Outlet Pressure Influence on Flow Through an Arterial Branch

Many researchers use CFD to study the mechanics of blood flow in the human vascular system. The emphasis is shifting from averaged, idealized geometric models into realistic patient-specific models taken from MRI images or other advanced imaging techniques (Taylor et al. 1998). In order to use the results of CFD for clinical diagnoses or surgical planning, one needs to have fairly accurate representation of the given patient’s vascular system or at least in the region of interest. This involves fairly smooth geometrical model of the region and an accurate description of the inlet and outlet flow conditions. Here, we study the influence of the outlet pressure of the daughter tubes on the flow in an arterial branch. The branch model used is an accurate grid representation of a realistic MRI-based aortic branch (Fig. 1).Copyright © 2002 by ASME