Simulation of unsteady laminar flow in models of terminal aneurysm of the basilar artery

Blood flow dynamics play an important role in the pathogenesis and treatment of intracranial aneurysms. The evaluation of the velocity field in the aneurysm dome and neck is important for the correct placement of endovascular coils, in addition the temporal and spatial variations of wall shear stress in the aneurysm are correlated with its growth and rupture. The present numerical investigation describes the hemodynamics in two models of terminal aneurysm of the basilar artery. Aneurysm models with an aspect ratio of 1.0 and 1.67 were studied. Each model was subject to a steady, sinusoidal and physiologically representative waveform of inflow for a mean Reynolds number of 560. Symmetric and asymmetric outflow conditions in the branches were also studied.

The three-dimensional continuity and the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible, unsteady laminar flow with Newtonian properties were solved with a commercial software using non structured grids with 61334 and 65961 cells for models 1 and 2, respectively. The grids were primarily composed of tetrahedral elements.

The intra-aneurysmal flow was unsteady for all input conditions and in both models, the flow always showed a complex vortex structure. The inflow and outflow zones in the aneurysm neck were determined. The wall shear stress on the aneurysm showed large temporal and spatial variations. The asymmetric outflow increased the wall shear stress in both models.