Validation of a fluid–structure interaction numerical model for predicting flow transients in arteries

The interaction between the flowing blood and deforming arterial wall is critical in understanding the role of hemodynamic forces such as wall shear stress (WSS) in atherosclerosis. Numerical methods have been extensively used to understand the nature of flow around atherosclerosis susceptible regions of the vascular tree in order to establish the exact role of WSS in atherosclerosis. Unfortunately, most of the numerical studies have been performed on rigid arterial geometries, which do not take into account the effect of the interaction between the flowing blood and the dynamics of the flexible arterial wall. In vivo , blood vessels are continuously deforming with every contraction and relaxation of the heart during the cardiac cycle. This paper forms the first of the two-part paper series discussing the need for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in hemodynamic WSS analysis. The paper presents a well validated FSI based numerical model, capable of accurately predicting flow transients in arteries. The numerical model is validated using analytical solutions and experiments conducted on polyurethane mock artery, with the numerical predictions, analytical solutions and experimental data comparing very well. Numerical studies are performed using OpenFOAM, a 3D Finite Volume Method(FVM) based C++ library.