| The aim of this study was to build a dynamic model of coronary artery and investigate the effects of cyclic bending and stretching on coronary blood flow in a fluid structure interaction study. Also, the effects from the presence of an asymmetric and an axisymmetric type of stenosis were investigated. In addition, a discrete phase particle model was built to estimate the platelet trajectories and shear stress history along the trajectories in both the normal and diseased conditions. A 50 mm long LAD segment starting from the beginning of left main bifurcation was selected for this study. The 3D realistic left anterior descending artery (LAD) model was constructed based on anatomical studies. A non-linear solid arterial wall based on five parameters Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic model was also utilized in order to estimate the wall stresses (axial, circumferential and radial stress). A laminar flow model was used to simulate the blood as a Newtonian, incompressible fluid. Pulsatile parabolic flow condition was prescribed at the inlet. The findings from this study suggested that certain flow parameters such as velocity, shear stress were not significantly affected by the cyclic bending and stretching motion. Also, the presence of an asymmetric and axisymmetric stenosis did not cause significant variations in flow conditions (provided that the severity level is similar). However, the solid wall stresses varied significantly with arterial motion during the cardiac cycle. The axial wall stress was found as significantly higher than all other stresses. Also, the particle trajectories and particle shear stress were influenced by the arterial motion. Thus, this study brought a new aspect to the ongoing research of coronary blood flow to better understand the disease conditions from altered hemodynamics. |
