometry model was constructed using medical image process software. Unsteady, incompressible, 3-Dimensional Navier-Stokes equations were employed to solve the flow field. The temporal distributions of hemodynamic variables during the cardiac cycle such as streamlines, wall shear stresses in the arteries and aneurysm were analyzed. Growth and rupture mechanisms of thoracic aortic aneurysm in the patient can be analyzed based on patient-specific model and hemodynamics simulation.     

透水床面明渠湍流时空平均特征的大涡模拟与分析

基于大涡模拟数据,研究了理想粗糙透水床面明渠湍流的时空平均特性. 考虑到空间异构性,对比分析了不同位置的时空平均流速、雷诺剪应力、构造剪应力、脉动幅度的垂线分布. 结果表明:第一,顶层床面之上,空间异构性的影响较小,不同位置的双平均流速符合类似的对数分布,但由于透水床面影响,卡门常数较不透水床面小;在床面附近,空间异构性影响较大,不同位置的双平均流速分别符合线性分布与多项式分布;在透水河床内部,靠近底层球孔的双平均流速为上部球孔双平均流速的1.55 倍. 第二,床面之上,雷诺剪应力占总剪应力的95% 以上,占有主体地位;床面附近,紊动较大,构造剪应力不能忽略,其值大约占总剪应力的15%.由于流场的各向异性,纵向与垂向的脉动幅度有所差异.      

冠状毛细血管长度非线性变化及渗透作用下的毛细血管血液流动

建立冠状毛细血管内血流的血液动力学模型,研究毛细血管长度沿轴向的非线性变化及冠状毛细血管与周围组织的渗透和物质交换对血液流动的影响。考虑单根长弹性并具有通透性的冠状毛细血管,毛细血管长度非线性变化,毛细血管内血液为粘性不可压缩牛顿流体,跨壁滤过遵循Starling定律,血浆胶体渗透压和血浆蛋白浓度成线性关系。建立血管半径的无量纲方程,数值求解不同生理参数情况下,左心室壁不同层中毛细血管沿长度平均的无量纲半径和不同层毛细血管的平均流量。结果显示,冠状毛细血管与周围组织的渗透和物质交换及毛细血管长度沿轴向的非线性变化对平均无量纲半径和平均出口流量几乎没有影响;而对弹性模量较小的毛细血管,则对心脏收缩期时的平均进口流量有不同程度的影响。     

The influence of temperature on rheological properties of blood mixtures with different volume expanders—implications in numerical arterial hemodynamics simulations

During the complicated cardiac surgery on a non-beating heart with cardiopulmonary bypass, protection of the heart is accomplished by injecting cold cardioplegic solutions. In most forms of circulatory shock, it is necessary to immediately restore the circulating volume. Intravenous solutions of volume expanders, such as hydroxyethyl starch and dextrans, are used to increase the volume of fluid in the circulating blood. In this work, blood samples of six donors were obtained and used to prepare mixtures with different volume expanders in concentrations ranging from 10 to 50 vol./vol.%. The flow curves of all mixtures in the temperature range from 4°C to 37°C were constructed and fitted to the Herschel–Bulkley model, in order to extract the shear thinning and yield stress parameters. To assess the influence of the observed changes in the rheological properties of blood on the hemodynamics in arterial vasculature, a realistic three-dimensional rigid-wall computational model was constructed from MRI images of the right carotid bifurcation obtained in vivo from a healthy male volunteer. The time-varying flow field was numerically computed using the Newtonian model as well as the Herschel–Bulkley model with the Papanastasiou regularization. The numerical simulations indicate only moderate changes in the time-averaged flow field that become accentuated when the instantaneous flow field is considered. We also found that although the influence of temperature, hematocrit, and volume expanders on hemodynamics is significant, this can primarily be attributed to the changes in the nominal viscosity of the flow medium.     

Tomographic particle image velocimetry investigation of the flow in a modeled human carotid artery bifurcation

Hemodynamic forces within the human carotid artery are well known to play a key role in the initiation and progression of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. The degree and extent of the disease largely depends on the prevailing three-dimensional flow structure and wall shear stress (WSS) distribution. This work presents tomographic PIV (Tomo-PIV) measurements of the flow structure and WSS in a physiologically accurate model of the human carotid artery bifurcation. The vascular geometry is reconstructed from patient-specific data and reproduced in a transparent flow phantom to demonstrate the feasibility of Tomo-PIV in a complex three-dimensional geometry. Tomographic reconstruction is performed with the multiplicative line-of-sight (MLOS) estimation and simultaneous multiplicative algebraic reconstruction (SMART) technique. The implemented methodology is validated by comparing the results with Stereo-PIV measurements in the same facility. Using a steady flow assumption, the measurement error and RMS uncertainty are directly inferred from the measured velocity field. It is shown that the measurement uncertainty increases for increasing light sheet thickness and increasing velocity gradients, which are largest near the vessel walls. For a typical volume depth of 6 mm (or 256 pixel), the analysis indicates that the velocity derived from 3D cross-correlation can be measured within ±2% of the maximum velocity (or ±0.2 pixel) near the center of the vessel and within ±5% (±0.6 pixel) near the vessel wall. The technique is then applied to acquire 3D-3C velocity field data at multiple axial locations within the carotid artery model, which are combined to yield the flow field and WSS in a volume of approximately 26 mm × 27 mm × 60 mm. Shear stress is computed from the velocity gradient tensor and a method for inferring the WSS distribution on the vessel wall is presented. The results indicate the presence of a complex and three-dimensional flow structure, with regions of flow separation and strong velocity gradients. The WSS distribution is markedly asymmetric confirming a complex swirling flow structure within the vessel. A comparison of the measured WSS with Stereo-PIV data returns an acceptable agreement with some differences in stress magnitude.     

A multiscale model for analyzing the synergy of CS and WSS on the endothelium in straight arteries

A multiscale model was proposed to calculate the circumferential stress (CS) and wall shear stress (WSS) and analyze the effects of global and local factors on the CS, WSS and their synergy on the arterial endothelium in large straight arteries. A parameter pair [Zs,SPA] (defined as the ratio of CS amplitude to WSS amplitude and the phase angle between CS and WSS for different harmonic components, respectively) was proposed to characterize the synergy of CS and WSS. The results demonstrated that the CS or WSS in the large straight arteries is determined by the global factors, i.e. the preloads and the afterloads, and the local factors, i.e. the local mechanical properties and the zero-stress states of arterial walls, whereas the Zs and SPA are primarily determined by the local factors and the afterloads. Because the arterial input impedance has been shown to reflect the physiological and pathological states of whole downstream arterial beds, the stress amplitude ratio Zs and the stress phase difference SPA might be appropriate indices to reflect the influences of the states of whole downstream arterial beds on the local blood flow-dependent phenomena such as angiogenesis, vascular remodeling and atherosgenesis. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10132020 and 10472027). The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.