Numerical calculation of two-dimensional flow in the channel with a partially compliant wall

The present paper is concerned with the flow in a two-dimensional channel whose wall is partially compliant. The flow field is calculated by the finite-difference method. Results are as follows: (1) When the upstream condition is given by steady flow (Reynolds number Re = 50), a compliant part of the wall oscillates with a frequency nearly equal to the characteristic frequency of the elastic wall. Absolute values of the pressure drop across the compliant part become small compared with those of the plane Poiseuille flow with wholly rigid walls. This ensures under physiological conditions that the blood can be transported more easily toward distal parts due to the compliance of vessel walls. (2) When the upstream condition is given by a pulsatile flow (Womersley number α = 8), interaction arises between characteristic frequency of the wall and basic frequency of the main stream near the compliant wall. As the basic frequency of pulsatile flow decreases, absolute values of mean pressure, which drop across the compliant wall, also become small compared with those of pulsatile flow between wholly rigid walls.